Greatness in Society- a Lesson From Violins

Does greatness beget greatness, or can it come from something less? Violins are a good example of greatness begetting greatness. We all know some violins play better than others. The greatest violins play the best of all. Scientists and artisans of the craft have been studying this phenomenon for ages- trying to duplicate the essence of a great Stradivarius by understanding it’s design and construction in the minutest detail. Try as they may, an exact copy with the same quality of sound can’t be duplicated. A theory postulates that time is a missing ingredient. One can copy every detail of the design and construction, but only time will determine if the copy is truly up to par. Two hundred or more years may be needed to age the violin to greatness.

But time alone is not the answer either. My son suggests that it must be played, and played well-- very well-- by virtuosos. So it may be that a great violin can only grow to be great by being played by the greatest violinists. The quality of the violin is actually developed by the player more than by the maker. The sound comes from resonant vibrations within the violin. The structure has points of large displacement and points of minimum displacement as the notes vibrate. The violin develops loose joints and tight joints in all the right places from being played exceptionally well. As the violin is played by a virtuoso the sound quality improves with age. The violin is played to greatness. It takes many lifetimes of expert play to develop the greatest sound quality. Great violins have transferred from generation to generation through the masterful hands of the great players. That, more than anything else, may be the secret to achieving greatness. The converse is also true. Great violins can be degraded, even damaged, if a mediocre violinist plays it. The structure resonates in the wrong places. It doesn’t stay tight where it should, and sound quality is adversely affected.

So while greatness begets greatness in violins, what about our society? Are we playing our way to greatness, or are we ruining a good thing? We started out with a lofty idea on paper and we cling to it today. We’ve made progress over the years, but improvements have come at glacial speed. If we are on a path to greatness, time and careful stewardship will be needed by great leaders for generations to come. Only the best people can shape society toward greatness, but that hasn’t happened very often. Throughout our history, it’s usually the richest people who have influenced our society. Their motivation has been for profit, not the best interests of people. Every time we elect a mediocre leader, our progress to greatness is  marred as if being played by a poor violinist. Great leaders just don’t come along often enough to play us into greatness. Greatness can’t happen in one presidential administation. It takes continuous persistence of great leaders for many generations.

President Obama offers hope to a society that yearns for change. Despite his best intentions, the inertia of society will not allow rapid change, regardless of how it benefits the people. Health care reform is a good example. We’ve had over 200 years to play our way to greatness. Can we continue to improve at glacier speed or will we be overtaken by another society? Some people would argue that other countries are creating better societies, and some people would argue to the contrary, but that’s another discussion.