who dared to question his assertions.rnWhich is all to say that Berger was human,rnrather than divine. He was writingrnvigorously until almost the end, and itrnwas still pretty damn good. Berger wasrnone of the few writers who could successfullyrndemand that student law-review editorsrnrefrain from changing any of his text,rnand you angered him at your peril. Ifrnthere are law reviews published beyondrnthe Pearly Gates, Justices Warren andrnBrennan will now be brought to task forrneternity, but Raoul Berger will be missedrnhere.rn—Stephen B. PresserrnPIERRE TRUDFAUS DEATH at thernage of 80 unleashed an outpouring ofrnpublic emotion and grief that has notrnbeen seen in Canada since the death ofrnthe country’s founder, Sir John A. Mac-rnDonald. Dignitaries from all over thernworld, including close friends JimmyrnCarter and Fidel Castro (who was greetedrnby a large crowd at Notre Dame Basilicarnshouting “Viva Fidel!”), attended thernformer Liberal prime minister’s funeralrnin Montreal. It was only fitting thatrnTrudeau, the most destructive Canadianrnprime minister of the 20th century,rnshould be acknowledged by fellow leftistsrnwhose policies and goals he did so muchrnto advance. A man of immense intellectualrntalent, willpower, and panache,rnTrudeau ruled Canada for nearly 16rnyears, from 1968 until 1984. Throughoutrnhis long reign, he led a sweeping revolutionrnthat transformed the country politically,rneconomically, and culturally.rnA constitutional lawyer and the son ofrna millionaire, Trudeau was obsessed withrnQuebec separatism. Like all leftists, herndespised romantic nationalism, and hisrnraison d’etre for entering politics in 1965rnwas to crush the burgeoning independencernmovement in Quebec. The irony,rnhowever, is that Trudeau’s vision of arnbilingual, multicultural Canada basedrnon a strong central government and tenrnequal provinces was deeply resented byrnmost French Quebecers. During thern1970’s, separatist sentiment grew in Quebec,rnculminating in the election, inrn1976, of the Parti Quebecois, led byrnTrudeau’s arch-nemesis, the folksy RenernLevesque. The movement became arnpermanent fixture on the Canadian politicalrnlandscape: Rather than slaying thernseparatist dragon, Trudeau only strengthenedrnit.rnPraised by many in the media for hisrn”devotion to Canada,” Trudeau in factrndespised his nation’s cultural and historicrntraditions. He hated the country’s Toryrnheritage, especially its bicultural andrnbinational reality of an English Canadarnand a Franco-Quebec held together by arnrespect for the rule of law and links withrnthe British crown. He sought to eradicaternthe old Canada through policies such asrnofficial bilingualism, multiculturalism,rnnative collectivism, and the disastrous patriationrnof the Constitution in 1982.rnTrudeau’s greatest mistake was supportingrnnot only the new ConstitutionrniDut the American-style Bill of Rights thatrncame with it, the Charter of Rights andrnFreedoms. By empowering Canada’srnSupreme Court to decide on the constitutionalityrnof legislation, Trudeau underminedrnthe traditional supremacy of Parliamentrnin making laws. He created arnrights-based society that caters to everyrnconceivable left-wing interest group: homosexuals,rnanimal-rights zealots, proabortionists,rnpeddlers of pornography,rnand advocates of euthanasia.rnTrudeau also championed massive increasesrnin government spending. Hernturned the country into a milktoast versionrnof Sweden with anemic economicrngrowth, crushing taxation, and a cripplingrnnational debt. He imposed wagernand price controls; he implemented thernNational Energy Policy that discriminatedrnagainst oil-producers in the West; andrnhe supported nationalization of some keyrnindustries and resources. In short, hisrneconomic policies eroded Canada’s standardrnof living, which was once the envyrnof the world.rnWhile his economic record was one ofrnobvious failure, Trudeau had more successrnin altering the country’s socialrnmores, liberalizing Canada’s abortionrnand sodomy laws. Trudeau also embodiedrnthe chic radicalism of the counterculture.rnHe simultaneously scandalized andrntitillated ordinary Canadians by wearingrnsandals in the prime minister’s office, datingrnHollywood stars such as BarbrarnStreisand and Margot Kidder, and —rnmost famously —marrying MargaretrnTrudeau, 29 years his junior. Their shortrnand tempestuous marriage fascinated thernpublic, as the media reported stories ofrnTrudeau’s infidelities and Margaret’s notoriousrnescapades with the RollingrnStones. Even the heroin-addicted moralrndegenerate Keith Richards had higherrnstandards, once claiming that he wouldrnnever allow his wife to tour with thernRolling Stones.rnTrudeau represented everything thatrnwas wrong with the I960’s — its rampantrnhedonism, sexual permissiveness, selfrighteousness,rnfiscal irresponsibility, andrnpuerile humanitarianism. Sadly, thernmass mourning generated by his death,rnand the adulation he continues to inspirernamong the Canadian public, reveals that,rnin many ways, he triumphed over therncountry’s better nature. He mesmerizedrnthe nation into loving him, while wreakingrnhavoc on Canadian soil.rn— Jeffrey Thomas KuhnerrnOBITER DICTA: Our poet thisrnmonth is Brendan Galvin of Truro, Massachusetts.rnMr. Calvin is the author of 12rncollections of poetry, including ThernStrength of a Named Thing and Sky andrnIsland Light (Louisiana State UniversityrnPress). In 1998, his translation of Sophocles’rnWomen ofTrachis appeared in thernPenn Creek Drama Series. Mr. Galvinrnhas been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship,rnthe Sotheby and Levinsonrnprizes, and the first O.B. Hardison, Jr.,rnPrize from the Folger Shakespeare Library.rnOur art this month is provided by ourrnart director, H. Ward Sterett of Roscoe,rnIllinois. Mr. Sterett received his B.F.A.rnfrom the University of Colorado and hisrnM.F.A. from Northern Illinois University,rnand attended the L’Abri Fellowship,rnwhere he stiidied the effect of Christianityrnon art. He currently works as a sculptor,rnpainter, and printmaker in Roscoe.rnBOOK OF NEXT MONTHrnOur book for next month is a brilliant paleoconser’ativernmanifesto, an insightful critique of the destructivernforces of modernity that also offers hope for cultural andrnmoral renewal. Of course, it has not been completelyrnwritten yet; watch the pages of Chronicles everyrnmonth for new installments.rnDECEMBER 2000/9rnrnrn