Charles Huckelbury lives in Henniker.

In a series of lectures for MasterClass, Yo-Yo Ma describes how music brings people together, and he articulates three elements of any musical piece necessary to promote and maintain social cooperation. The first is seeking truth, or being faithful to the content of the piece being presented. The same can be said about truth in politics, which in today’s toxic environment tends to get lost in the vitriol that fills cable news and campaign rallies.

Imagine being at a concert where the band or symphony doesn’t play well or doesn’t play what you want to hear. You would demand a refund and vow never to be fooled again. As Yo-Yo Ma emphasizes, truth is not the personal property of any single individual; it belongs to all of us.

Compare, for example, Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address to the Republican response. Biden’s performance was, in Ma’s terms, a symphony of hope and optimism. Each note was carefully crafted and appealed to the audience’s desires and needs. In contrast, Senator Katie Britt of Alabama appeared before the same audience and offered a dirge of despair. Standing in her kitchen, we witnessed a pandering insult to women everywhere, as if their only proper role was in the kitchen. Senator Britt’s was a distinct counterpoint to the president’s work, a discordant plucking of an out-of-tune banjo rather than the masterful symphony that preceded her.

Ma’s second concern is building trust that the musician is communicating to the audience the truths contained in the work. If not, the audience should again make a hasty exit and avoid future concerts by the same performer. In a political comparison, would a U.S. audience be tempted to trust a presidential candidate who invites Viktor Orban, Hungary’s fascist dictator, into his home? Orban’s recent comment that democracy doesn’t work should provoke the electoral audience to reject both Orban and his host. Something is clearly wrong, and no one is to blame but the composer/conductor who promised one thing and delivered something quite the opposite.

The third element to consider in this musical analogy is the service being performed. As Yo-Yo Ma points out, music tends to unite us. It evokes memories of shared events and urges us to respond in similar ways. We sing or hum along with the tune or tap our feet or simply sit back and enjoy the experience. The democratic ideal was predicated on the same goal: bringing people together. Just like with any musical piece, it is necessary to participate carefully to avoid hitting the wrong notes and making the work unrecognizable.

The words of the master cellist were never more relevant than in this election year. Donald Trump recently declared that America is “dying” and a “joke.” But his feeble attempt to serenade the electorate continues to fall on ears capable of telling the difference between music and noise. He is a one-man band playing off-key. Even when his disinformation or misinformation grabs the headlines or fills requests for donations, more people are leaving their seats in disgust at the performance.

During Biden’s speech, the hostility of the GOP members of Congress was expected. They are, after all, soloists trying to make a political statement that ignores the truth of the music they are hearing as well as their audience’s welfare. It was a dishonest response to an articulation of the strength and progress the United States continues to demonstrate to the rest of the world. If they don’t like the music President Biden played, they can remain at that other concert venue with only a loud trumpet on stage.