On May 17, 1963, Baldwin appeared on the cover of TIME magazine as part of a major story titled “Nation: The Root of the Negro Problem,” whose lead sentence read: “At the root of the Negro problem is the necessity of the white man to find a way of living with the Negro in order to live with himself.” Although Baldwin’s civil rights advocacy was the focus, the piece shone a sidewise gleam on Baldwin the artist and raised the broader question of the writer’s role in society. ANNE T.“A society must assume that it is stable, but the artist must know, and he must let us know, that there is nothing stable under heaven,” James Baldwin (August 2, 1924–December 1, 1987) wrote in his classic 1962 essay “The Creative Process.” By then, he was already one of America’s most celebrated writers - an artist who shook up the baseboards of society by dismantling the structures of power and convention with unflinching fortitude, dignity, and integrity of conviction. Once young people absorb the messages of love and hope in the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, they are unlikely to be carried away by sordid rap songs or anything that glorifies hate and violence. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, only 3.7 percent of a $12 billion market went to classical music in 1994. Then they complain when enterprising record companies fill the void with gangsta rap and other obscenities. On the contrary, school boards often cut such "frills" as music in early education, and otherwise responsible parents fail to expose their children to "good" music. So far, I have heard only of censorship by would-be reformers and nothing about using music as an antidote for the trash young people hear every day. You can hypnotize people with music, and when you get them at their weakest point you can preach into their subconscious what you want to say." Again, it is the intention that counts. In more recent times, Life magazine quoted rock star Jimi Hendrix in a 1969 interview: "Music is a spiritual thing on its own. But - and this is important - they also observed that music used with good intentions can lead to piety and peacefulness in the listener. Both Confucius and Plato believed that music used improperly could corrupt society. Bob Dole that this is not the first time in history that music and lyrics have been called a threat to the established order.
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