SCHILLER INSTITUTE TURNS 30:
Now Comes Schiller’s Time;
‘Create a World Without War’
by Nancy Spannaus
June 17—At the conclusion of her keynote address to the 30th anniversary conference of the Schiller Institute on June 15, in which she had reviewed the extreme danger still faced by mankind at the hands of a murderous British Empire, the Institute’s founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche said:
“I can not give anybody the guarantee that we will be here in a couple of weeks or days, because this is very, very dangerous. But nevertheless, I can tell you, I’ve never lost my profound optimism, in the true character of human beings, and I believe that Leibniz was absolutely correct when he said that a great evil is also bringing forward in human beings a greater desire and power for the good. And therefore, I still, after 30 years of the Schiller Institute, I still believe: Now Comes Schiller’s Time.”
“Now Comes Schiller’s Time” had been the banner theme of the founding of the Institute in Arlington, Va., on Independence Day 1984. Representatives of 50 nations marched into the hall behind their flags, and pledged their support to a renewed era of cooperation among sovereign nation-states based on their highest cultural achievements. While originally focused on uplifting German-American relations with a revival of the Classical culture of both nations, the Schiller Institute rapidly became a worldwide institution, and has campaigned tirelessly for global economic development and a realization of the German poet Friedrich Schiller’s assertion that “It is through beauty that one proceeds to freedom.”
Thirty years later, the results of the Institute’s campaigns, which have especially emphasized the economic development policies of Lyndon LaRouche, have contributed to palpable results, particularly in the Eurasian region of Russia and China. This reality is reflected in these nations’ pursuit of the Eurasian Land-Bridge concept of high-technology development, with its prominent stress on thermonuclear fusion power and space exploration. The prominent role of the Institute in Eurasia was also evident at the 30th Anniversary conference, in the greeting received from Sergei Glazyev, an advisor to President Putin, among others (see Greetings), and the presentation given by retired Col. Bao Shixui, of the Chinese Military Academy, on China’s Silk Road policy.
Yet, Europe remains largely under the dictatorial control of the British financial empire, and the United States has been so corrupted and controlled by British imperialism, especially under recent Presidents Cheney-Bush and Barack Obama, that most of the world sees it as a murderous reincarnation of the Roman Empire itself.
Thus, the importance of the Schiller Institute conference at this time, which convened at Lincoln Center’s Merkin Hall on June 15. As the keynote speaker for the afternoon panel, former Texas Senate candidate Kesha Rogers asserted that there is a “real America,” an American citizenry eager to restore the United States to its historical mission of world leadership as defined by the Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and most recently, Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. That “real America” must rise up now to take back the nation, and reinstitute the Constitutional measures which will bury the British Empire’s control, and put the United States on the road to progress, joining with the nations of Eurasia to build a world without war.
Indeed, as the high-level international messages to this conference reflect, top political circles around the world are looking to the forces allied with the Schiller Institute in the United States to make the necessary changes to prevent war.
This “other America” was also reflected in the participation at this conference, including the speakers and the greetings received, as you will see in the summary of the conference proceedings below. In this issue of EIR and the next, we will provide the full proceedings of the event, which will also be available in video form on the Schiller Institute website. It is our intention to get the widest possible circulation in the short term, to contribute to the urgent objective: creating a world without war. (In addition to Zepp-LaRouche’s speech, several additional speeches are included below.)
Panel One: Creating a World Without War
The all-day conference, which drew an audience of approximately 300, began with great Classical music, a performance of a Beethoven piano and ’cello sonata by My-Hoa Steger and Jean-Sébastien Tremblay. That set the tone for the opening panel, which was moderated by Jeffrey Steinberg, senior editor of EIR.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s keynote provided a comprehensive strategic assessment of how the world has come to the current state of extreme danger, and then sketched the nature of the solution, ranging from the economic projects the Institute has championed, to Lyndon LaRouche’s recently issued four-point legislative program for returning the United States to its founding republican principles. The key to optimism, she stressed, lies in understanding that the true nature of man is as the uniquely creative species, and that this nature can be accessed in a time of extreme crisis such as today.
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who served under Lyndon Johnson from 1967 to 1969, and has fought consistently for returning the United States to its Constitutional principles, then briefly addressed the conference, stressing the hideous record of wars which the U.S. has waged since the end of World War III—many of whose sites he had visited. And now, he warned, the United States is once again sending warships toward the Persian Gulf. He concluded with a plea for Americans to rise up and insist, “No more, no more. We want our country to end violence in the world, not to be the greatest purveyor of violence on Earth.”
The next speaker, Ray McGovern, had served 27 years at the CIA, and after his retirement, became a political advocate for avoiding wars and restoring the Constitution. His remarks, emphasizing the need for the U.S. population to end this country’s acting as an empire, evoked the spirit of Martin Luther King and the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany to inspire his listeners.
Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, who had worked for the National Security Agency (NSA) as a U.S. Navy officer, spoke on the national security state. He described how that agency was devoted to gathering “total information,” and that it has the capability of gather personal information on anyone via supposedly secure sites such as PayPal, AT&T, etc. Madsen concluded on the NSA: It’s an intelligence agency out of control: “End it, don’t mend it”; it needs to be shut down.
Eric Larsen, Professor Emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY), best-known as the author of A Nation Gone Blind, spoke next. His point was twofold: 1) Americans have lost the ability to think, because the language they use, or the language that is written for them, deprives them of the ability to connect their thinking and emotions; and 2) as a result, they accept the Big Lie about al-Qaeda committing 9/11.
