PHYSICIAN
[ a song, easy-listening ]
The philosophy of Albert Schweitzer
International Albert Schweitzer Foundation
Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society
Salk Institute for Biological Studies March of Dimes
DEDICATED TO: The late Jacques Yves Cousteau; nothing more than his name need be said, for his name is synonymous with Reverence For Life. Also dedicated to Itzhak Perlman; violinist virtuoso extraordinaire, who has persevered since being victimized by polio at an early age to become perhaps the greatest violinist of the 20th (and 21st) Century and whose innovative expertise extending well beyond the normal bounds of strict classical interpretation, Albert Schweitzer, a great classical musician himself, would have undoubtedly very much admired.
Credits:
1. Lyric concept from the motion picture soundtrack "Bless The Beasts And The Children", by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.; performed by The Carpenters (1971).
*FootNote: "Once man begins to think about the mystery of his life and the links connecting him with the life that fills the world, he cannot but accept, for his own life and all other life that surrounds him, the principle of Reverence for Life. He will act according to this principle of the ethical affirmation of life in everything he does. His life will become in every respect more difficult than if he lived for himself, but at the same time it will be richer, more beautiful, and happier. It will become, instead of mere living, a genuine experience of life."
--Albert Schweitzer
**FootNote II: Not many years ago, the author was talking to a college student at the University of California at Santa Barbara and happened to mention Albert Schweitzer in the conversation. The immediate reply was, "Who the hell is Albert Schweitzer?" In the frustrating years of high school, to avoid the abject boredom of the classroom as much as possible, the author spent many hours in the school library, studying among other things, the life and works of Albert Schweitzer. Not only was Dr. Schweitzer an accomplished physician, author, scientist, musician and philosopher, he was far and beyond, one of civilization's greatest humanitarians and perhaps modern history's first noteworthy environmentalist. Before Jacques Cousteau, a humanitarian in his own right, Albert Schweitzer was practicing extreme reverence for the flora and fauna of our planet and was warning of the potential fallout from global pollution before most people understood that it was much of a problem. He is reported to be the only known human to have ever tamed a wild pelican and he had such reverence for life that he would insist that sidewalks on his hospital grounds be built around as many trees as possible. He had to be prodded to even allow the occasional extermination of ants and mosquitoes that poise such a rampant dilemma in Africa and although his talents could have earned him millions had he chosen to write, lecture, perform and practice medicine in Europe or the United States, he instead lived in such poverty that some of his philosophy and letters were written on the backs of envelopes and other scraps of paper. Perhaps more than any other modern historical figure, Dr. Schweitzer had a profound and lasting effect on the author's social and environmental conscience. Albert Schweitzer is modern history's foremost example of the importance of understanding that Human Rights and environmental activism are part of the same Just Cause and he represents very clear and persuasive proof that the good deeds and positive influence of one can offset the evil of many. It remains a tragic and open shame, that he is rarely if ever, mentioned in American classrooms. (See also, The Tree of Knowledge.)
'Click Here to eMail the Author Copyright © August 20th, 2003 by Richard Aberdeen. |