"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before"

Leonard Bernstein’s words advocate for a creative, life-affirming response to acts of violence. Rather than responding to brutality with anger, hatred, or further aggression, Bernstein calls for an even greater dedication to beauty, art, and creation. He views music as more than mere entertainment; it is a profound emblem of human connection, empathy, and understanding. By pledging to make music “more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before,” he suggests that the highest ideals of humanity are realized and preserved not despite suffering, but precisely as a conscious response to it.

Violence seeks to divide, to break spirits and fracture societies. Bernstein’s conviction is that, in the wake of such darkness, the refusal to succumb is itself a defiant act of hope. Artistic expression offers solace to the soul and serves as an assertion of humanity’s highest aspirations. For Bernstein, intensifying one’s artistic or creative efforts in response to tragedy is not escapism; it is resistance. It becomes a form of healing and a testament to resilience. Through music, people communicate across boundaries of language, culture, and experience, reaffirming bonds that violence aims to unravel.

By responding to violence not with vengeance, but with greater devotion to art, Bernstein believes we uplift not just ourselves, but those around us. Such a reply preserves the possibility for empathy and beauty in the world, asserting that hope can outshine despair. Devotion to music or other creative pursuits channels grief and anger into something constructive, giving tragedy new meaning and reinforcing the dignity of the human spirit. Art becomes an act of courage, a refusal to allow darkness the last word, and a signal to others that, even in pain, people can choose to generate light. Through such mindful creation, Bernstein sees a path to healing and a more compassionate, united society.