Posted by
Angelina Sciolla on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 11:35:40 AM
While today's chatter will no doubt be dominated by talk of last stands, spoilers, revenge votes, protest votes and the like, I'll forego my "contribution" to mention something else.
Last week, many of our public television stations broadcast the concert by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang, North Korea. Conductor Lorin Maazel guided the 130 or so musicians through pieces by Dvorak and Wagner, while a conspicuously well-behaved audience of - presumably - North Korean government officials and people of some import to the cultural "face" of the country, sat elbow-to-elbow with U.S. officials and the most privileged members of the media. At the end of each piece they applauded heartily but in a disciplined fashion. Maybe it's the culture. Maybe it's a kind of tentative appreciation.
This was a landmark moment. Six years ago President Bush declared North Korea as part of an axis of evil. The country's dictator has used threats and intimidation as, quite frankly, methods of bribery. His despotic failures have left the country decimated, a backward and starving nation of people who still struggle to cling to dignity. In between pieces, commentator Bob Woodruff showed snippets of reunions among families split by the DMZ followed by guarded testimonials by doctors and engineers who abandoned their jobs to work in rice paddies in efforts to help feed their communities
It was recently conceded by Bob Geldof or Bono - one of those transcedent rock stars who travel the globe as ambassadors of good will (and good music) - that "rock and roll" cannot save the world. Dylan said that a song cannot save the world. It can't. Music, art, dance, drama...none of them can "save" us from ourselves or the evil we might impose upon the world.
But they do create the conditions for humane and civilized interactions. They tame us in some way, even momentarily, enough to look at each other with empathy. They make us want to behave better.
Kim Jong Il is who he is, and the proverbial gates of the North will not fly open just because our finest musicans traveled there to play a few strains of classical music. But the anti-American propaganda has persisted unabated in North Korea for nearly 60 years. We have had little opportunity to defend ourselves or show who we are outside of our nation's capital.
The final piece of the program - but not the evening - was Gershwin's "American in Paris." It was during this time that I first saw smiles creep across the face of some of the audience members, and I got a little weepy at the sight of people who see us as so foreign and dangerous enjoying this light and joyful music that is uniquely American. When the vampy, jazzy part began, about three-quarters of the way through the piece, I saw a few older people attempt to stifle an appreciative chuckle. The younger ones listened, a bit tentative but appreciative of this moment.
After the first encore, Bizet's spirited adaptation of the Farandole, the orchestra closed with Bernstein's overture from Candide. Maazil left the podium, in a symbolic gesture of respect to the late maestro. For a viewer such as myself it was a reminder of the rich cultural gifts this country has bestowed upon the world. The militarism and strong words exchanged between North Korea and the United States were, for a moment, drowned by the great compositions of American masters.
We've made small inroads in our diplomatic efforts with North Korea. The concert by the New York Philharmonic should not be confused with some kind of normalization or even a sign that North Korea and the United States are somehow on their way towards a strategic partnership.
My hope is that the people of North Korea, as they continue to be assaulted with anti-Americanism, might take a moment to see us at our best, just as we saw them that night last week amid all the beautiful music.