A Tale of Two Letters

Two letters appeared in today’s Plain Dealer, both touching upon the subject of diversity. One, adapted by me from a blog post I made several days ago; and another, by Erik Kolesar of North Olmsted. Kolesar’s letter, the tone of which defines the term Ugly American, demands a response.

There have been other acts of terrorism over the last several years that have nothing to do with foreign values, and the frothing displayed by politicians in the wake of the Boston Marathon attack serves only to distract the public from a substantially worse problem. Let’s review:

*Adam Lanza, a natural-born citizen, killed 27 people (mostly children) in Newtown, Connecticut – using a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle with multiple round magazines.

*James Holmes, a natural-born citizen, killed 12 and wounded 58 in Aurora, Colorado – using a 12-gauge Remington 870 Express Tactical shotgun, a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine, a Glock 22 40-caliber handgun, preceded by several gas or smoke canisters – all purchased legally.

*Jared Loughner, a natural-born citizen, killed 6 and wounded 12 in Tuscon, Arizona – using a 9mm Glock pistol.


America's ongoing violence problem is clearly not the result of immigration, and we should remember that one of the victims in the Boston Marathon attack, Lü Lingzi, was a Chinese citizen.

In no way am I minimizing the terrible events in Boston. The actions of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev constitute terrorism. Four people were killed and scores injured. But considering that the United States is a prominent country with a population of over 300 million and a substantial worldwide military presence, there have been remarkably few acts of Islamic terrorism on our soil post-9/11.

There are an average of 40 murders in the United States every DAY – most of which are committed with guns.  We need to ask why an improvised explosive device is a weapon of mass destruction, but a semi-automatic weapon is not.

Thrilling, but incomplete...

My review of Byron Janis RCA recordings has been posted. The 11CD/1DVD box offers a tantalizing glimpse of the pianist's early work. Click here to read my review.

Diversity works

Last night, the citizens of Watertown cheered safety forces following the capture of Dhzokhar Tsarnaev. I saw people of every ethnicity, likely with varying religious and political beliefs, gathered in peace and celebration - smiling and embracing.

Embracing diversity works.

It's those who hate the differences between us, such as the Tsarnaev brothers, who personify the problem.

Those Angry Days: 1939-1941

Lynne Olson has written a fascinating and enlightening book about the struggle between Isolationists and Interventionists durign the early years of World War II. Click here to read my review

Ashkenazy: 50 years on Decca

Decca has released a 50 CD retrospective of pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy - one of the most prolific classical musicians in history. Click here to read my review.

I shall not mourn Maggie Thatcher

Today, amid great pomp and even greater security, Margaret Thatcher is being laid to rest. 

Neither she nor her "comrade in arms" Ronald Reagan did anything special to win the Cold War.  They merely carried on the policies of their predecessors, starting with Winston Churchill and Harry Truman.  But they got the credit.

What is too often forgotten is how they both turned a blind eye to the many who were suffering from AIDS, who showed hostility to the entire LGBT community. 

Ian McKellen helps us remember:

With regard to the divisive effect of her reign, one omission was significant and glaring: Section 28.

 

Lest we forget, this nasty, brutish and short measure of the third Thatcher administration, was designed to slander homosexuality, by prohibiting state schools from discussing positively gay people and our "pretended family relations". Opposition to Section 28 galvanised a new generation of activists who joined with long-time campaigners for equality. Stonewall UK was founded, to repeal Section 28 and pluck older rotten anti-gay legislation from the constitutional tree. This has taken two decades to achieve.

 

Pathetically, in her dotage, Baroness Thatcher was led by her supporters into the House of Lords to vote against Section 28's repeal: her final contribution to UK politics. She dies too early to oppose Parliament's inevitable acceptance of same–gender marriage.

 

Thatcher misjudged the future when, according to her deputy chief whip, she "threw a piece of red meat (Section 28) to her right-wing wolves". Some of these beasts survive her, albeit de-fanged. When, to take a recent example, a disgraced cardinal delivers anti-gay diatribes, the spirit of social Thatcherism is revealed as barren, hypocritical and now pointless.

 

I shall not mourn.

The Spirit of Boston will prevail

This afternoon, I learned of the horrific events at the Boston Marathon. Two friends of mine ran in this year’s marathon. Fortunately, they were uninjured.

I lived near Boston for nine years, and took the train into North Station nearly every Saturday, either for a concert at Symphony Hall or for shopping. My Saturday shopping took me from Tower Records (now closed) on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue & Newbury Street, then to Boylston Street via Gloucester Street. I would then stop at Glad Day Bookshop (also closed now) which was almost exactly where the first blast hit.  It was at the Boston Public Library, across the street from the first blast site, where I first heard Rachmaninoff's own recordings of his piano concertos.

Make no mistake: Whether this was an act of one lone nut, or a domestic or international terrorist group – this was an act of terror.

Yesterday, after the explosions, Boston's Finest and ordinary citizens rushed in to provide assistance and comfort. That is the spirit of Boston, and it shall prevail.