Category Archives: civic commentary

Evidence for an American Original.

December 31, 2015civic commentary, classical music, contemplative essays, Deep Questions, Uncategorizedarchitects, Artistic Director Chautauqua Institution, Board of Directors Chautauqua Institution, Board of Trustees, Board of Trustees Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Institution, Director of Programming Chautauqua Institution, evidence to convict, hostile takeovers, International Musician, marketing ploys, preserving cultural institutions, Save The Amp, saving the trees, The Smithsonianruth ann scanzillo

ChautauquaTreeStump

New Year’s Eve, 2016. The precipice of change.

Media press releases are already abuzz with the upcoming year’s promises, from the ridiculous to the sublime. Among them, one bit of news which, on its face, might seem of interest only to the relatively unimportant; apparently, the Board of Trustees of the Chautauqua Institution has just voted to replace its 100+ year old amphitheater with an alleged “replica”.

Their argument goes that the structure, weakened by years of neglect, is in danger of imploding.

But, apparently, several surrounding trees – part of the canopy of a century of oaks – have just been destroyed, many of them as old as the amphitheater itself. The fact that these are already gone just might speak voluminously to what is really happening, here.

Had said Board a genuine interest in preserving the Institution’s historical mission, architect’s plans would never have included the removal of these 100 year old trees. This is all the evidence one needs to realize that the devoted residents of Chautauqua are being played. Getting the Board to agree by calling for a proposed “replica” only gives license to those in power for far more than an amphitheater; clearly, this writer suspects a gradual displacement of the entire Institution.

Chautauqua Institution was not founded as an entertainment venue. Read the history.

(paraphrased from ciweb.org): The Institution was established as a not-for-profit, 750-acre educational center beside Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State which grew to accommodate approximately 7,500 persons in residence on any day during a nine-week season, drawing a total of over 100,000 to its scheduled public events. To this day, over 8,000 students enroll annually in the Chautauqua Summer Schools which offer courses in art, music, dance, theater, writing skills and a wide variety of special interests. Succesfully founded in 1874 as an educational experiment in out-of-school, vacation learning, it broadened almost immediately beyond courses for Sunday school teachers to include academic subjects, music, art and physical education. Becoming Ecumenical in spirit and practice, Chautauqua’s Department of Religion presents distinguished religious leaders of many faiths from this country and abroad, both as preachers and teachers. In addition, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC) was started in 1878 to provide those who could not afford the time or money to attend college the opportunity of acquiring the skills and essential knowledge of a College education. This spawned satellites, “daughter Chautauquas” around the world. The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1929, now performs thrice weekly with leading soloists, and Chautauqua Dance also appears in the Amphitheater. The Institution continues to play a unique educational role today, offering studies on a vacation level, a more serious level and a professional level. In addition, there are enhanced learning opportunities within Chautauqua’s other programming. Music, the arts, religion, recreation and the pursuit of knowledge are all available. Younger and older students often share learning experiences in an open, congenial atmosphere.

Yes; evolving gracefully from its roots into a center for both religious, political, and artistic discourse, the Chautauqua Institution is an American original.

And, its Amphitheater is a national treasure.

I did some digging. Apparently, the Board consulted with FORECON, a forestry consulting firm, before destroying the trees that were growing several feet away from the structure (see the photo included above). FORECON appears to be in place to advise foresters regarding the proper care and maintenance of their trees, per their marketability as timber. I never once saw the term “preservation” anywhere in their descriptor.

Yes. To that certain, remote few, this oasis seems nothing more than a vast piece of select property. Somebody convinced somebody else to take the vulnerable amphitheater’s repair cause and morph it into their notion of revolutionary change.

There will be no revolution. Instead, watch for the opposite. Expect the new, 41.5 million dollar monstrosity to be fully equipped with a sound system capable of the kind of “smoke and mirrors” show equivalent to a Vegas magician. Look for technology producing decibels of tympanum-killing intensity. Such ideological changes should send its decades-long community of residents – intellects, writers, readers all, superior artists, reflective thinkers – running for the hills. Dissolution, waiting at the gate.

This appears to be the intent.

The Board’s defenders might argue that Chautauqua has always been about evolution and expansion. But, all it takes is a discerning mind to inspect the situation; calling for $41.5 million for a performance space is a recipe for destruction of more than a faulty amphitheater. The residents of the village, and its patrons, didn’t have to come up with that kind of cash alone. While asking it of them would have been obscene, I wonder if perhaps those who already donated to the Institution last year may come to discover that their monies were appropriated in ways that they never realized. This kind of stealth is only a couple genteel steps away from a coups; overtake the people, disempower them, and what is theirs is easily attained.

Predictably, money is poised to capture the mentality of the graceful, the elegant, the precious. Just like tasteless city “planners” notions of what constitutes “class” maraud the landscape, the proponents of such vapid notions likely stand ready to seize the entire village.

