[ CW ] A speech to a fundraiser for the arts beginning with the Oscar Wilde quote : `` All art is quite useless . ''

All art is quite useless. 
 
 That's right. Art serves no direct purpose in society. Art will never cure the sick. Art will never protect the vulnerable. Art will never do your taxes, feed your family, or walk your dog. Art just sits there, idle on the wall as if it cares not what people may expect of it. 
 
 Yes, art does nothing but sit there. It sits there unnoticed. Until the policeman who had to fire his weapon on a suspect to protect the community walks by in an effort to get his mind off the burden of his actions. It sits there until the surgeon whose patient died on the table because she did n't realize the underlying condition. It sits there idle, until the lonely retired widow looks at it and sees that others carry the same weight of life, the same feelings of helplessness, and realize that they are n't as alone as they thought. This gives them inspiration to continue their work, helping others and making the world a better place. 
 
 In closing, art in itself is quite useless. But in the way it makes others feel, the comfort it can give, and the ideas it can convey, it can be the mose significant thing of our society.
