Are we overlooking something important about societies ("ours" and "theirs")

2015-09-14T13:51:23-04:00

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?

Response by SMSgt Tony Barnes made Sep 14 at 2015 1:58 PM

2015-09-14T13:58:29-04:00

Hmmm...good question.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Sep 14 at 2015 2:03 PM

2015-09-14T14:03:37-04:00

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.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2015 2:09 PM

2015-09-14T14:09:08-04:00

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.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Sep 14 at 2015 2:25 PM

2015-09-14T14:25:23-04:00

COL Ted Mc There is another question you didn't ask. Why is it so irrelevant to MODERN western culture. In ancient culture when everything was passed on verbally, it was all set into a rhythm. It makes learning the material easier, it makes reciting it easier, and it makes listening to it easier. Which would you prefer to listen to music, or a speech. Music and poetry additionally hits an emotional spot that most speeches cannot achieve.

As to your direct question, if one ignores an important aspect of a culture, one has no hope of understanding that culture. Poetry is art. Art tells a great deal about the society that created that art. Ignoring art is to cut off the ability to learn about the culture being studied. So all that being said, I would say we are absolutely ignoring an important factor to understanding the "Eastern Psyche."

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Sep 14 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-09-14T14:46:27-04:00

Our society should be "us" and "we"

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Sep 14 at 2015 2:49 PM

2015-09-14T14:49:24-04:00

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... :-)

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 16 at 2015 4:58 PM

2015-09-16T16:58:14-04:00

Thank you for posting a thought-provoking question COL Ted Mc
"Music" certainly influences those people who hear it. Of those who can hear the music some enjoy it, some ignore it as best they can, while others are repelled by it.
Eastern Music and Poetry have existed at least as long as it existed it Europe for instance.
Hitler used martial music to influence the young and old in pre-war Germany in his stadium extravaganza - Nazi minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels was a master at propaganda including the use of music to stir up or "move" an audience.
Hitler believed he was correct when he stated "Give me a child when he's 7 and he's mine forever;" but, he never raised a teenager :-)
Those of us who raised teenagers recognize that while they usually eventually come to love and respect their parents, the things including books and music that they loved as children are replaced by others when they are older. The 7 year old is the same person at 15 but loyalty has shifted during the interval.