Weimar Istanbul
When I was working on that piece about banning the burqa, I found it extremely helpful to put the question to Ricochet's members. It very much helped my to clarify my own thoughts. (That piece will be out next week in National Review, by the way. You'll see that I came down on the side of banning it--and quite strongly. I thought the arguments in favor of the ban won the day.)
I'm working now on another piece, for City Journal, and again trying to get my own thoughts organized. The story is about what I'd call "Weimar Istanbul," by which I mean the spookiness of living in a city that's at the epicenter of an impending political catastrophe, the mood of dread but also of astonishing vitality -- creative, artistic, economic -- that makes it hard to believe things are as serious as my sense of logic tells me they are.
I'm wondering if there's such a phenomenon as a "Weimar city," by which I mean a city that is in some way animated, given a distinct culture, by a mood of political precariousness. What would these cities have in common? What would be good examples of such cities from history?
Any specialists in Weimar history and culture out there? What might I be reading (beside Peter Gay, obviously) that might give me a fuller sense of the parallels between contemporary Istanbul and, say, Weimar Berlin? I'm looking for analogies both political and cultural.
Don't hesitate to participate, even if this isn't your subject of expertise--all ideas that might lead to interesting avenues of thought are welcome. I'd be particularly curious to hear from Confucious, the Œcumenical Volgi, and from Victor Davis Hanson.
Hey, anyone like this as a slogan? Ricochet: You do the thinking, I'll take the credit!
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Re: Weimar Istanbul
Fantastic ideas on this thread, by the way, and I'm truly grateful to everyone who participated. Having a pool of interesting, creative people at my disposal with whom to discuss these sorts of things has been a real blessing for me, especially since I'm living in relative linguistic and cultural isolation--I'm not at a university or a think tank, so when I want to talk about ideas like this, it's not easy to find willing interlocutors. Thank you, everyone.
May '10
Re: Weimar Istanbul
I've heard it said that only Germans refer to the Fatherland, instead of the Motherland. You can hear it the language. You can read it in their philosophy. For a long time, Germans were the antithesis of the French. They preferred direct confrontation and simple solutions. At least, that's what my limited knowledge leads me to believe.
I know even less about the Turks. But I wouldn't be surprised if they have a similar inclination to confrontation and simple solutions, because they are gatekeepers, culturally and militarily, of a vital geographic crossroads.
Perhaps the arts and other expressions of creativity are a natural response of a blunt-minded people when trapped with problems that demand endless nuance.
May '10
Re: Weimar Istanbul
Aaron, not sure I would not read to much into Vaterland vs Mutterland in German. I recall they use Muttersprache (Mothertongue) for one's native language, and Mutterland for one's place of origin. Lots of germanic based languages use Fatherland type words; and also Italian uses Patria/Madrepatria (yes both Father and Motherland) in the sense of homeland.
Re: Weimar Istanbul
Interestingly, one of the most politically meaningful phrases in Turkish is "devlet baba" -- Father State.
Edited on Jul. 28 at 2:00amRe: Weimar Istanbul
That said, the Turks are anything but "blunt-minded." The subtlety and opacity of the culture, after all, give rise to the word "Byzantine." All of your associations with that word are correct.
May '10
Re: Weimar Istanbul
Interesting. In every culture, the images of father and mother, male and female, emerge to reveal associations with ideas like husbandry and guardianship or nurture and affection. Perhaps some insights can be found by identifying where such associations occur.
But I admit that there are often no definite conclusions to be drawn. However certain words in Spanish became masculine or feminine, the logic eroded long ago. Latin was so much more sensible with its neuter gender.
Claire Berlinski
The subtlety and opacity of the culture, after all, give rise to the word "Byzantine." All of your associations with that word are correct. · Jul 28 at 1:58am
In my experience, circumspection encourages an artful use of language, excepting where lawyers are involved.
Jul '10
Re: Weimar Istanbul
Claire Berlinski
That said, the Turks are anything but "blunt-minded." The subtlety and opacity of the culture, after all, give rise to the word "Byzantine." All of your associations with that word are correct. · Jul 28 at 1:58am
It's worth noting (to me at least) that said subtley and opacity pre-dated the Turks, and availed little in 1453.