The Ballroom or the Streets

Not long ago I was dragged by a certain female member of my family to see 'Mad Hot Ballroom', a charming documentary about a mandatory afternoon ballroom dance program in certain New York public schools, all provided and staffed by the American Ballroom Theater's Dancing Classrooms. This leads up to a citywide dance competition in which the underdogs come out on top. At least, for this movie.

It's a wonder these dance lessons ever got taught. The sense in America is that extracirricular programs, especially those in the arts, are just that - extras, and unnecessary. Why bother teaching these poverty-stricken immigrant kids to dance the foxtrot, even if it will improve their lives? The only solution social conservatives ever offer is 'two-parent families'. The fact remains is that you can't mandate two parents when there is only one, or replace the parents if both are gone. Besides, you can have a dozen parents and it won't cure all ills in a school district with a 97% poverty rate like Washington Heights.

Politically, this opposition to creative expression is not hard to understand. Few if any noteworthy artists have been uncritical admirers of the status quo, and the ascendant right-wing philosophy views 'art' as pleasant, soothing sounds and images without meaning behind them. Anything, be it music, writing, theater, painting, sculpture, or dance which causes people to be upset with the current order of things is to be discouraged.

This phillistine mindset continues even after the kids are all grown up, and supposedly have more sophisticated tastes. The ugly little fact is that culture is not profitable. The public arts budget for the city of Berlin is greater than that for the entire U.S. Anyone in England can go and see the opera for ten pounds. The entire NEA is equivalent to one fighter jet.

This isn't simply a matter of pedants whining that no one appreciates Mozart anymore. There's a wealth of evidence suggesting that involvement with after-school programs, especially those of an artistic nature, can help enormously in achieving academic success and reduce rates of truancy, drug use, teen pregnancy, and most other ills that people pretend are new. But too many people had already given up on these children as soon as they were born, and the opportunity is usually not given.

Arts are the proverbial canary in the mineshaft. If they die, our society dies with them, and our consumerist culture has precious little to replace it with.

Cartesian Political Diagrams

Are you a self-described 'moderate'? Of course you are. Who isn't? Put that idea to the test with the Political Compass, and see where you stand.

I scored a -8.00 on Economics and a -7.08 on Authoritarianism, making me part of the Libertarian Left.

Your turn.

VooDoo Geopolitics

Hey, anyone remember Jean-Bertrand Aristide? Former president of Haiti who was forced out, then restored by Clinton, then forced out again?

It seems he's still a political force on the island; so much so that his supporters are often killed for demanding his return, and then their family members put his picture on the bodies of their loved ones.

Back in 1994, President Clinton hailed Aristide's return as "the triumph of freedom over fear". Certainly the mean wasn't ideal; corruption and violence were common aspects of his regime, just as they have been for every Haitian government since the 19th century. But he was democratically elected, his alleged crimes are nothing next to the proven crimes of the gangsters running the country now, and the military junta that had held sway over Haiti for so long was finally broken. So why aren't we rushing to help him again?

Aristide currently lives in exile in South Sfrica. When asked why he lost American support, he offers three basic reasons: "Privatization, privatization, and privatization."

Back in 1994, when Aristide had already been overthrown by a US-backed coup in 1991, Clinton agreed to lend the exiled leader military support so long as he promised to embark on a policy of 'free trade' and sell off Haiti's publicly-owned utilities. Aristide swallowed most of the deal, but refused to simply privatize everything without the approval of parliament. When parliament declined to grant that permission entirely, mandating anti-trust legislation and providing each worker with a certain amount of stock, Washington went berserk. $500 million in promised loans were cut off, and money was poured into opposition groups, ultimately culminating in the February 2004 coup that drove Aristide from power again.

What has replaced him is chaos and brutality that Papa Doc would've been proud of. Despite the constant attacks, murders, extortions, and myriad other threats, the protests remain strong. Even today, crowds of Haitians fill the slums of Port-au-Prince calling for Aristide's return, protesting the privatization scheme and attackiong the proposed sham elections. Robert Noriega, assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, has said that these pro-Aristide groups are receiving their orders directly from the man himself. Aristide disagrees, saying:

The people are bright, the people are intelligent, the people are courageous. They know that two plus two does not equal five.

