November 9, 2023

Dear Nathaniel,

After I wake up, unless my mind loses its way to some other topic, I intend to listen to one or more of Kurt Weill's later compositions, and will write you more. Meanwhile I entertain the hypothesis that Weill was a chameleon who assimilated himself to his environment, and that the potential leveling between rich and poor was a very enticing theme in high-inflation Weimar Republic. Weill's assimilation to Broadway, Hollywood and perhaps Walt Whitman is on my menu.

Meanwhile I think much about my father's (and my own) rigidity with respect to changing esthetic and "moral" values. I contemplate the contemporary turmoil in American politics as reflection of conflicting cultural standards with plausible sensitivities on both sides. I think I know what would be best for me, but I hesitate to presume to adjudicate the demands of others.

Parenthetically, I ask with respect to the Statement of Commitment: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, how can an institution presume to pursue Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, when it excludes individuals who disdain to pursue Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That's a question that you should NOT raise in your interview. 

Jochen