Donald Satz wrote:

>Would you be able to project all possible uses that your writings could be
>used for by future generations? I sure couldn't - I don't have an effective
>crystal ball.

Don? Does this imply you have an ineffective one? Sounds like you should
move up to Santa Fe, where all manner of crystals abound...

Eric Kisch replies more seriously:

>Agreed, but what if we interpret Adorno's view as saying, "part of your
>responsibility as an artist is to see that your work can't be used by
>tyrants and demogogues as weapons against humanity."

Oh, dear.  Should we then condemn the authors of our nice "Holy books"
as well? Certainly no texts (or art) have caused as much suffering and
bloodshed than the Bible, Koran, etc.  The Bible, at least in the west, is
the most frequently misused, misquoted, and quoted-out-of-context work of
any kind in history (q.v.  Jesse Helms).  Now, while I'm more than willing
to keep mine on the shelf where it can't hurt anyone, I'm pretty certain
there are plenty more devout than I (not hard) that would have a hard time.

>We are all in danger of having our words twisted against us.

I'm doing my best. ;-}

My point is that you can't possibly forsee whether your work can be
misquoted, or taken out of context, for use by tyrants or whomsoever,
however careful you are.  Excerpts are almost always misleading.  (That's
why I don't like opera highlights CDs.) Even the most carefully prepared
work with every caution taked could be fragmented, taken out of context,
twisted, and held up as anti-semitic, or whatever.  After the Bible,
Nietzsche is my favorite example (also misused by the 3rd Reich; speaks out
against nationalism explicitly; excerpted to laud Germany).  He has much
the same problem as Wagner in this regard.  Very likely Murphy's Law (or
some variant) applies, and the more socially aware your art is, the more
likely it is to be misquoted/misused.  Context is everything.  Well,
next-to-everything.

Eric gets down to biz:

>But to more important music matters: How can I get that darned tune known
>as the Russian Sailors' Dance from Gliere's Red Poppy Ballet out of my
>head, where it is buzzing for days now.  I recalled Raymond Lewenthal's
>variations/fantasy on this from the 1970 Internetional Piano Benefit
>Concert and now am pursued by this demon.  Dum dum da-da-da, da da da da
>dum dum.  Aargh!

Find something more poppy and annoying to replace it.  Like Ricky Martin
"La Vida Loca".  ~shudder~

Bob K.