We seem to be mired in the worst economic recession of almost everybody’s lifetime and puppeteers (like most artists) are among the hardest hit. With the U.S. government seemingly handing out billions every other day, several people on the Puptcrit email discussion list have been debating the idea of a “Puppetry bailout” for hard hit struggling puppeteers.

As part of this discussion, Hobey Ford penned this poignant open letter to President Obama. While I don’t seriously expect the idea of a “Puppetry bailout” to fly (imagine what Fox News would say!) it’s a wonderful letter and an excellent reminder of how puppetry touches people’s lives much more than they realize:

Dear Mr. President,

I write on behalf of America’s Puppeteers. Our business sector probably hasn’t come to your attention in the recent economic downturn, but we are a vital part of every child?s life in America, not to mention the child in every American. We are bringers of wonder and magic. We teach America’s children to love literature, to read, to know when to cross the street, to respect one another and otherwise make their lives brighter. Sasha and Malia know us well. Perhaps you remember our puppets from your own youth. You may have met our brothers and sisters in Indonesia when you lived there as a child.

While American’s pinch their pennies and AIG executives take their millions of our tax dollars, we are the affordable entertainment in the American community.

We are the free programs at your public library. We are the assembly programs at every school in America.

We are the ones teaching to the multiple intelligences through the arts where other means fail.

We are in classrooms teaching the 21st century skill of creative thinking and play. We are the preservers of America’s veteran puppets, who taught, entertained, and uplifted your parents and grand parents and your grand parent’s parents.

We have our own United Nations of puppeteers but when we get together there is only laughter and tears of Joy.

We teach tolerance, we tell the story of Harriet Tubman, and the folktales of the Native American, we help children express themselves when their own words won’t come.

We made ET come to life, we live on Sesame Street, we brought Lion King to life and saved Broadway.

We are the animating soul of Howdy Doody, Kookla Fran and Ollie and Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

We are the balloon characters at the Macy’s (Thanksgiving) Day Parade. We are the stars of the opening of Olympic ceremonies.

We foster children into the words of Shakespeare, and we speak truth to power in the streets on Mayday and helped America wake up to the horror of the Vietnam War.

We let the Moms and Dads laugh when they feel like crying.

We are at bedsides in children’s cancer wards providing sometimes the last laugh of a dying child.

We are among the oldest traditions on earth. Our ancestors rode the Silk Road with Marco Polo, entertained the royalty of the old world, allowed the oppressed to laugh at their oppressors.

We lived in concentration camps and made our puppets from rags to feign some joy for the children.

We are beloved around the world when our government is hated.

We bring joy! We are American made!

Many of us our watching our bookings slip away. Some are scrambling to make ends meet. Puppet collections older than your grandparents are in need of a good home. So we are writing you for our own bailout. We are vital to America’s future. We voted for you accept for one or two but they are our family and we love them all the same. While it looks likes the dogs who helped bring this country to its knees have been bonused more than many of us will earn in a lifetime, I think we need a little consideration. A measly billion would probably do the trick.

We realize that you might laugh when you read this but we’ll just consider that a freebie. In the mean time, we’ll take what we can get. Its not a give away, we earned it and deserve it, in fact I truly doubt that the nation will be any fun at all if we go down. So come on buck up. You know you want to. You can come visit our little family this summer at our National Puppetry Festival in Atlanta. We will treat you right and you may need a good laugh by then as well.

Yours Truly,

The Family of American Puppeteers and our fuzzy friends

Note: I’ve slightly reformatted Hobey’s original letter for easier reading here on the blog.