Please read: "The End of History" by Francis Fukuyama
Please listen to: "The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" by Henryk Gorecki
The 20th century was one of the darkest periods in human history. Henryk Gorecki, a polish composer, experienced much of the worst that the century had to offer. In 1992 a recording of his third symphony was released which became one of the most important recordings of contemporary classical music to ever be released. This term we have discussed the many wars, coups, and other tragedies that marked the last half of the 20th century. Please take this time to reflect, read through the symphony's texts, and listen.
If at all possible, please listen to this piece in one sitting (ideally in the dark, with headphones on!)
First Movement:
My son, my chosen and beloved
Share your wounds with your mother
And because, dear son, I have always carried you in my heart,
And always served you faithfully
Speak to your mother, to make her happy,
Although you are already leaving me, my cherished hope.
Lamentation of the Holy Cross Monastery from the "Lysagóra Songs" collection. Second half of the 15th century
Second Movement:
No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
"Zdrowas Mario." *
Prayer inscribed on wall 3 of cell no. 3 in the basement of "the Palace," the Gestapo's headquarters in Zadopane; beneath is the signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna, and the words "18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944."
* "Zdrowas Mario" (Ave Maria)—the opening of the Polish prayer to the Holy Mother
Third Movement:
Where has he gone
My dearest son?
Perhaps during the uprising
The cruel enemy killed him
Ah, you bad people
In the name of God, the most Holy,
Tell me, why did you kill
My son?
Never again
Will I have his support
Even if I cry
My old eyes out
Were my bitter tears
to create another River Oder
They would not restore to life
My son
He lies in his grave
and I know not where
Though I keep asking people
Everywhere
Perhaps the poor child
Lies in a rough ditch
and instead he could have been
lying in his warm bed
Oh, sing for him
God's little song-birds
Since his mother
Cannot find him
And you, God's little flowers
May you blossom all around
So that my son
May sleep happily
Folk song in the dialect of the Opole region of Poland
18 comments:
Mr. Parker, this week's article is the last article in my coursepack. Is this the last coursepack article, or was this a mistake?
@Ryan, not sure I follow your question, so forgive me if this doesn't answer it. The last course-pack article should be "Civilization of Clashes."
The "Week 29- the European Union" article & time-line is the last article in something- I guess it's the syllabus not the coursepack? According to the syllabus, I should have an article after that- "9/11 and the Origins of the War on Terror."
I do have "The Civilization of Clashes," though.
I went into "The End of History" with a quote from Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed (If you don't know what DD is, look it up. It's really interesting.) in my mind. In several interviews, Wilson rants about how liberal democracies aren't the ultimate form of government and how government will continue to evolve to better serve people. After reading the paper, I'm not so sure. Sure, there's no way that, in the late 80s, the author could have foreseen political changes such as the fall of the Soviet Union or technological advancements such as the Internet. (Or, uh, 3D printed guns.) There still doesn't seem to be any viable alternative to liberal democracy in the wings. I'm sure that the current state of the world will end sometime, but I doubt it'll be within any of our lifetimes.
Also, the "The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" may have been emotive, but I thought it was kind of boring. The use of only a handful of notes is forgivable in a film score or a 5-minute pop song, but it seems lazy in an hour-long composition.
In the end of history document, I was interested in the way the author defined history, and how it went much deeper than a bland, short definition I might give history (a definition like, “the events of the past”). The author’s quote, “but the end of history as such that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government,” struck me because I never thought about the change in forms of governments of the past century. To suddenly think that “Western liberal democracy” is the final form of government shocked me at first, but didn’t surprise me once I started to think about it. It was also strange to think that the “end of history” occurred two hundred years ago, a notion that struck me when the document says, “The Battle of Jena marked the end of history because it was at that point that the vanguard of humanity (a term quite familiar to Marxists) actualized the principles of the French Revolution… the basic principles of the liberal democratic state could not be improved upon.”
