A Propaganda Coup
When the New York Philharmonic announced its intention to perform in North Korea, some worried that the event would result in a propaganda coup for Kim Jong-il. And Terry Teachout concluded that the event “will be doing little more than participating in a puppet show whose purpose is to lend legitimacy to a despicable regime.”
Those fears were realized well in advance of the concert. The Washington Times on February 7, 2008, reported conductor Lorin Maazel’s remarks:
“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks, should they?” Mr. Maazel demanded. “Is our standing as a country — the United States — is our reputation all that clean when it comes to prisoners and the way they are treated? Have we set an example that should be emulated all over the world? If we can answer that question honestly, I think we can then stop being judgmental about the errors made by others.”
An appropriate, though understated, response came from John Mahlmann of The National Association for Music Education: “It’s regrettable that all that emanates from Mr. Maazel’s podium is not as credible as the music.”
More to the point: “Lorin Maazel’s comparison of America’s lawful treatment of its prisoners to North Korea’s unlawful mistreatment of theirs bespeaks a mind so befuddled and corrupted by the poison of multiculturalism that it should dishearten us all,” says Arkansas writer Paul Lake, poetry editor of First Things.
The New York Philharmonic will perform in North Korea on February 26 and in South Korea on February 28. It’s web calendar, however, indicates that both concerts are to occur in “Korea.” Can we infer that the organization makes no distinction between North and South Korea?
The U.S. State Department’s official site on North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.), offers the somewhat hopeful view that “The D.P.R.K. is not known to have sponsored terrorist acts since the 1987 bombing of KAL flight 858.”
The orchestra reportedly sought, and presumably obtained, assurances that the 8 orchestra members of Korean origin would not encounter difficulties and that the orchestra would be permitted to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.” There was no mention of the need to seek any such assurances from the Republic of Korea or from any other glass-house country with a record on human rights that Maazel equates with that of North Korea.
