Kevin Roden – 03.07.10

Soon our town square will be over run by young skinny-jeaned hipsters, wearing out their Toms as they pedal their vintage ten speeds from venue to venue buying each one out of their hefty supply of Pabst Blue Ribbon tall boys.  But despite the display of pusillanimity that is sure to be prevalent among many of the attendees, a lost virtue emerges from the very presence of this Conferette that would make even Aristotle proud.

Magnanimity is the “crowning virtue” for a great human, precisely because it arises out of his or her practice of all the other virtues.  Literally, it means greatness of soul.  It is the display of what should be expected from such heights: protector and fighter for that which is good – delighting in a display of benevolence – sacrificing one’s own goods in order to provide useful and noble objects for the good of the public.  The ancients were right in predicting that this virtue would be hard to find in a democracy, where the virtue of equality tends to set the noble and ignoble side by side.  But because democracies are home to several kinds of souls, as Plato put it, even the good kind can rear its head from time to time.

No one loves Denton more than NX35 Director Chris Flemmons.  With a vision to put this town on the map of great American cities, Flemmons has provided us with something noble in the creation of this Conferette.  It has landed us national attention, deepened the community among our young artists and musicians, provided space for our town to host world-class acts, and attracted new travelers to this city.  But more important than all of these, NX35 provides the citizens of Denton with an example of one of its own doing something great.  This is the real need for magnanimity within a city – not merely for what it brings to a town, but for what it inspires in its citizenry.

O’Neil Ford, Texas’ most prominent architect, called Denton his hometown.  If you go to the Historic Landmark posted in the courtyard of Denton’s City Hall, a structure he designed, you will read this:

Late in his career, Ford would recall the influences of his days in Denton and credit his pursuit of the creative life with his fascination with the Denton County Courthouse. Ford would say, “I used to just stand there, wondering how they ever got it up …. I was in Denton just the other day … so I went over to look at the courthouse again and still don’t know how they ever did that blasted, blessed thing.”

Great things done in a city inspire other great things.  Unfortunately, the opposite is also true: lame things inspire lame things.  May the magnanimity of Flemmons inspire it in us as well.  Our town could sure use more of it.

Now crack open that PBR, get yourself a wristband, and let the music begin.