I like the part of the quote Marc had where the author says "the basic principles of the liberal democratic state could not be improved upon" This made me wonder how true the "could not" is. Is it impossible to improve because humanity is flawed and we are incapable of creating a better state? Or have we reached the point where we have made it the best to our ability and thus cannot go further?
I also must slightly criticize the author's grammatical errors. Tsk.
"The End of History" was an interesting and confusing document. Like Marc I thought it was interesting how the author did not define history as events that happened before now. Which is how
I have always thought about history. Nate, I also wondered the same thing. But he does say "...the basic principles of the liberal democratic state..." So maybe he thinks that we could create a better state but we have created the best principles on which to build it. We just have to execute it better maybe?
I enjoyed reading about the European union. I had not known that Churchill wanted to unite Europe so that it would be stronger. It makes sense. Particularly to use the same currency.
I agree with you guys about "The End of History." It was fascinating (and confusing, like Christy said) to read the author's views. In our coursepack, I also enjoyed learning about Churchill and his involvement. Lastly, I did find the symphony sad. It was interesting to see the darkness of the period through music.
This might be post 1/2 for me. I just wanted to comment on the symphony of sorrows separately.
Really wonderful song. I can't really describe it, but it evokes such a sense of sadness yet wonderment at the same time for me. It's almost like the receptors in my brain that sense beauty are coinciding with my sense of sorrow. Only music like this has been able to manipulate my senses like this, so props to the song!
Also, it is interesting to compare the tone of the lyrics with the melody of their respective movements. The first set of lyrics were obviously very melancholy, and I think this was mirrored by the music. And in the second movement, the lyrics seem to be more of a reassurance of comfort from the son to his mother (so, a little "happier")and there was a noticeable change in the melody of the second movement: it was slightly less solemn. The third movement is perplexing, however. The lyrics reach a sort of crescendo of sadness, yet most of the tone of the music is lighthearted compared to the first and second movement. Intriguing...
Cheers,
Happy Viva!
Interesting read. The end of history. Well as far as that goes this second last semester has proved that idea false. I understand were the author is getting at. He says (basically)that since 45 no country has exerted its nationalism on an other country. I suppose thats true, since the end of World War II no big not many borders have shifted. But that does not mean that history stops. All the coups we have been studding proves that. The reason it has changed is I think due to the amount of atomic weaponry that were made right after the second world war. Some of you'all know this but I occasionaly play large scale strategy games with some friends. Game that can last up to 9 hours or more. These games which are often based on true periods in history (Axis and Allies for example) usually have a changing point. There is a shift in the atmosphere of the game. For as long as it takes a player tries to gain territories without being totally mean. Does not matter how but usually involves allies and taking people into different rooms to try to make them see your way of thinking. Then the change happens. All alliances are of (or shaky) and total war is started again. In short I think that war and history cannot be called over yet.
A quote that interested me was "The end of history will be a very sad time. The struggle for recognition, the
willingness to risk one's life for a purely abstract goal, the worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination, and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands." I'm not sure if I agree with this view. While I understand what the author is trying to say, I do believe that there will always be people who will pursue things of imagination and adventure. This is obviously not a Christian view either. As Christians, we should strive to give God glory and recognition because He is the only One who deserves it.
The thing that struck me the most from the reading was the highlighting of the extreme switches in government. Many countries started out with a monarchy and then quickly swung the pendulum to the other extreme- socialist democracies and or communism. It took many years for these countries to see that moderation is best, even when it comes to government. If you go far left or far right with your view things can go bad very quickly.
I think the combination of the philosophical thoughts of the day and the revolutionary response in the small amount of time is very interesting. The world goes in waves. The thoughts that are popular at the time influence the actions of people and nations. In the "End of History" it is Hegel's thought promoted by Karl Marx that predicts "the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government." It is this thought and influence that infiltrates mankind and makes him act upon what they believe must be true. This is the way the world will has always been and will continue to be so long as there are new thoughts to have.