Maybe; but have you seen our test scores, Jean-Bertrand? Math has never been America's strong suit.

Real Men Don't Use the Treble Clef

In the grand scheme of things, this might not be very important, but it's so insanely stupid that I felt I had to bring it up:

From the LA Times

Texas hits a low note

Here it is, the new definition of gender, coming to you oh-so-straight from Texas: Real boys don't sing soprano.

Boys cannot audition for soprano or alto roles in that state's All-State Choir. Girls cannot audition for tenor or bass. No matter where their talents lie.

As a result, 17-year-old Mikhael Rawls, who already has won awards for his countertenor — the male parallel to soprano — can't try out in the part where he excels.

That rule was made by the Texas Music Educators Assn. You would think music teachers would know that countertenors such as Mikhael are a widely respected part of classical music and tradition.

...

The organization says the rules prevent youngsters from damaging their voices by singing out of their appropriate ranges. They are right that kids should sing in their natural voices. For some girls, that's tenor, and for some boys, alto; for a few boys like Mikhael, it includes the high notes. He has been singing soprano parts as the only boy in his high school's a cappella choir. Boys will indeed be boys — soprano or bass.

We hope Mikhael goes on to success as a countertenor — and honors his open-minded high school by helping other young singers.

His family has been contacted by lawyers eager to file a discrimination suit. Here's the stranger part of the tale: His mother has declined, saying she doesn't think lawsuits are the right way to handle every disagreement.

To which we can say only: Bravo!

As a serious fan of classical music (including Baroque opera) I can tell you that such a decision can only stem from both a complete ignorance of musical history and an extreme paranoia about how thickness of vocal cords relates to sexuality. Also, they seem to be unaware that many high-lying Handel and Vivaldi roles are still male characters, making this whole scheme counter-productive.

So goodbye, David Daniels, Andreas Scholl, Angelo Manzotti , and so many others. it was fun hearing you sing 'Va Tacito', but I guess now Julius Caesar will have to be sung by a woman.

20 Books Everyone Should Read

In no particular order:

Fiction

1. Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Written in a fascinating, esoteric style, just beware of taking it too far.

2. Justine by the Marquis de Sade

Sometimes, goodness is not rewarded.

3. 1984 by George Orwell

Only Orwell could include an essay about oligarchic collectivism in his novel and get away with it.

4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
6. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
7. Government by B. Traven
8. The Aeneid by Virgil
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee


Non-Fiction

1. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

In addition to being a gritty war memior, offers an honest, level-headed, vision of the better world that people of good will could build.

2. Anarchism by Peter Kropotkin

Clearer, wiser, and more positive than Marx, while laying out a far more workable vision of the world.

3. The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money by John Maynard Keynes

The genesis of the pro-growth, pro-planning economic model that was largely responsible for the post-WWII boom in Western prosperity.

4. Black Like Me by John Griffin

Can a white person in America ever really understand what it's like to be black? By disguising himself as one, John Griffin takes a serious step towards comprehending the race situation in America.

5. Collected Works of Robert Ingersoll

Demolishes monotheism on both moral and theological grounds, while employing both inexorable logic and unwavering humanity.

6. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Offers a glimpse of the vastness and complexity of life on earth. Created the biggest cracks in the facade of religious dogma since Galileo.

7. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Establishes the basic efficiency of cooperative labor while continuing to caution against economic elitism and the then-nascent threat of corporate power.

8. The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone

Forces one to re-consider basic questions of sexuality, parenting, and gender roles.

9. The Trial of Socrates by I. F. Stone

A stunning piece of historical scholarship as well as a re-evaluation of Socrates that could change the entire history of Western philosophy.

10. The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton et al.

Well, as long as we're here...


Also I might mention The Bible, without which one cannot undertsand Western civilization. I just didn't want to put it in 'fiction' or 'non-fiction' to avoid offense.

20 is an arbitrary number in any case.