Eurocentrism at its finest

Often I feel guilty and bad about myself just because I am a white American of European descent. As if it weren't bad enough that I obediently pay taxes that support government policies I think are evil, a few years ago I made the mistake of reading A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present, by Howard Zinn. I used to comfort myself with the fact that my early American ancestors (my mom's family goes wa-a-a-a-ay back) could not have been slave owners because they only lived in the north. But flip through the Zinn book and you'll find that those northerners were every bit as awful as those in the slave states. Only instead of oppressing the black slaves, they oppressed the native Americans . . . and each other. And unlike the evil southern white guys, the evil northern white guys managed to keep their atrocities out of the history books, too.

But there is one arena where Europeans shine like no other culture, and whenever I get to feeling really awful about our history I remember that we invented polyphonic music. We invented harmony and the symphony orchestra. No other culture on earth can match us for music.

This cd has been living in my car stereo for quite a while now. I challenge you to listen to the two versions of Ave Maria, first the Gounod and then the Schubert, one after the other and in that order, and not be moved to a place beyond even tears.