Rick Toone | Luthier

The Work Ethic

Goran was wandering around Stockholm this weekend, and bumped into a mate of his who's been playing in bands for the past 10 years. As reported via email, their conversation went something like this:

"Man, that guitar is easy to play (Starfish). You can cheat when you play...just try to cheat on a Les Paul."

"Can you please explain to me what 'cheating' on guitar means?"

"Dude, you just can't cheat on a Les Paul. That guitar is legend."

In Western civilization, we have a fine tradition of suffering for art:

"An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn’t know why they choose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder why." — William Faulkner

I don't know why. Why?

I say, if you want to suffer for art, please feel free. But your suffering should perhaps relate to the creative process, rather than to your tools. Of what use to the painter would be brushes that burn the hand when touched? Of what use to the writer would be a keyboard with needles instead of keys?

I take it as a compliment, Starfish is too easy to play. Hallelujah! In fact, my goal is to create instruments that play themselves. Orchid's half way there. I'm hoping, at some point, to create an invisible instrument — a tool so transparent the mere act of imagining music causes sound.

For the moment though, we'll just watch in amusement as suffering guitarists twist their bodies in a tendon-splaying spine-warping shoulder-sagging ergonomic-contortion of adaptation to an 11 pound instrument designed 60 years ago and affectionately known by its creator as: "The Log"

Tradition!

Racism 2

As you can imagine, yesterday's post about racism landed a few emails in my inbox:

"I agree in part with your analysis. I don't want someone elected to the highest office BECAUSE of race or because of gender, but rather on qualifications, ideas, or ability to be a leader. However, I still would very much like to see either one of them elected. I'd like to know that I'm living in a country where it is possible for a black man to be president or at least possible to make a good run for it, and then let the best man or woman win!"

I find this response encouraging due to the writer's emphasis on qualifications in choice selection. The writer's selection equation is no longer simply:

a) I choose (candidate) based on variable Y (race/gender)

but...

b) I choose (candidate) based on variable Y (race/gender) PLUS variable Z (qualifications)

The writer then responded:

"But actually my thought goes beyond my choice, to others, so this may or may not be mathematically correct or acceptable logic but: 'I choose (candidate) based on variable Z (qualifications) and hope that others also select on Z rather than de-selecting on variable Y (race/gender).'"

A biologist also wrote, to clarify the role of evolution in racism:

"...racial hatred is intrinsically evolutionary — how do we know if someone is family? They look like us. If they do not, then we don't help them. If they are different enough, we fight them, because they steal our resources. We dislike because of difference. Sadly (we intellectualize), this is normal."

And, in response to the email quoted at top:

"...(the writer) likes someone for being different...(this position) is not endogenous in origin, it is intellectual and experiential in its basis, and therefore is not intrinsic or instinctive. The desire for someone different — in this case to hold office — is (consciously or not) determined by a desire for certain intellectual goals to be met. Something (the writer) has been taught, or has experienced, leads them to an anti-evolutionary opinion.

"The wonder and strength of the human brain."

To summarize, choosing to experience someone of a different race is a conscious decision which runs contrary to evolutionary instinct.

What becomes contentious is how we, as a society, choose to promote exogenous thinking. How we choose, as a group, to reason our way past our biological instincts.

The process of creating internal awareness of self-worth, self-sufficiency, and self-confidence, what we call self-esteem, is created through a series of TRY (then) FAIL (or) SUCCEED experiments: Constructivism.

1. Attempting, then failing, builds realistic expectations, and an accurate perception of self-limits.

2. Attempting, then succeeding, builds self-confidence and mastery.

This is why it is so important to build the opportunity for failure into learning environments and classrooms. And into the lives of young children. Failure is an equal contributor to building self-esteem.

What do you think happens to an individual's self-esteem if she knows or discovers her "success" is due to a variable she cannot control? A variable such as skin color?

I would argue her self-esteem is undermined.

This is precisely why any quota system — treating individuals as a collective based on race, gender, ethnicity (or socioeconomic status) — is damaging to a society. The process of making any group "more equal" through legislation, such as Affirmative action or corporate political lobbying, requires the excluded remainder to be treated "less equal."

Endogenous discriminatory behavior is reinforced.

The "less equal" become disenfranchised. Look at what is happening in Kenya. Remember my simple human equation:

a) Inclusion + Opportunity = Peace
b) Alienation + Stagnation = Violence

The first step toward societal healing is, as individuals, to voluntarily look beyond "—isms" such as race or gender, and make decisions based on individual merit. Before that can happen, we need to feel "equally equal" in the eyes of the law.

A societal system that does not recognize "majorities" or "minorities" but instead is based on individual human rights is the only logical answer: equal treatment of the smallest individual units (one person) within the system, rather than legally imposed sub-group treatment as defined by secondary characteristics.

Individualism, not collectivism.

Racism

I wonder what our elections would be like if candidates were represented only by their words and actions. And the appearance of the winner was revealed post-election...

This is a sensitive topic in the United States, but needs to be discussed. One disturbing trend I hear (I live in New Jersey) is:

"I'm going to vote for Barack Obama because he's black. And because his father was a Muslim. Voting him into office will serve as an example to inspire black people in our country to better themselves, and a message to the Muslim world that we are not evil."

That, my well-meaning friends, is racist.

The speaker has just judged a fellow human being on the one attribute over which he has no control — the color of his skin. Sadly, the position expressed above is absolutely no different than if the speaker had said: "I ain't votin' for him 'cause he's a nigger."

Discrimination is prejudicial treatment — for or against — categories of people based on race, age, or sex. Racism is discrimination based on skin color.

The same principle holds true if someone votes for Hillary Clinton: "... because she's a woman." Sexism.

Seperately, why would anyone think the religious beliefs of our hypothetical future president's father will influence the opinion of radical Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East?

My brother is married to a black Jamaican woman. Together, they just had a beautiful baby boy. I want my nephew to grow up in a meritocracy. I don't ever want his self-esteem to be hacked off at the knees because he thought he achieved something in life due to the color of his skin, rather than his ability.

Let me put it another way. If someone shows up at TOONE GUITARS looking for a job as an apprentice luthier, I'm going to judge him by his abilities.

It's that simple.

Racism is a biological response to threat evaluation. Primates in the wild have fractions of a second to determine if a disturbance indicates life or death. From our evolutionary response comes categorization, including stereotypes — and racisim.

I would speculate we all have racist thoughts. If you are honest with yourself, you might admit to a moment of fear or uncertainty €— at some point in your life —€” when encountering a person of a different race. I am at peace with my moments. Evolution speaks. What matters, though, is your reaction to your racist thought: do you linger in the irrational, or do you push toward understanding and acceptance?

That is the measure by which I judge a man, or a woman.

I don't see any way out of the morass of political correctness, other than by returning to a meritocracy based on individual human liberty, as expressed by Jefferson: "All men are created equal." Not regarding talent, but in the eyes of the law. And not more equal as legislated by law.

Under our United States Constitution, as originally written, all are equally protected.

Part II: Responses

Business Plan for Musicians

Seth Godin lays it out for us. Make it happen. I would like to add two thoughts:

1. Copyright is a moral issue — Steve Jobs: Thoughts on Music

2. Music, Tribes & Sex — Are interrelated. Understand, and prosper.