The morning session concluded with two video presentations, one by Terry Strada, co-chair of a committee of victims of 9/11, entitled Justice Against State Sponsors of Terrorism Action Committee, and one from Congressman Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a lead sponsor of House Resolution 428, which would mandate the release of the classified 28 pages from the Congressional Joint Inquiry into 9/11 dealing with the financing of the atrocity. A written statement by Virginia State Senator Richard Black (R), which reviewed the Obama Administration’s support for terrorism in Syria and Libya, was summarized, and will be published in full in our next issue.
Realizing the Eurasian Land-Bridge
The second panel, moderated by Dennis Speed of the Institute, presented a multifaceted perspective on how to bring the United States into the Eurasian Land-Bridge perspective which had been outlined by Zepp-LaRouche in her keynote. The presentations were punctuated by greetings appreciating the historical role of the Schiller Institute, notably, from International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers President Thomas Buffenbarger; former Boston Mayor and Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn; leading Japanese industrialist Daisuke Kotegawa; and Ukrainian political leader and economist Natalia Vitrenko.
After the performance of Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18, No. 4 by the Dirichlet String Quartet, Kesha Rogers delivered the keynote as a message to her fellow citizens to “answer the call” to regain the “real America” which has been usurped by the British Empire. She repeatedly referenced the leadership of President John F. Kennedy as setting a standard for bringing together individuals from both parties around a national mission, and described how she, along with Congressional contender Michael Steger in California, pursued this effort.
Rogers utilized two singular and poignant events from American history to underscore her points: JFK’s speech on the 30th anniversary of the TVA, and the commemorative ceremony for FDR in the Redwood Cathedral of the Muir Woods (north of San Francisco) by the 45 nations founding his United Nations project. She concluded by reiterating the challenge, using a quote from Vladimir Vernadsky underlining the unique human qualities of mind required to develop the future.
The second speaker was a distinguished guest from China, retired Col. Bao Shixiu. Zepp-LaRouche introduced him as a special friend, and he delivered a delightfully droll and informative speech on the New Silk Road and the New Security Architecture for Asia, which China is putting together. The speech dealt with three areas—the ancient Silk Road, the current Silk Road policy, and the current security crisis being created by the U.S. in the South China Sea.
The next speaker, conductor Anthony Morss, addressed the question of why Classical culture is necessary and must be revived today. He homed in on the difference in the way Classical culture deals with horrors of life, versus the current genre of “culture,” which glorifies violence. Particularly effective was his discussion of Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” composed in 1913, as a turning point to murderous modernism.
Maine State Rep. Andrea Boland (D) then spoke to the conference about her fight to restore Glass-Steagall, giving personal reminiscences about her acquaintance with the subject, the disastrous consequences of the law’s repeal in 1999, and the fight she has been engaged in. She included a discussion of bailout and bail-in, and constantly raised the high-technology direction the United States should be going in—as indicated in the rail and water projects in China and Russia—in contrast to the collapse in the U.S.
Economist Nomi Prins’s video on the history of passage of the original Glass-Steagall and why it needs to be instituted again today was then shown, and proved a very effective complement to Boland’s presentation.
The final speaker was EIR’s Mike Billington, who had to substantially condense his prepared remarks, but proceeded to focus on what was needed to get the Land-Bridge: overturning the axiomatic belief that Russia and China are enemies of the United States. He reviewed the history of U.S. collaboration with those nations, which actually led them to take up American System practices, and then the specific work of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche in taking this process further over recent decades.
The Power of Classical Culture
The concert which concluded the conference was a moving tribute to the method of the Schiller Institute itself—that “it is through beauty that one proceeds to freedom.” After a day of intense strategic discussion on ending war, building the future, and defeating the British Empire, the evening concert touched the souls of those in the audience, giving each a sense of what Zepp-LaRouche described as the role of Classical poetry in strengthening the soul.
The first of three performances was the Bach Cantata BWV 102, performed by the Northeast Schiller Institute chorus and orchestra (with the addition of two professional oboists), conducted by John Sigerson. The Cantata is a warning to wayward souls who reject God’s “mercy, patience, and forbearance,” and therefore risk his wrath. It begins with a playful, intricate choral piece, with solo recitatives and arias sung by Frank Mathis, John Sigerson, and Jessica Tremblay, and a concluding chorale, delighting the audience.
The second performance was Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330, played by Benjamin Telmanyi Lylloff, a Danish Schiller Institute member now living in Germany. His breathtaking performance electrified the audience, setting the stage for the grand finale.
Zepp-LaRouche then took the stage in front of the second chorus, the Mid-Atlantic Schiller Institute Chorus, also under the direction of John Sigerson. She first presented the urgent necessity of reviving Classical poetry, describing how the effort of studying a great Classical poem, carefully and deeply, creates something in the soul which forever changes it, providing a source of power to carry out the crucial tasks facing us in today’s existential crisis.
She read Schiller’s poem “Nänie” in German, and Sigerson then read his own translation into English. Zepp-LaRouche then discussed the mythological images used in the poem to establish the beautiful conception, that while all things beautiful must die, beauty itself does not die, if the beautiful soul has used his or her life to the benefit of mankind, but that beauty lives on in art, in the Nänia (song of lament) of loved ones, while “the tawdry goes down to Orcus [the Underworld] unsung.”
The wonderful tension and excitement in the room, including in the chorus itself, was palpable, as the chorus then performed the Brahms setting of the Schiller poem, capturing the essence of the poem and the music (all the performers agreed) far better than in any rehearsal, with intense emotion, as was also the case with the extremely difficult piano accompaniment, played beautifully by Alan Ogden.
There were many, many attendees, both longtime members and new friends attending their first event, who left in tears, joyful at experiencing both political truth and aesthetic beauty in one day’s event—a fitting tribute to Friedrich Schiller, to the Schiller Institute at 30, and to the mission to uplift mankind represented by Lyndon and Helga LaRouche.
