I don't mean to discount some of the more positive activities taking place all over the world. In the past year, I've found myself in a position to get a glimpse like never before of how much hard work and sweat is being put in behind the scenes. Much of this work is necessarily administrative in nature, involving more politics than music. The problem arises when we become more concerned about posturing than about the music we seek to promote. Just as in governmental politics, we often hear many differing points of view offered regarding the correct course of action on a particular music issue.
Adversarial relations are a lose-lose proposition.
With the realization that useless criticism does not bring them closer to their objectives, the partners work to understand one another's strengths and reach mutual agreement about the project goals and how to reach them. To make their partnership work, all parties must be focused on their mutual objective, and deal with honesty and diplomacy. Of course, a competition is a form of rivalry that has its merits as a motivator and as a forum for constructive critique of the music. But destructive criticism aimed only at strengthening one political position is selfish and, ultimately, self-destructive. If the true cause is the advancement of our art, then we must applaud every accomplishment, no matter how small or to whose credit.