Exempt from

Exempt from

The word I want to talk about today is “exempt.” Exempt means that something or someone is either apart from, or not required to participate in something that others have to do. The way I used it in this episode is not the most typical example, so let me give you some common examples and then we can explore how I used it earlier.

Here is the most common way to use this word. I am exempt from taking the exam on Friday. That means, I am not required to take the exam on Friday. Others in my class might have to take that test, but for some reason I am not required to take the test; I am exempt.

In the United States, we pay taxes on most of our income. But if we set some of that money aside in a savings account for our retirement, that part of our income is exempt from taxes. We don’t have to pay income taxes on savings in these special accounts. That portion of our income is exempt from taxes. We have to pay taxes on most of the rest of our income, but not on the portion we save in retirement accounts.

This is the most common way to use exempt: for some reason, a person is not required to do something that others are required to do.

Now, think about that as I repeat the sentence that you heard at the beginning of the episode. Science, the arts, and museums, are generally exempt from many of society’s troubles; they tend to be a neutral ground, free of the conflict that can pop up in other parts of society.

Do you see how I used exempt there? You know, so much of public life is characterized by arguments and conflicts. Politics, education, transportation, work, business, movies oftentimes. But the arts and museums are usually exempt from these types of conflicts. They are neutral places where we can leave all of our other troubles and conflicts behind. But, as you’ll hear in Monday’s episode, the museum fire was very much related to the broader troubles in Brazil’s government and society.

Here’s another similar example. Didn’t sports used to be exempt from political conflict? I don’t mean all the time, but it seemed like sports were a place where we could leave behind our troubles and differences and just enjoy the game. But increasingly it does not seem exempt from these conflicts. These days, politics and societal conflict now tend to be part of the Olympics, and now protests in American football, and of course the corruption scandals in FIFA.

That’s it for today’s episode. Remember that we’ll pick this topic back up again on Monday, when we’ll explore the causes for the museum fire, the risk that other museums around the world face, and the efforts of museums and cultural institutions to digitize their collections as a hedge against a loss of their physical collection.

Remember if you click subscribe on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify, you won’t miss it. See you right back here on Monday.