So, as we review and contemplate our own resolutions for the coming year, might the rest of us stand to defend the causes of institutional preservation. Wherever we can, might we resolve not just to speak out but to act against the powers of greed and covetousness that seek to demolish them. If we aren’t finally willing to resist these forces, they will succeed in destroying our very belief in the value of history, itself. And, once we turn our backs on our legacies, we condemn ourselves to a bleak and barren future.

The trees will be listening.

.© Ruth Ann Scanzillo 12/31/15

All rights explicitly those of the author, whose name appears above this line. Requests for reproduction, in quote or whole, should be made in writing to : littlebarefeet@msn.com Thank you, and Happy New Year!

littlebarefeetblog.com

Vive La USA.

November 15, 2015civic commentary, contemplative essaysfake passports, false IDs, immigration, nationalism, terrorism, The Constitution of the United Statesruth ann scanzillo

[final edit]

Call me misinformed, but I thought France was one of the first European countries to welcome those of all nationalities with open borders. Paris, as far back as my visit in 1984, was already a veritable stew of Arabs, Africans, and those of every Euro persuasion. In fact, this may have been the first city since the inception of the new Toronto in the ’70s to become such a potpourri of peoples. I, the daughter of a white Anglo Saxon Protestant and a vagabond, second generation Italian, think I saw my very first black bearded male wearing a religious head covering in person that year, in Paris.

I remember those among my friends and associates whose parents, like mine, were of the World War II generation. There’d be the occasional slur against the French; were they poor soldiers, back then? Had they failed to fight?

A moment ago, I saw news footage of a fleet of air power hitting ISIS targets – coming from France. I felt the surge. Was it pride, now, for the French — or, my own residual patriotism, from deep in my own nucleic soup?

We speculate. Was Saturday’s horror provoked by the Charlie cartoonists? Yet, the slaughter against Paris feels, to me, like an attack against asylum, itself.

This event, above all else, will likely change the immigration debate in one big hurry. How infected our world has become – with fake passports, false IDs and, now, refugee cards, played off for access. Worms, all.

Last week, I was trolled by an online impostor. He’d infiltrated the dating website for the oldest among us, the aging market, OurTime.com. My unsuccessful search for any verification of his identity led me to the phone number he’d recklessly offered just two days before the attack, his having claimed the need to meet in New York with a Client from South Africa about a Contract and the desire that I text him at that number so he could reply before he headed my way. That phone number, a landline for starters, had an online history of reports against it; the person claiming that number was not only using a fake ID, but a fake location, and attempting to sell high end firearms that he did not own.

After Saturday, I couldn’t help but smell the gun metal as I viewed the news footage coming out of France. I could not escape the taste of burning flesh vaporizing into the air around my computer. I could not avoid wonder, and a chill, every time I recalled the photos of one self-described Slovakian-American hybrid and the things he had said, about studying in France (!), about his travels to Egypt, Russia, Qatar, Austria, his references to building a relationship with me that would be “PERFECT.”

How close are any of us to this evil? Perhaps just one gesture, one click away?

I recall telling my educational methods instructor in college, in 1980, that I considered our society sick. How more prophetic could this have possibly been? Now, I finally get these nationalists, with their war cry of civil liberties and their determination to save our Constitution. We had better get our political act together yesterday, and fortify ourselves with non-partisanship and a commitment to unity on all fronts. The globe is infested; this oasis we call home is getting more precious by the hour.

All rights those of the author, whose name appears above this line. No copies, extractions, or selective quotes permitted without written request and full, printed acknowledgement of the source. Thank you.

littlebarefeetblog.com

Pink.

October 8, 2015civic commentary, Deep Questionsbreast cancer, breast cancer treatment options, cancer charities, the Pink campaign, thetruthaboutcancer.comruth ann scanzillo

I’m with the ladies who won’t do the Pinking.

First of all, when you consume most pink food, you are ingesting elements which are not part of the human nourishment option. Red raspberries, sweet beets, the common radish, and some plums, are the only food whose juice even comes close to being pink; the rest is likely paint, dye, a mix of undigestible and/or toxic substance. Even peppermint isn’t pink; it’s green, just like every other growing mint.

Secondly, the organization which started the whole pinkball rolling is one of a legion of allegedly legitimate breast cancer charities. Only problem is, it – like so many other philanthropic foundations which may have begun as a small collective of the earnest and well-meaning – is fully staffed and directed. And, the one at the top of that pile – the executive director – makes a high six figures of yearly income.

So, if you buy in, you are aligning with everybody else who believes just because somebody else does.

Do your own diligence. Do your own research. Find the facts. And, wear whatever the hell color you want.

thetruthaboutcancer.com

– Ruth Ann Scanzillo – littlebarefeetblog.com