Perhaps it would have been most accurate to say, I'm bored by opera because I don't understand it. I never intended to slight opera as highfalutin culture. Nor did I wish to convey that I'll never appreciate opera. I had a specific point to make and in order to avoid making it personal, I made an example of myself.
I'm an uncouth barbarian who lives in a cave. I disliked Shakespeare during high school, but somewhere along the line, an appreciation crept in. But it doesn't have to be high art. I thought that The Simpsons was dreck until I actually watched the show (actually, I'm on the other side of the bell curve now, I don't care for the culture that it's reflecting).
I side with Balint as far as determining the "best." I'm willing to admit that Eminem has talent, but is he really worth my time? I believe that the only possible cultivated answer is no, and that Eminem fits Balint's charlatan archetype who is able to reach the heights when folks lack a grounded value system. It doesn't really matter who the "artist" is, it could be Britney Spears for all I care. The important thing to note here is that Balint acknowledged that it is certainly possible to disagree over whether Beethoven is the best, but it should be no contest when the argument is whether Beethoven or Eminem is better.
This carries over into politics. The "charmers" aren't really great charmers. It's people -- lacking the basic tools, those necessary items supplied by a grounded or anchored value system -- who can't tell the charlatans from the real thing.
Posted by Bob at December 2, 2003 10:25 PM