EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2023

‘Special Musical Operation’ at the United Nations: Place the Voice of Reason in the Mind of the ‘Other’

Sept. 22, 2023, (EIRNS)—

“(Music) is that part of us that is connected with the Divine One. I remember Dr. Thurman once said, God created man in His own image in the dead center, so that in the dead center of God’s brain, there is this image of what man is; and at a point at which man reaches the full development of that image, then he will be on a par with the angels.... And I never forgot that: ‘Ah! So that’s what evolution is about! Man finally coming into the image that is in the dead center of God’s brain, of what man is to be!’... And all of us are endowed with that basic thing, and Music is it.”

—Baritone William Warfield, Schiller Institute Board Member, interview, November 26, 1994

On Thursday, September 21, the Schiller Institute re-introduced an ancient principle of cultural warfare, familiar to all great civilizations that have sought to move humanity forward beyond its periodic “dark ages,” into New York City’s decaying streets around the United Nations. In the midst of what was termed “International Peace Day,” but was, as staged outside the UN, a set of largely strident and, at one point, even violent confrontations of protest, a “Humanity For Peace” chorus, anchored by the New York Schiller Institute’s chorus (founded 9 years ago by Independent United States Senate candidate Diane Sare), placed its properly-tuned voice in the center of the fight for, not only the survival, but also the dignity of mankind. The “Special Musical Operation,” which deeply affected even those adamantly opposed to the specific proposals and outlook of both the Schiller Institute and even Humanity For Peace, successfully carried forward the true purpose for which Franklin Roosevelt had conceived the United Nations at the end of World War Two.

As Helga Zepp-LaRouche has observed, including in her founding of the Schiller Institute nearly 40 years ago, it is the voluntary education of the emotions, the aesthetic education of humanity, that must either accompany or preferably precede the successful enactment of positive “revolutionary” change in a society. That change must be revolutionary in the sense that Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. suggested in their social practice, called “experiments with truth.” These experiments always involve a simultaneous, voluntary change in the self, as well as in the society. This is what is meant by creative non-violent direct action—devising a voluntary means, without coercion, to transcend violent injustice, as well as violent retribution—the “natural” reaction to injustice—by means of a higher principle, that recruits the adversary by recruiting oneself to “a more excellent way.” For example, the axiomatic dependence on war as a viable method for solving any of the fundamental problems facing humanity, must, in order for the human race to not only survive in the short term, but to evolve in the long term, be fully rejected. To do that, a joint effort to accomplish an “impossible” objective, (like the joint Moon mission JFK proposed to Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the UN General Assembly Session on September 20, 1963,) requires that new capabilities, and therefore new qualities of personality be brought forth from each adversary. “Elevation” and space are inextricably linked.

Zepp-LaRouche composed her Ten Principles for a New International Security and Development Architecture, now in circulation among nations for nearly a year, with such considerations in mind. “The new paradigm which will be characteristic of the new epoch, and towards which the new global security and development architecture must be directed, therefore, must eliminate the concept of oligarchism for good, and proceed to organize the political order in such a way, that the true character of humanity as the creative species can be realized. Therefore I suggest that the following principles must be discussed and if agreed upon be realized....” Principle Ten states, “The basic assumption for the new paradigm is, that man is fundamentally good and capable to infinitely perfect the creativity of his mind and the beauty of his soul, and being the most advanced geological force in the universe, which proves that the lawfulness of the mind and that of the physical universe are in correspondence and cohesion, and that all evil is the result of a lack of development, and therefore can be overcome.”

What it means to concretely do that, is in the domain of public, street-based “experiments with truth.” The approximately 70 people that gathered on behalf of Humanity For Peace, including the “central” chorus of 30, formed an extended chorus, not only for song, but for policy, that successfully cut through the cacophony that otherwise characterized the setting. The atmosphere was so chaotic, that one singer, who in fact stayed throughout, texted later that evening, “Did we just sing in a war zone?”

