THE canaille knows that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a genius, but it doesn’t really know why, nor does it care to know, nor will it ever know. It just knows that Mozart was a genius, much like it knows that Caucasians are inherently racist; the Vatican controls the banks and the media; terrorists hate America’s freedoms; the peaceful and democratic nation of Israel is constantly being attacked by Islamic fundamentalists; and six million innocents were exterminated at the hands of the Germans during World War II. Furthermore, thanks to the film Amadeus, the canaille also knows that old Wolfie was a complete buffoon who swigged liquor straight out of the bottle, spoke and gesticulated like a teenager, made fart jokes, and laughed like a jackass. Oh yes—and that Antonio Salieri was a moron who thanked his maker every time he succeeded in putting together a childish march. (Nevermind that the man composed more than 40 operas and taught the likes of Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert and Hummel.)

The canaille knows superficially, but by the way it arrogantly and self-importantly expounds on its opinions and criticisms, a foreigner to this world would think that this canaille must be a very learned group indeed to allow itself such airs of condescension and to expound with such pomp and circumstance. If this foreigner were fluent in English, however, in addition to quickly changing his opinion, he would also find himself in a state of thorough confusion. For he wouldn’t be able to comprehend how such inarticulate, ungrammatical utterances could possibly be paired with such swagger and conceit, such arrogance and self-importance.

But they can be paired in these post-cultural times, and almost always are, because the canaille knows everything superficially and only one thing genuinely—that it is special and significant, witty and intelligent, artistic and original, the center of attention or soon to be. Perhaps if it knew about the thousands of hours old Wolfie had devoted to study and practice before composing his four violin concerti at the age of 17, it would realize that genius must be nurtured. But the canaille is not conditioned to make this realization. Instead it is conditioned to arrive at the much more comfortable conclusion that genius is inherent and spontaneous, yielding artistic fruit without ever having to be tilled. Therefore one can laugh like a jackass one’s entire life and still be able to create some of the most beautiful art in the world.