Thousands of people are enjoying the creativity of the displays at this year's Arts Festival. In our nation's capital, art is also being carefully scrutinized, but not all are enjoying what they see.

The National Endowment for the Arts has recently been under attack from the Rev. Donald Wildmon and his American Family Association, along with various members of Congress, for indirectly supporting artists who have created controversial works. Legislation has been introduced that attempts to restrict the NEA's grants.

Although some works may be distasteful to many, cutting the NEA's budget or restricting it from giving grants to controversial artists would be a serious blow to artists in the United States.

Art is a looking glass of our culture. It reflects the many layers of our society and leaves behind an image for those in the future to look upon. Art can be powerful. Art can be beautiful. And art can sometimes be controversial.

But controversial art isn't necessarily bad art. What is obscene to one may be looked upon as genius by another. If we begin restricting art grants for fear of what they might produce, then we might halt the creative process of many new approaches to the art world.

Although controversial artworks have recently been splattered across the media, with Andres Serrano's photograph of a plastic crucifix immersed in urine titled "Piss Christ" gaining much attention, they account for just a fraction of the work supported by the NEA.

John Frohnmayer, NEA's chairman, said that in more than 20 years, the agency has distributed 85,000 grants and dealt with a million visual images, yet only 20 have been controversial. And although some of the works may be distasteful to many, they are not, by current Supreme Court standards, obscene. According to the 1973 Miller vs. California ruling, any work with "substantial literary, artistic, political or scientific value," is not obscene.

But due to protests from Wildmon's AFA and similar organizations, museums and galleries are less likely to support controversial art. Plus, legislators fearing the wrath of supporters of the AFA and other political groups might feel pressured to vote against the NEA.

The United States is already far behind other western governments in its support of the arts. Under the current environment, it is likely to fall even further behind. Congress should not be intimidated by the threats of the AFA, and it should not be blinded by emotions.

So go out and enjoy this year's arts festival. Enjoy the variety and quality of the artworks on display. And remember that many artists like those at the festival rely on the NEA for support.