After reading Hegel at the beginning of the year, this article was very interesting. The twentieth century ends with most of the world wary of communism and with western culture spreading. While Hegel was right in that history is linear, the end will come with Christ alone. He will bring peace, and the best we can do to unify mankind will result only in turmoil. I thought it was scary that the author cited religion as one of the key road-blocks to universal tolerance. I think as western culture draws further from its religious roots, Christians especially will be blamed for causing strife.
In contrast, Henryk Gorecki's third symphony was a beautiful work capturing the strife of the past. The lyrics seem to blame God for the son's death. Through this we see the frustration of mankind, despite the optimistic hope for the end of human evolution.
@ Frannie: I think the author is saying that there will always be those who disagree with the majority. The end of history (of disagreements, according to Hegel) will mean unification. Being human, minority groups will be inevitable and thus, a struggle for recognition would ensue.
The Symphony of Sorrows is not the type of music I usually listen to. But I did think it was pretty except for when the singing started. That hurt my ears!
The End of History: a quote from it that interested me was, "The end of history will be a very sad time. The struggle for recognition, the willingness to risk one's life for a purely abstract goal, the worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination, and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculations, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands."
I thought this reading was pretty interesting!
Thus far in my reading, the most interesting quote that I immediately latched onto was: "For human history and the conflict that characterized it was based on
the existence of "contradictions": primitive man's quest for mutual recognition, the dialectic of the master and slave, the transformation and mastery of nature, the struggle for the universal recognition of rights, and the dichotomy between proletarian and capitalist." This is so true, what with all the rights activist groups and "Greenpeace" types, everyone wants to insert what they believe into the world.
I'll prolly have more comments when I finish listening to the symphony, but I wanted to get part of this done.
I'm not very well versed in terms of economics and politics, so honestly a good portion of "The End of History" felt like reading a foreign language. But from what I could grasp, the reading presented a fascinating perspective. As it cuts God out of the picture, I don't think the idea that history is "coming to an end" accurately reflects what will really occur. It doesn't seem entirely in line with the book of Revelation. On the subject of religion, the paragraph about Christianity, the Jewish tradition, and Islam was a bit scary. In an agnostic/atheistic worldview, the author does have many seemingly valid points (not to mention a rather depressing conclusion). I thought it was interesting how he broke down the other two so options of "fascism" and "communism" and pointed out their shortcomings.
When I first saw the words "Symphony of Sad songs" I thought it was a rather funny and bland title, but having listened to the piece, I now think it's appropriately named. The first movement reminded me a ton of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." The different sections were powerful and intense, while still very beautiful. I thought it was incredible how the strings wandered and wandered, getting more and more intense, but rarely came to a resolve. The piece had a very overwhelming/consuming element that excellently conveyed deep unquenchable sorrow. The symphony also reminded me of a short piece by a composer I like, Thomas Bergersen, entitled "Hurt."
@Callie
That quote caught my eye too. I think it's a depressing conclusion considering all the work the author put into convincing his readers that his points are legitimate. In my opinion, it's and honest conclusion from a Godless writer (I hope that not too harsh).
Okay, so. I loved the symphony -- even the singing. I was doing some of the reading/studying for test yesterday while listening to part of it, and it just made things go so smoothly.. Also then later, I was on other internet things, just letting it play in the background. This is definitely the first symphony that I actually can put down as a favorite. The start of the singing seemed like it should be in Lord of the Rings. (Once it progressed, I changed my mind on that thought.) Still, it was beautiful.
Okay, so. I loved the symphony -- even the singing. I was doing some of the reading/studying for test yesterday while listening to part of it, and it just made things go so smoothly.. Also then later, I was on other internet things, just letting it play in the background. This is definitely the first symphony that I actually can put down as a favorite. The start of the singing seemed like it should be in Lord of the Rings. (Once it progressed, I changed my mind on that thought.) Still, it was beautiful.
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