God, how I regret having used the word propaganda...  (By the way, Pablo:
I really dream of religions that do NOT missionize and keep in mind that
nothing we human beings can know is an absolute truth.)

But Satoshi Akima whose enthusiasm for Wagner moves and impresses me (no
irony!) posted this:

>But why I ask will we not bury all such attempts to appropriate Wagner (or
>for that matter any composer, especially as we all seemed to be agreed that
>Wagner does not represent some 'special case') for the purpose of dubious
>propaganda? Why do we grant Hitler in death this final sweet victory? I
>have made my stand - I will not stand for this.  Will you?

Good God, Satoshi, calm down!  I for one do not care a tiny little bit
about the National Socialist's Wagner picture.  They were barbarians,
Hitler was a tasteless ignoramus with nothing sensible to say about any
subject cultural (just think about the paintings he liked!).  I only say
this (uninfluenced by the Nazis' misuse of Wagner):

1) Wagner was a great composer.

2) Wagner was a man with an ego as big as a whale who was not too
enthusiastic about being critized.  (And being democratic is being open
for criticism.)

3) Wagner cultivated a certain priestlike artist's pose which made and
still makes his work misusable by totalitarian people.  (As was and is
the case with Goethe who also behaved like a guru.)

And this too, even if the Wagnerites crucify me:

4) Wagner was a poor poet.  (Satoshi, the educated Germans laugh about
Wagner's poetry not because it is dated.  They do it because it is obscure,
full of bathos, unintentionally funny, eccentric and full of weird words.
The verses often function in connection with the music.  But read alone,
they simply hurt.  - Isn't it enough to be a great composer? The guy had
deep thoughts but there is a reason why he isn't considered to be a great
or even good poet by any German literary history textbook I have come
upon.)

And forget about Hitler.  It was the Wagner family itself that affiliated
with the Nazis during the Third Reich.  If there is anyone to blame for
Wagner's bad reputation it is his own family.

Robert Peters
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