Face the Music

“Face the music” is an idiom that originated in Japan, or so I read somewhere.  According to the story, a man of great wealth and influence, wanting to “perform” before the emperor, demanded that he be given a place in the imperial orchestra.  The trouble is that he himself couldn’t play a note.  But, he had power and influence so… well, you know, money talks and power persuades.  So, he was given a flute and the conductor agreed to let him sit in the second row of the orchestra, despite the fact that he could neither play nor read a note of music.   In concerts the man would raise his instrument, pucker his lips and move his fingers along the flute, going through all the motions of playing but never making a sound.

This deception continued for two years.  Then a new conductor took over.  He told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally.  One by one they performed in his presence.  Then came the “flutist’s” turn; frantic with worry, he pretended to be sick.  However, a doctor was ordered to examine him and he was declared to be perfectly well.  The conductor thus insisted that the man appear before him and demonstrate his skill.   Unable to “face the music,” shamefacedly the “flutist” had to confess that he was a fake.

Do we have a right to get what we want simply because we could afford it?  Do we have a right to have our way simply because it is within our power to demand it?  When we become so used to getting our way and receiving every demand we make, we lose perspective.  We no longer think in terms of what’s best, fitting, or right, as in “Is this good for me or is my “request” healthy, beneficial or even proper?”  We simply demand and indulge.  Pretty soon we begin to believe that we can do anything, even perform in an orchestra without playing a note.  We’re out of touch with Reality.  In the end, when real authentic integrity is called for, “Reality Check!” we are at a loss and are unable to “face the music.”  Perhaps we have seen this truth played out in other people’s lives, but this truth is as applicable to nations and corporations as it is with individuals.

Big business, powerful nations, as well as rich and powerful individuals are in constant danger of this temptation: getting what they want because they can afford it, demanding what they want because they have the power and influence to make it so.  Remember the saying, “Better watch what you ask for, you just may very well get it.”  It is not always good to get what we want, especially if we’re so used to having our way that we think it is our god-given right to demand it and get it at any cost, regardless of consequence to self and others.  (Might it be that having this kind of attitude is the very reason why we are in two wars in the Middle East that we just can’t seem to resolve and pull ourselves out of?)

We are a big and powerful nation and we know it.  Have we become too comfortable with our wealth and power?  Do we too easily expect that we should get what we want simply because we, the U. S. of A. demand it?  Has throwing our weight around become second nature to us?  I can’t help thinking of the history of nations and empires: Where is the great Babylonian Empire (present day Iraq), or the Great Persian Empire (Iran), or the once great Ottoman Empire (Turkey), or the great empires of the Pharaohs (Egypt), not to mention the glory days of Greece and Rome?  And do you remember when it was said that “The Sun never set over the British Empire” and India was the jewel in her crown?  Where is the British Empire now?  Is the U. S. any different?  Effectively, great Kingdoms, Empires, and Nations crumble from within before they are crushed from without.  Pride goes before a fall, and the greater the pride, the greater is the fall and its shame.