This study examines the attitudes individuals have towards the arts and what role the arts play in U.S. life. A survey was designed specifically to examine issues of funding of the arts by government, the role of arts in the education of children, and what effect the current economic recession has had on participation in and attendance at arts events. The research found that a decisive majority of people support government financing of the arts; there is a strong public mandate for including arts in education; and there is evidence that the recession has affected participation in and attendance at arts events. The findings of the study are reported in seven chapters: (1) The public mandate for government financial assistance to the arts; (2) Americans speak out on the place of the arts in education; (3) The public view of the individual artists in America; (4) Participation in and attendance at the arts; (5) The explosion of VCR's; (6) Patterns of book buying; and (7) Patterns of giving to the arts. Thirty-eight tables that convey the survey data are included, as are two appendices--one discusses the survey method and the other is a sample questionnaire. (DB)