A thoroughly-composed panel entitled “Reversing the Cultural Wasteland: The Urgency of a New Renaissance, Creating a Planetary Culture Worthy of the Dignity of Humanity,” was the opening panel today in the Schiller Institute Conference: WORLD AT A CROSSROAD: Two Months into the New Administration. The panel was moderated by Jason Ross and was keynoted by Schiller Institute founder, Helga Zepp-LaRouche. [See transcript in this briefing.]
The panel began appropriately with a 1986 musical performance of violinist Norbert Brainin, the former first violin for the Amadeus Quartet, and pianist Carlo Levi-Minzi, for Lyndon LaRouche’s 65th birthday. Helga’s presentation, “Will Human History End in a Tragedy or Continue with a New Paradigm?” laid out the extremely tumultuous situation typified by Biden recently calling Putin a killer, which is now coming together to a point, as in a drama, to a moment of decision. The key solution is to access a higher principle.
She quoted a paper from her late husband Lyndon LaRouche from 2007, when he discussed the “fourth phase space” — a combination of classical art, science and statecraft, forming a single subject that is the true substance of history. Political leaders have to access this fourth phase space. She provided an historical review of the development of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, starting with China being one of the poorest nations in the world in 1968, but by applying physical economic principles, over 40 years, pulled 800 million Chinese out of poverty. The Eurasian Land-Bridge, developed by Lyn and Helga following the collapse of the Soviet Union, was the perfect peace plan for the 21st century, but was rejected for geopolitical reasons. While China is putting maximum emphasis on innovation and creativity of people, the Malthusian faction in the West promotes lower energy flux density and population reduction. We need to reverse the artificially-created Malthusian paradigm, she argued, and return to the principle of universal history. Every major culture generated its own Renaissance, with each contributing to the development of human culture – the fourth phase space. Through universal history, which sets us aside as a human species, a dialogue of these different cultures provides a concrete means of solving the present crisis.
Dennis Speed then gave a presentation on The Poetic Principle – Why and How Americans Must Return to Classical Culture. It began with George Shirley performing the German Lied “An die Musik” by Franz Schubert. Dennis noted that there is no essential difference between of the spirit of a Lied and the African-American Spiritual. This was demonstrated by William Warfield performing the Roland Hayes spiritual “Lit’l Boy.” Through a series of beautiful artistic selections, including bass Simon Estes’ dramatic reading of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Gettysburg Address; Dikran Tulaine’s recitation of a Hamlet soliloquy; and many others, Dennis demonstrated the universal principle that there is inherent beauty within truth.
Liliana Gorini, the chairwoman of Movisol, the Italian LaRouche Movement, then gave a presentation on Dante Alighieri on the 700th anniversary of his death, demonstrating that the development of a national language is profoundly connected to the concept of a nation state. She discussed and demonstrated how Dante consciously created the national language in order to free Italy from the oligarchy. Commedia, The Divine Comedy, is a treatise in history, religion, science, economics, poetry. Dante became the national poet, and many verses are used today in daily speech. This is a true example of dialogue of cultures. Thanks to Dante, we should come out of Hell — the pandemic and social crisis — if we look up at the stars.
Diane Sare then presented: “Beethoven in the Garden of Gethsemane.” She used examples of Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament, Bach’s “Es ist Vollbracht,” and the Beethoven Sonata 110, to demonstrate the principle of the sublime principle of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Carolina Dominguez, a leader in the Mexican LaRouche Movement, beautifully presented an education program for youth, based upon working through original discoveries of the great minds of history. She encouraged everyone to sign and circulate her petition to teach LaRouche’s ideas in universities across the world.
This was followed by a performance by John Sigerson and Margaret Greenspan of “Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel,” by L. van Beethoven. The panel was rounded off by Schiller Institute American president, Megan DoBrodt presenting on the “Three Mars Missions and the Galactic Species.” The three recent Mars missions sent by U.A.E., U.S., and China, are humanity’s emissaries, which extend the human sensory apparatus to another world. Ironically, what is happening off the earth might be the most important thing on Earth. Space travel disregards national borders, one socio-political creed, it has spiritual appeal – it symbolizes that man hasn’t lost his capability of cutting the Gordian knot. Mars missions are distinctly international in character. This month, Russia and China determined that they will build a base on the south pole of the Moon, open to cooperation from all nations. The United States wants to launch people to the Moon again. We have almost lost a sense of what Lyn and the great Krafft Ehricke referred to as the goodness of human potential.
