That's what we used to say it about magicians or special effects on television. Or in response to questions about which we knew little and cared even less. In place of "Ask your mother," "Ask your father," or, "Go play in the street, dear."

Artists know a secret: Art is a mirror. It may be crystal clear, smudged a bit, fogged, stretched or shattered into a million prisms of fuzzy-edged rainbows. It may magnify, diminish or distort our image; parts may be missing, dirty or covered by the frame. Its reflective powers may have the light-gathering power of a mighty telescope or the diffused uncertainty of the dull side of used tin foil. Or have the magic of a Looking Glass.

Art is a mirror. It reflects back to us what's inside us. If you hear something majestic, beautiful or powerful in music , you are responding to a magnificence within yourself. When you catch your breath at a beautiful scene, you're reacting to the beauty inside you as well.

Sometimes we get confused by what we see in the mirror. A self-styled Christian television station in Dallas in the early 80's refused to show I Dream of Jeannie because it dealt with the occult. It did, however, give us daily doses of Hogan's Heroes, complete with its rampant demolitions and destruction (implicit though it was) of human life. Me, I liked them both. Hogan's had better writing, but Jeannie had better lines.

Possibly the worst legacy of the 1980's is the over-concentration on "Me." Too much "me-ness" begets too much meanness.

The reactions to The Last Temptation of Christ and to the touring photographic exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe should give us pause. Now, I've seen neither - though I have read the book upon which the former is based - so I can only speak out of my own ignorance. Which seems to put me in a pretty crowded boat.

If our reaction to a work of art is one of fear and loathing, it is because we see something fearsome and loathsome within ourselves. Don't misconstrue what I'm saying. I'm not recommending either of these works of art to you. Personally, I'd like to see the movie and have little interest in the photos (though, had I lived in Cincinnati I might have considered it a Moral Imperative to take in the exhibit - shades of Good Friday!). What you want to see is up to you.

Which is my whole point. Restricting what your children see, hear and take part in is taking seriously your responsibilities as a parent. Censoring what another adult has access to is Pharisaism. It's well and good to make your feelings and opinions known. Having the courage of your own convictions isn't a right - it's a responsibility. It's the part you play in seasoning the repast of our society.

But if I take my position to the point of coercion, intimidation or outright censorship, I've crossed over a line. I've started living your life as well as mine, and mine is quite enough for me, thank you.

Some people say, "I may not know art, but I know what I like." Fair enough. Just grant the next person the same privilege. You probably don't want a bunch of artists to gang up and make our laws, do you? So why let a group of politicians make our art?

The writer of what we call the Epistle to the Hebrews suggests that life is a mirror. Perhaps we need to remember that Paul's line in First Corinthians, "Now we see in a mirror dimly.." says as much about us as it does about the glass.