Posted on 03/06/2008 7:13:31 AM PST by seanmerc
Let us hope that the next president of the United States knows some history.
And let us hope that the next president will know that the United States cannot call all the shots, or pick and choose which leader-dictator we will talk to or decide which countries can have unconventional weapons.
In other words, the U.S. should not rely totally on the arrogance of its formidable power in its foreign relations.
That is why the performance of the New York Philharmonic in the Stalinist-style closed society of North Korea is a remarkable breakthrough.
Music is the universal language. In the case of North Korea, the New York Philharmonic’s concert last week may be viewed years from now as the small step that eventually opened the way for more cultural contacts and understanding between two countries that have been at sword-point since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Overwhelmed by the warm reception in Pyongyang, North Korea, Lorin Maazel, the Philharmonic’s music director, told reporters: “I think it’s going to do a great deal for Korean-U.S relations. We may have been instrumental in opening a little door.”
The White House did all it could to play down its significance.
“At the end of the day,” press secretary Dana Perino said, “we consider this concert to be a concert. And it’s not a diplomatic coup.”
How naive can you get?
Yes, it is a coup after years of hostility; the concert is already being hailed as “symphonic diplomacy.”
Personally, I wish the Philharmonic had played George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” instead of his “An American in Paris.” But it was a transforming event.
In another foreign policy putdown, President George W. Bush used a news conference last week to splash cold water on any suggestion that, after 50 years, the U.S. might soften its policy toward Cuba.
“Sitting down at the table, having your picture with a tyrant such as Raul Castro -- Fidel Castro’s brother and successor -- for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him,” Bush said, explaining: “He (Raul Castro) gains a lot from it by saying, `Look at me, I’m now recognized by the president of the United States.”’
Bush failed to add that any White House hospitality would raise a howl from the Cuban exiles in America.
The U.S. political and economic embargo against Cuba is vividly strange when you recall that we have talked to communist leaders from other countries for many years--especially in Moscow--and this talking has been all to the good.
In fact, we are talking to many leaders around the world--especially in the Middle East who are not exactly models of democracy. But we talk because they are our friends and allies.
Some past U.S. presidents understood the yearning for peace and acted accordingly.
When the Cold War was well underway in the 1950s with the former Soviet Union, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said he would go anywhere, any place, any time in pursuit of peace.
But then President Bush is no Eisenhower.
Pax Americana may be what Bush hoped for with his bellicose foreign policy. But he would have been better advised if he had extended an olive branch.
He came into office, looking for war with Iraq and shunning negotiations with North Korea and Cuba, among others.
Egged on by neo-conservative advisers and supporters, Bush mostly took a hard-line approach to most leftist leaders, leaving little room for reconciliation.
His first Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was undercut by the neo-cons and slapped down when he tried to pave the way for talks with Pyongyang.
A hawkish Bush somehow assumed everyone would roll over when he issued his non-negotiable threats.
So let’s keep talking to our adversaries and keep the Philharmonic on the road. The world is ready to listen.
Helen Thomas can be reached at hthomas@hearstdc.com.
Hmmm, a strategy that seemed to work pretty well for Ronald Reagan, don't you think, Helen?
Honestly, it amazes me that anyone is actually willing to pay this old crow for her brainless drivel.
“She looks like death riding a skateboard.”
LOL! Good One!
Gee, Helen, why don’t we send them a couple of nuclear plants and boatload of food and oil? That’ll be a breakthrough.
Oh yeah, your buddy Bildo did that already—worked real well, didn’t it?
Helen, do me a favor—write to Chia Head for me—tell him I want the USS Pueblo back.
From Wikipedia:
North Korean pop music is light and optimistic, usually performed by a young female singer in front of a large band. All music is in praise of Kim Jong Il, or otherwise the ideals of Communism, and songs have titles like “Our Life Is Precisely a Song”, “We Shall Hold Bayonets More Firmly” and “The Joy of Bumper Harvest Overflows Amidst the Song of Mechanisation”.
Yeah. That skateboard would have to have some heavy-duty shocks, too.
Maybe Madeleine Allbright will attend the concert. I understand she’s particularly partial to North Korean cuisine and likes the quality of champagne and cognac they serve. Helen might like to go with her; I’m sure they’ll have a big time.
That’s the most flattering picture I’ve ever seen of Madeleine. She’s better looking than I thought.
I want to see the article, because I don't believe Maazel implied any inappropriate equivalence between us and Korea. He is an artist and thinks he was opening a small crack in the wall. I agree with him.
Plus, the Wagner was wonderful, even if the New World Symphony is hackneyed and...well, the less said about the Gershwin, the better.
Maazel's parting comments were over the top and unfortunate. You're right.
I still am of the conviction that his remarks don't negate the fact that this may be one grain of sand among many which would go toward opening the country, even if it just stands alone. Certainly, it is more effective than Carter's or Allbright's machinations--and, frankly, the current State Department's.
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