Where do we stand?

Do artists have any value in our current situation? It does not seem so with the war mongers in the whitehouse. If it doesn't produce oil it has no value. Throughout history it seems that the artist played a crucial role in the critique of its own society and to let people know to not take themselves too seriously. It seems that the current administration could give a damn about that. As a matter of fact they would prefer to shut you up. The attitude towards art is falling back towards realism and pointless non-abtrusive abstraction.