Anne Frank, Edward F. Green and Donald Trump
This is a theoretical paper, but not in the sense of being for an academic audience. I wrote it to drown out the deluge of reporting on Donald Trump running for the Republican nomination for president. In this country, he is mentioned in more newspaper articles than any other individual, as his latest statements take precedence over natural or geo-political activities that can affect, and destroy, the lives of thousands.
He has been called a demagogue by those who are polite, and the reincarnation of Hitler, by those who hate him. Well, he does have similarities to Hitler, but could it be the Hitler of 1932 who was offering hope for the restoration of dignity to his constituents, and was adored by the majority of Germans right until the tide of war turned?
Anne Frank, the other real human being of my trio, has become the face of hopeful innocence whose enduring persona only exists because of Hitler and his legacy of evil of The Holocaust. Both Hitler and Trump represent a resolution of the tensions of their times, the understanding of which are diminished by the focus on the individual. "Bigger than life" is a description of those whose actions and public perception do indeed obfuscate "life" meaning the mundane forces that have shaped the societies of such people. This is the meaning of the saying, "if he didn't actually exist, we would have had to invent him." Really, we did invent them or the mold for someone like the person who filled the role. .But while the drama is being played out, all we see is the person, now illuminated by a spotlight that throws vital background into darkness. So in the midst of volatile times such as we are now living through, fiction allows a clearer view of the unfolding of actual events.. By chronicling them, influencing the course of history.
As Abraham Lincoln purportedly said to the writer, of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." Whether he said the words or not, the suffering of fictional Uncle Tom, and his wife and children, did contribute to the expansion of abolitionist sentiment, the driving force of succession and ultimately civil war.
Explanatory concepts of causality, although written by knowledgeable historians rarely affect the course of history. This brings me to Mr. Green, (whom I added a first and middle name for verisimilitude) justified by my infinitesimally small part in creating him. For this I must take a digression that began on a tennis court in 1995:
I played occasionally with a man on the Riverside courts in
Manhattan, Jeff Baron, who one day asked if I would take a look at a draft a of his
manuscript for a play. I took it as a complement, since while only in his early thirties he had been a professional
writer for a popular television show, this unlike so many in this city who
have worked on screenplays or novels that have provided dreams of success that
sustained their less rewarding occupations for their entire lives.
I read it, then once again with more care. In my three page analysis
I complemented him on his vivid writing, and then wrote, "If you leave
it as it is, it will surely be a success among gays, but if you
want to go beyond this, you have to tone down your premise that
rejection of homosexuality is tantamount to the Nazi genocide of Jews."
Several years later, after the play, "Visiting Mr. Green" had
been translated into 23 languages with 400 productions in 45
countries, at a reading by the star, Eli Wallach in the General
Assembly building of the United Nations, I remarked that it had changed
since its earliest tryout in a summer stock performance. Jeff responded, "Al, did you think I hadn't paid attention to your criticism?"
Well, not too much attention. As
this play that helped change the course of western values still conveyed
the message that while rejecting homosexual orientation was similar to
the Nazi's hatred of Jews, it was a benign defect for the individual, who, if having a good heart, could transcend their experiences to become accepting of those who are different.
"Visiting Mr. Green" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" can be seen as energizing what had been a more limited movement. Given how societies work, when enough individuals become motivated it is reflected in the political system, sometimes taking years; other times, as when the lifeless body of a single three year old was washed ashore on a beach, the most advanced federation of nations, the European Union, turned on a dime to open closed doors to vast numbers of refugees.
This event of the last year can not be explained by rational thought, or quantitative economic interests, but only by forces previously not well articulated. However, just as the child's death opened the floodgates of sympathy that could have changed the demographic makeup of Europe, the fragility of this decision was illustrated by it being slammed shut only months afterwards; with the unfortunate effect of increased support for right wing extremist parties throughout the region.
It is understanding of these forces, somewhat encapsulated by the word "zeitgeist"-- literally spirit of the times-- that must be raised above the cacophony of partisan sound bites if we are ever to understand and address the larger issues of our world.
I will explain exactly how to achieve this in the next installment!
(smiley face implied)
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