April 11, 2020
TRACKING THE WILD MEANDER
meander \mee-AN-der\ verb. 1 : to follow a winding or intricate course. 2 : to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination : ramble.
Once in a while I set out to simply follow a trial of connections through the wilderness of my mind and the internet. This one started, for reasons I can't figure out, when Oscar Levant, (1906 - 1972) the pianist and wit, popped into my head. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Levant
His comments are almost always interesting, acerbic and funny. A sampling can be seen at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oscar_Levant or https://www.quotetab.com/quotes/by-oscar-levant
One quote that stood out for me was Levant's comment on hearing that Milton Berle, (1908 - 2002) the comedian, had converted from Judaism to Christian Science. Levant said "Our loss is their loss."
That led me to Milton Berle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Berle. There, I was momentarily sidetracked by biographical material devoted to the reputed large size of his penis. (The Google search for the exact phrase "Milton Berle's penis" yields about 270,000 hits.) My judgement is that the matter is not settled. As the rabbis of the Talmud would say when they could not find a conclusive answer, "Tayku." (The Hebrew acronym stands for the words Tishbi yitaretz kushyot u shealot (the Messiah will ultimately solve all difficult questions)
I pulled myself away from that trail and returned to the Christian Science aspect.
There was not much about his conversion, but information about Christian Science itself was interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science (a comprehensive survey containing much more than I wanted to know) The list of prominent believers was surprising, particularly in the field of movies. I almost venture to say, "Beware of religions practiced by movie stars and celebrities."
Notable Scientists have included Directors of Central Intelligence William H. Webster and Admiral Stansfield M. Turner; Richard Nixon's chief of staff H. R. Haldeman; and Chief Domestic Advisor John Ehrlichman. The viscountess Nancy Astor was a Christian Scientist, as was naval officer Charles Lightoller, who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
There used to be a concentration of Scientists in the film industry, including Joan Crawford, Carol Channing, Doris Day, Colleen Dewhurst, Cecil B. DeMille, Horton Foote, George Hamilton, Mary Pickford, Ginger Rogers, Mickey Rooney, Jean Stapleton and King Vidor. Robert Duvall and Val Kilmer are Christian Scientists. Those raised by Christian Scientists include jurist Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Henry Fonda, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Robin Williams. Actor Anne Archer was raised within Christian Science; she left the church when her son, Tommy Davis, was a child, and both became prominent in the Church of Scientology.
I ignored the tempting mention of Scientology and meditated on how both Christian Science and Mormonism, products of 19th century America, departed from original Christianity. That line of thinking somehow, through steps I am too tired to recount, led me to reach the same sort of conclusion about Christianity that I have reached about Judaism, namely, that its best part is not its theology but an aspect not usually considered primary. In the case of Christianity, it is music, plus some credit for adding a feminine element to its divine mythology and breaking the godhead into a few paradoxical pieces - although still mostly trapped in the totalitarianism of monotheism.
And, having come close to rounding a sort of circle by sort of reaching the field to which Oscar Levant devoted his life, (music, not religion) I brought my meander to an end.
P.S. My conclusion about Judaism is that its best part is its jokes.
END
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