You Might Have Inspired Me

I want to divert from my usual line of writing, which is mostly weighted on the music aspect of the theme of this blog, and write about the other aspect of this blog: inspirations.  I'm watching The American Experience | Reagan, a biography of the man's presidency and the rollercoaster of events that accompanied his terms.  I'm reminded of Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World--a book that walks through the complexities of the aftermath of WWI but focuses on the personalities of Wilson, Lloyd George, and Clemenceau and how they (the personalities of each) played such a huge part the decisions that were made (and weren't made) as a result.  The book describes a number of encounters between the three where each are on completely different levels, which effectively causes negotiations to deliberate far longer than any had hoped.  It also leads you to wonder what the possibilities could have been if the three had actually gotten along. The part of the Reagan show that demonstrates the steps--the little things here and there--that take discussions with the Soviet Union from nil to the agreement of disarmament are really quite moving.  The part that really grabbed me was how on Reagan's first meeting with Gorbachev, Gorbachev's aids note how it was evident that Gorbachev was intrigued and swayed by Reagan's charm and ability to portray his human-ness.  The show doesn't directly draw this parallel, but allows you to draw the conclusion that it was really Reagan's personality that paved the way to the end of communism in Russia. Now, my intent here is not to assess the validity of Reagan's personality as the reason for the relative success of the negotiations with the Soviets, but rather to emphasize the value of one's character traits.  Seeing the effect that values have when relating to people is quite simple, yet quite profound.  These values govern the little things that we do--the decisions that we make on a day to day basis--that slowly compile themselves amidst the chaos of life and affect people and events that we can and could never predict. It's good to have a reminder about the simple things every now and then.