As I listen to it the thought comes to mind that it was composed
by a Russian in 1887. What was going down along those lines in
this country at that time? You might say nothing comparable and
you would be right for this reason, the 4th came out of a long
established culture, one that did not exist in America circa 1887
and one might posit there is no overarching culture in America
to this day.
The reason is plain to see and I’m fussy with the use of the word
see. I prefer Funk and Wagnall’s definition no. 2 “To perceive
with the mind; understand”.
I am a first generation American of Scottish ancestry.
I know nothing about Scotland and never will. You know where I’m
going with this, do you not?
We are a nation of immigrants, who soon lose sight and remembrance
of what went before. A pity perhaps but that is our fate,
and by the way the 4th was knick-named “Fate”.
Islander