#404 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday July 15)
Good morning,
Last night we attended a showing of the 2021 version of West Side Story at the Hollywood bowl with the score performed live by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. We attended with two of our favorite fellow musical-loving friends.
As many times as one watches the show, one is gripped by the hopelessness of the, the two gangs, the Jets and Sharks, Anglo and Latino, respectively, fighting for control of a slum that was to be torn down in mere weeks to make room for Lincoln Center. To paraphrase a metaphor from another context, the fighting was intense because the stakes were so small.
As I watched the Riff and Bernando heading toward the rumble that would take both of their lives and force their gangs to reassess the hopeless direction of their lives—I was struck by the sheer futility of it all. As love struggled to conquer violence, it was in the end quashed by the enmity of these two groups.
As this modern-day retelling of Romeo and Juliet played out to a conclusion I knew was inevitable, I still hoped that it didn’t have to turn out that way. And as I watched the story unfold, I couldn’t help but feel that the story at least in part speaks to the seeming irreconcilable conflict between warring gangs in our country today. Few people today possess the empathy to see the world from another group’s perspective. I don’t suggest that different ethnic, religious and political groups lose their unique essence, but that they begin to see and live our national motto, that that, “e pluribus unum”—out of many comes one.
CELEBRATIONS TO BE SHARED
While the national anthem always seemed to me natural at a sporting event, it has always struck me as somewhat anachronistic that a symphony orchestra stands and plays the anthem at the beginning of a concert. While some see such displays of national pride as jingoistic displays of a nation unworthy of celebration, I still feel a sense of that “e pluribus unum” when everyone stands and sings the anthem—incongruous lyrics notwithstanding. These sorts of rituals have value. And even is someone decides not to sing or “takes a knee,” they do so during a period of demonstrating national unity and so their display offers their fellow citizens a moment to contemplate the imperfection of our country while acknowledging our collective commitment to this enterprise. And this got me thinking of how we celebrate our national holidays, particularly Juneteenth, our newest federal holiday. The national anthem is one of the few “national rituals” we share. I would hope that, rather than empty observances of holidays, we figure out how to have them represent common cultural touchstones and celebrations with their respective messages and rituals.
As part of the recent Socrates program I attended last week (about which I’ll be sharing more soon), we read about the notion of a “civil religion” in America. A myth perhaps, but an aspiration nonetheless. Our “civil religion” or greater purpose, and our concept of what it is to be an American, have evolved over time (this was one of the essential messages of this seminar). No longer is America the land of the predominantly white Anglo-Saxon protestant landowners that founded our nation. Over time, we have evolved into a multi-cultural society whose citizens hail from around the world and from a broad array of backgrounds, histories, religions and creeds.
This is why Juneteenth speaks to me as an American—because we can celebrate people whose narrative is part of the American story and so unlike my own, yet so essential to be embraced by people like me. There are those say that Juneteenth isn’t really an American commemoration, that it is a “Black holiday,” or has risen in our consciousness soley because of the George Floyd murder. But what could be more American than the extension of freedom, the vote and civil liberties beyond those initially contemplated by the Constitution. To those who feel this is a “Black holiday” need to appreciate that we also have holidays that celebrate white leadership and the accomplishments of white people—this isn’t a competition. Finally, for those who say this is a “new holiday” born of the George Floyd murder, they should be reminded that many Black Americans have been celebrating this holiday for over a century. That it is getting greater press since the murder of a number of Black men by peace officers is hardly surprising and argues in favor of its elevation. To honor this critical inflection point in our history—the freedom of previously enslaved people as the result of Lincoln’s proclamation and the hard-fought win by Union forces—ought not be a tough sell.
This sort of tension about holidays reminds me that we need to free ourselves of the notion that there is a tit-for-tat way of looking at our history and that the study and celebration of history is a “zero sum game.” To add a holiday to honor those who were enslaved does not detract from the holidays to acknowledge former presidents, Columbus, veterans, or war dead. There is enough “room” in the calendar to celebrate more important people and events. We need to use these holidays not to measure ourselves against each other, but use them as sharing moments to bind us together around our history—good and bad. Holidays should be inclusive and diverse. And while I would hate to have a “holiday a week,” it seems we have plenty of room to celebrate and commemorate more people and more events.
HOLIDAYS—AT WHAT EXPENSE?
Don Norberg brought up the valid point that we can’t keep adding holidays at the expense of corporate productivity. As employers and taxpayers, we need to be concerned about too many holidays that eat into productive days and free days.
He’s right. We need to separate national celebrations from days off from work. Just because there is a date of commemoration does not mean that there needs to be a day of staying home. We should pepper the three day weekends throughout the year but otherwise should establish a calendar of national holidays that reflects diversity and difference that, when taken together, celebrate our embrace of one another. For some we can have a day off. For others, that won’t be necessary; provided it is observed in some meaningful fashion.
A CELEBRATION OF KNOWLEDGE
Howard Kroll has a view of Juneteenth that is insightful:
“I have made a 180 on Juneteenth. When I first heard about it several years ago, I thought that a more important date to celebrate would be when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed or the 13th Amendment ratified. Now, I think that Juneteenth actually celebrates knowledge—moving from ignorance to enlightenment—since it is premised when slaves in Texas learned that they were free (even though they were actually free before they knew it). In this case, ignorance was not bliss. We should all celebrate that.”
Howard is right. Knowledge is power. Ignorance is dangerous. And knowing ignorance in the face of the truth is corrupting and destructive. We are in the latter phase and must do something to stem that tide.
WEST SIDE STORY
Lest we forget, the moral of West Side Story is that tragedy leads to hard-earned lessons and, perhaps, redemption and rebirth. No matter how many times one relives the story, Tony always dies and the gangs only unite in a way in mourning his death. I would hope January 6th and a pandemic would be enough of a wake-up call to rededicate ourselves to rebuilding our national comity. I fear that if they are not, the next tragedy will be far more costly to our nation.
Have a great weekend,
Glenn