If there was ever a time to let your geek flag fly, it’s now. Sure, being a geek has become more mainstream and acceptable, and most of us wear the title with pride. But that’s not why it’s more important than ever to show your geekiness and support your fandoms. 

I don’t tend to get political very often, but that’s exactly where I’m going with this. With the new US president (who I refuse to recognize by name), arts and culture are at risk. Sure, you might think this just applies to things like PBS or funding for classical art programs, but it goes far beyond that. (And btw, Sherlock is on PBS, so that should already get some geeks worried.) The lengths to which the new administration wants to go to cut funds means fewer publicly available creative arts programs – not a big deal to some people short term, but think of what it means in the long run for creative and artistic minds that don’t get to thrive and develop; don’t gain an interest in writing, painting, music; don’t further that interest with education and then careers writing comics, designing video games, creating the next big fantasy world. These are our fandoms and they are at risk!

Sure, these programs and organizations don’t rely entirely on the government for funding. But public donations are not going to make up for a major cut in those funds. And the arts is not a frivolous part of the US economy either. A recently released report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis noted that arts and cultural production contributed more than $704 billion to the economy or 4.2% of the GDP – more than even the construction industry! And the arts and culture industry employs more than 4.5 million people – these numbers should be shouted from rooftops to show people how important the arts are!

And that brings me back to geeks and fandoms. Look at what you enjoy and take a moment to consider where it comes from and how you’re able to access it. The arts includes the film industry, television, music, publishing, gaming – and our fandoms are part of this. Sure, there are big businesses in charge of a lot of these, but not all of them. And what about the independent creators? What about the neighborhood nonprofits? So it’s time to pay attention and recognize that politics will affect you. And if you don’t like what you’re hearing, do something about it. Politicians work for us and we have every right to voice concerns directly to them.