There was reason to ask. On one side of the Humanity For Peace delegation, an altercation occurred between opposing factions of one African nation, which had to be broken up by police. Also, directly next to the Schiller Institute gathering site were placed the strident Ukrainian opposition to Putin and Russia, who were juxtaposed to our banners that proclaimed “Colonialism Is Over!” and our literature. After several logistical hurdles were overcome, the chorus assembled. With a backdrop of two banners, each with a large picture of Lyndon LaRouche and Helga Zepp-LaRouche saying, “Advanced Power Technology Transfer—The Only True Repayment for Colonialism” and illustrated with the World Land-Bridge, a fusion reactor and the Space Shuttle, they began with “Dona Nobis Pacem,” and later performed the song “Shalom Chaverim.” In between, director Jonathan Heffelfinger played “Auld Lang Syne” on the trumpet, and spoke about the need for peace. This was a way of gradually gaining mental control of the outside area, in which several groups were chanting, playing music and shouting. Tenor Everett Suttle and soprano Indira Mahajan then took the stage—which was merely the street—and were tasked with figuring out a way to prevent the Ukrainians next door, ten feet away, from shouting and drowning out the music. Once Suttle, without a microphone, began to sing the anthem, “There’s A Meeting In This Building,” only seconds after, there was a gradual lessening of the protesters’ volume, until they stopped—stopped to listen.

Suttle said that the mental image he used was that of Roland Hayes taking the stage in Berlin, Germany in 1927 before a hostile audience. In that well-known instance, Hayes refused to move or start, until the audience became silent. Suttle said that he knew that he had no such ability to have the Ukrainians do that, “so I just closed my eyes and became silent within myself.” He then performed “No More Auction Block for Me,” and Indira Mahajan then concluded with “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Directly at the conclusion of these performances, Anastasia Battle then read the remarks of Helga Zepp-LaRouche prepared for distribution and discussion at the United Nations—because now, people were prepared, and qualified to hear them. The music had cleared the way.

The performances were done without any accompaniment. There was even some applause from the Ukrainians, one of whom, accidentally met Suttle later at a restaurant. “I remember that he had a ponytail; he was one of the most vocal ones that were out there. And I looked at him and I got very quiet, and he was like ‘Oh, you’re the singer, right?’ And I said ‘Yes.’ He said ‘Great job, great job; it was a great job. I really enjoyed it.’ ”

To understand what actually happened Thursday, please read carefully and consider the following passage from the late economist and statesman Lyndon LaRouche, taken from a conversation in November of 2015: “We are now in the process of moving our organization as a whole into the area of Manhattan: which is where it should’ve remained always, according to Alexander Hamilton’s intention. What we getting now is, we’re moving rapidly. First of all, we are clearing up the question of music. We no longer accept mere music; it’s a failure, it’s a mistake, because it has no placement of the voice; and the basis of everything depends on the placement of the voice. Otherwise, you really don’t have a basis of unity. When people use different terms, different words, idiosyncrasies, and so forth, and try to make that set of idiosyncrasies and trade styles into a nation, that was always a failure; that was always an error.

“And what we’re seeing now, which I began to put into effect in October 2014, my intention from that point on has been to eliminate that kind of system among the states; which is a change that must occur if the competence of the United States is to be brought into being. Now it’s happening, we’ve taken the placement of the voice, the true placement of the human voice, which is not a snarl, or a growl, or a coughing up of things; but it’s a way which is not mathematical. Mathematics is the enemy of the human mind; it always has been. And the point is that mankind, creative powers, the placement of the voice, as such, is the principle of organization of a competent society. And that’s where we are now; it’s coming on fast. We’re not getting all the results we would like to get immediately, but they are coming on fast.”

Now that you have read the above, please read it again. Consider that in the LaRouche “Classical culture” design of that period, the idea was to form a chorus in New York City of 5,000 people! Why? If one understands the “United Nations” character of New York, the city where more languages are spoken than in any other city on Earth, the universal language of music is the unifying and natural method of creation of solidarity with music as the medium. An elevated state of mind is the natural consequence of that.

Once that is grasped, then the nature of the Special Musical Operation becomes obvious. Music originates from an unalienable, internal power, not an externally imposed force. Classical music expresses a properly-placed intention. It must grip and move the listener, and the performer, with an elevating power. Properly understood, it contains an irresistible power, greater than that of a thermonuclear weapon—when properly placed.

Through such a chorus, the voice of the world would be, as a proof of principle, properly placed, and, instead of Josep Borrell’s Malthusian “garden of European (Trans-Atlantic) earthly delights” versus “the jungle”—Asia, South America, or Africa—there would be a chorus of a single humanity. There would be a harmony of interests, a realization of what was designed by the Revolution of Franklin, Hamilton, Washington et al.—imperfect human beings, that understood that the concept “a more perfect Union” was one requiring a continuous, unending, peaceful, voluntary revolution in our axioms of knowledge and behavior. That is the meaning of the idea, “Colonialism Is Over!”

Colonialism is over, if you want to be free. No more volunteered slavery!! At the United Nations, the Zepp-LaRouche Ten Principles are now, and for the next week, being presented for the consideration of humanity, with the proper voice-placement for them to be heard. Will you join your voice to that chorus?