Posted on Sep 14, 2015
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Every so often everyone gets hit with one of those "thoughts that make you go 'Hmmmm?' and yesterday was one of them for me.
Adolf Hitler said "Give me a child when he's 7 and he's mine forever." and he was potentially correct.
However, Shu Ching said "For changing people's manners and altering their customs there is nothing better than music." while Donal O Conaill said "Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws." and Plato said "When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them.".
Bearing in mind that "music" is "poetry set to sound" and considering that there is a VAST difference between the place occupied by poetry in Eastern societies (it's extremely important) and in Western societies (it's almost irrelevant), are we overlooking a significant factor in understanding "the Eastern Psyche"?
If so, why?
Adolf Hitler said "Give me a child when he's 7 and he's mine forever." and he was potentially correct.
However, Shu Ching said "For changing people's manners and altering their customs there is nothing better than music." while Donal O Conaill said "Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws." and Plato said "When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them.".
Bearing in mind that "music" is "poetry set to sound" and considering that there is a VAST difference between the place occupied by poetry in Eastern societies (it's extremely important) and in Western societies (it's almost irrelevant), are we overlooking a significant factor in understanding "the Eastern Psyche"?
If so, why?
Politics
International Affairs
Foreign Cultures
Psychology
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 7
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We have a tendency to overlook many things about other cultures because we view them through the narrow lens of our own experiences. Sometimes it's not a big deal; other times we don't understand a country we're about to invade is made up of Shiites and Sunnis, and what that means. We don't place a lot of gravitas in the arts in our society, despite our insane celebrity culture, which is an evident reason that we might not even think to consider how such things can be used to manipulate the masses. I believe it's a necessity of foreign policy to be careful, methodical, and thoughtful in the choices we make, for the very reason you've presented here - sometimes we just don't get it.
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COL Ted Mc
LCDR (Join to see) - Lieutenant; If you "don't get it" then the odds on you "getting it right" are rapidly approaching infinitesimal.
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LCDR (Join to see)
Those odds certainly increase when you're willing to admit shortcomings, seek answers, and apply a methodical approach.
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COL Ted Mc
LCDR (Join to see) - Lieutenant; I don't think that it is so much "shortcomings" as it is reminding yourself to ask "Now WHY did they do (or are they doing) that that way?" and not immediately accepting "Because they are crazy, stupid and inferior." as the answer.
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COL Ted Mc - There have been a great many studies about the impact of music on individuals and there is no doubt that there is an impact. How that impact on individuals translates into an impact on a culture or world events has also been studied and there are many different opinions about that. Is it the music that impacts the culture or is it the culture that impacts the music?
If the old saying "Music soothes the savage beast" is true, maybe we should send musicians to confront ISIS, instead of the military. I can think of several I think should be sent immediately to test the theory (Kanye West, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, etc... :-)
If the old saying "Music soothes the savage beast" is true, maybe we should send musicians to confront ISIS, instead of the military. I can think of several I think should be sent immediately to test the theory (Kanye West, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, etc... :-)
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COL Ted Mc
COL Jean (John) F. B. - Colonel; I suspect that it is the change in the social base that starts the change in the music but that it is also the change in the music that mobilizes the change in the social base.
I will specifically avoid making any comment about sending non-musicians off to test theories about music.
I will specifically avoid making any comment about sending non-musicians off to test theories about music.
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Ted Mc - "I will specifically avoid making any comment about sending non-musicians off to test theories about music." ... LOL I agree with you that it is questionable whether the people I mentioned are musicians or not. Of course, the same was said for Elvis, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, and many, many others over the years. :-)
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COL Ted Mc
COL Jean (John) F. B. - Colonel; I think that we can use "Anyone who thinks that a hand-driven record player is a solo musical instrument is NOT a musician." and "Anyone whose 'songs' do not require at least a six note range for proper performance is NOT a musician." for starting points.
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COL Ted Mc well said and eloquently thread, I would compare the two psyche to day and night in respects to western and eastern democracy. "Communism and Liberalism" will never fully develop until, Love conquers the world totally in my opinion.
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COL Ted Mc
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL - Sergeant; Would "like an East wind and a West wind when you want to go North" be a more apt analogy. You can do it with either wind, but you have to adopt different tacks (and some rigs are more efficient at doing it than others).
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