Think for Yourself Like This Guy
We all need to learn to think for ourselves. Undue influence over our thoughts and, more importantly, our actions, causes some of us to do things we might not do if we had thought carefully about them.
For example, following the political crisis in Ukraine, you wonder how many of those now engaging in the violent confrontations do so because they believe their actions will accomplish a particular result - let's say keeping Ukraine united as a country - or whether they are just emotionally swept up by events around them.
Many more examples of being swept by the tide exist in history, the one most people are familiar with being the Nazi rallies of the 1930s, diligently recorded for all to witness then and now. If you're not familiar with these spectacles, you might try Google to see what you've missed. (When I say "missed" I surely don't mean you missed anything good. Rather you might benefit from seeing what can happen to people led by the nose by an evil man who was the head of an evil political party following an evil philosophy.) How many of those leaping to their feet, raising their arms, shouting "Sieg Heil!," or "Heil Hitler" did so based on a carefully considered view that their actions would further legitimate aims, leading to some improvement, either material or moral, for themselves or their fellow countrymen? Were they really thinking when they thrust their arms up and shouted, or were they caught up in the emotion of the moment?
While we all somehow believe we wouldn't have been swept away by people like Hitler. When you witness the ranting and raving, appealing simultaneously to a mythical German "volk" consisting of blonde supermen as well as hatred of targeted groups of people, especially Jews and Slavs, you ought to take a step back and remember that Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, despite its having lost World War I, despite its infamous hyperinflation, followed by the ravages of the Great Depression, remained arguably the most educated and "cultured" society in the world. Such people fell for Hitler - or at least enough of them did so that the Nazi party could insert itself into the top positions of power through the mechanism of winning enough votes in a popular election.
(Yes, the Nazis did come to power as a result of participating in a democratic election, in case you didn't know this. And now that you do know it, you might want to think about whether "democracy" - especially when it is presented as an absolute value - always winds up being the panacea that so many of our political leaders claim it is. )
So with all this in mind, I happened to come across Janos Starker, one of the finest cello players and cello teachers of our time. After learning a bit about him (he died in 2013), I found his The World of Music According to Starker an interesting and at times enlightening read. Now there's a man who can and did think for himself. The book - a kind of eclectic collection of autobiographical stories and fiction that Starker wrote over the years - reveals a man who grew up a Jew in Hungary, surviving the Nazi takeover of his city, Budapest, building a career in the difficult field of classical music, developing his prodigious talents into a performing career, combining that with a legendary teaching career at the University of Indiana.
How did he get from Budapest to Indiana? It's a fascinating, compelling story. The ability to think for himself played no small roll in not only his survival, but his eventual success. While Mr. Starker avoids standing on a soap box to either preach or espouse any particular political position, so much of what he says and (and this is key) does represents the life of an individual not easily swayed by the crowd. Although I do disagree with some of his conclusions and assertions about life, morality, God and related subjects, I respect the fact that he speaks his mind in an honest, forthright manner. In an age of selfies and "me-too" mentality, Janos Starker stands out as, well, Janos Starker. Such individuals are rare these days.
For example, following the political crisis in Ukraine, you wonder how many of those now engaging in the violent confrontations do so because they believe their actions will accomplish a particular result - let's say keeping Ukraine united as a country - or whether they are just emotionally swept up by events around them.
Many more examples of being swept by the tide exist in history, the one most people are familiar with being the Nazi rallies of the 1930s, diligently recorded for all to witness then and now. If you're not familiar with these spectacles, you might try Google to see what you've missed. (When I say "missed" I surely don't mean you missed anything good. Rather you might benefit from seeing what can happen to people led by the nose by an evil man who was the head of an evil political party following an evil philosophy.) How many of those leaping to their feet, raising their arms, shouting "Sieg Heil!," or "Heil Hitler" did so based on a carefully considered view that their actions would further legitimate aims, leading to some improvement, either material or moral, for themselves or their fellow countrymen? Were they really thinking when they thrust their arms up and shouted, or were they caught up in the emotion of the moment?
While we all somehow believe we wouldn't have been swept away by people like Hitler. When you witness the ranting and raving, appealing simultaneously to a mythical German "volk" consisting of blonde supermen as well as hatred of targeted groups of people, especially Jews and Slavs, you ought to take a step back and remember that Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, despite its having lost World War I, despite its infamous hyperinflation, followed by the ravages of the Great Depression, remained arguably the most educated and "cultured" society in the world. Such people fell for Hitler - or at least enough of them did so that the Nazi party could insert itself into the top positions of power through the mechanism of winning enough votes in a popular election.
(Yes, the Nazis did come to power as a result of participating in a democratic election, in case you didn't know this. And now that you do know it, you might want to think about whether "democracy" - especially when it is presented as an absolute value - always winds up being the panacea that so many of our political leaders claim it is. )
So with all this in mind, I happened to come across Janos Starker, one of the finest cello players and cello teachers of our time. After learning a bit about him (he died in 2013), I found his The World of Music According to Starker an interesting and at times enlightening read. Now there's a man who can and did think for himself. The book - a kind of eclectic collection of autobiographical stories and fiction that Starker wrote over the years - reveals a man who grew up a Jew in Hungary, surviving the Nazi takeover of his city, Budapest, building a career in the difficult field of classical music, developing his prodigious talents into a performing career, combining that with a legendary teaching career at the University of Indiana.
How did he get from Budapest to Indiana? It's a fascinating, compelling story. The ability to think for himself played no small roll in not only his survival, but his eventual success. While Mr. Starker avoids standing on a soap box to either preach or espouse any particular political position, so much of what he says and (and this is key) does represents the life of an individual not easily swayed by the crowd. Although I do disagree with some of his conclusions and assertions about life, morality, God and related subjects, I respect the fact that he speaks his mind in an honest, forthright manner. In an age of selfies and "me-too" mentality, Janos Starker stands out as, well, Janos Starker. Such individuals are rare these days.
Comments