[ot] politics/prejudice <--> art/music?

[Bob Falesch <raf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

as artists/musicians we've been lucky to be bound together
through our work. we speak our sounds to one another and
these sounds put us all into a community of peers.  what
language ones mother tongue is or what religion one
practices is secondary, and are among the last things that
occur to us. it is enough to know a person though the power
of the music, or ones feeling about ones work.

i wonder if non-artists have a greater challenge embracing
other cultures. suddenly many americans are shockingly
brought into the real world. the world, at least for a lot
of u.s. citizens, just got smaller, much smaller. i've tried
to find a positive thread in this tragedy.  i'm looking for
it to be in the potential that more americans will feel
closer, on a human level, to other cultures, and to develop
a real interest in these people's lives, not just some
doctrinaire and detached "freedom-for-all" attitude.

i think we as musicians have a head start. i feel fortunate
to have been touched by the work of so many people from so
many places. shakespeare had a point.  i bet he'd have loved
granular synthesis.

regards,
 _________________________
 b o b  f a l e s c h
 http://www.zeggz.com/raf/