quentin
12-31-2007, 07:55 AM
I'm not sure whether to put this in the Politics or Art forum, but it seems more appropriate here. This is one of my favorite quotes. It sums up my political philosophy, or more precisely, why I don't have a coherent political philosophy. I would like to describe myself as post-political. Life is about nuance and subtlety and shades of grey. Politics is about blind dogma and holier than thou righteousness and black & white, which is why I abhor it.
Politicians are wary of art because it's wayward and ambiguous, because it deals with unquantifiable feelings. Lenin said he was afraid to listen to Beethoven because when he did he felt like caressing people's heads when it was necessary to beat them. But then art is all the things that politics isn't. "Politics," wrote Philip Roth, "is the great generaliser and literature the great particulariser, and not only are they in an inverse relationship to each other - they are in an antagonistic relationship...."
Politicians are wary of art because it's wayward and ambiguous, because it deals with unquantifiable feelings. Lenin said he was afraid to listen to Beethoven because when he did he felt like caressing people's heads when it was necessary to beat them. But then art is all the things that politics isn't. "Politics," wrote Philip Roth, "is the great generaliser and literature the great particulariser, and not only are they in an inverse relationship to each other - they are in an antagonistic relationship...."