but worship him?rnHis core values were discipline, duty,rnsacrifice, and honor—four words that arernseldom heard today. If the draft is unpopular,rnburn your draft card. Look outrnfor Number One in what Tom Wolferncalls the “Me Too generation.” This isrnthe Age of Entitlement. If you don’t getrnyour share, sue. With only five percentrnof the world’s population, the UnitedrnStates has 70 percent of the lawyers. Suingrnis easy and the courts are sympathetic.rnMake it big and quick.rnStonewall Jackson followed a differentrnpath. His battle uniform was a dingy yellow,rnand you would not have noticedrnhim riding along on Old Sorrel. Hernmight be anywhere when the fightingrncame—between the guns, up front withrnthe snipers, sucking on a lemon. Soldiersrnlike Stonewall seem superfluous until arncrisis arises. Then we are glad to have arnWashington, Andrew Jackson, Lee,rnMacArthur, Patton, or Eisenhower.rnIn Virginia we still remember Jackson’srnsoldiering. In 32 days, with fewerrnthan 15,000 men, he marched 400 miles,rnfought five major battles, routed twornarmies completely, defeated a third—allrnthis with the loss of 1,000 men killed,rnwounded, or missing. Who really understandsrnhow 19th-century Southernersrnfelt about valor and freedom and honor,rnor why they held out for four bloodyrnyears? Or why the Virginia Military Instituterncadets, ranging in age from 14 to 18,rnmarched from their barracks throughrnseas of mud while the Confederate bandrnplayed “Rockabye Baby”? And why thesernyoung cadets kept going into the mouthsrnof Yankee cannon at New Market. Why?rn”The Spirit of VMI.”rnThe spirit emerges in anecdotes.rnOnce, when Jackson was on the VMI faculty,rnthe superintendent ordered him tornsit and wait in the outer office. The superintendentrnbecame engrossed in anotherrnmatter and left by the rear door.rnThe next morning he found Jackson sittingrnin the outer office. He had receivedrnno order to change position.rnBut we change positions quickly theserndays, and our black-robed Justices inrnWashington can change over a centuryrnof tradition in a single day. History willrnjudge in ways we cannot. What then arernwe to say? I defer to the poet StephenrnVincent Benet:rnIf you must have a word to say,rnSay neither in their way,rn”It is a deadly magic andrnaccursed,”rnNor “It is blest,” but only, “It isrnhere.”rnMarshall Fishwick is a professor ofrnEnglish at Virginia Polytechnic inrnBlacksburg, Virginia.rnTHE REQNERY LECTURESrnThe Rockford Institute is pleased to announce a new addition to its Regnery Lectures audiotape series: the addressesrndelivered at The Rockford Institute’s Twentieth Anniversary Dinner by Chilton Williamson, Jr., on “It Takes anrnInstitute” and by Harold O.J. Brown on “Western Civilization Between Chaos and Transformation.” The two-tapernpackage also includes “Reflections at Twenty Years” by Institute President Allan Carlson, introductory remarks byrnChronicles editor Thomas Fleming, and a lively question-and-answer session. Named in honor of Rockford Instituternboard member and longtime supporter Henry Regnery, this series captures for posterity the voices and words ofrnimportant cultural and political figures.rnThe two-tape package is available for only $16.95, shipping and handling charges included. A limited number ofrnthe 16-page commemorative program from the dinner is also available. Order your tapes now and receive this programrnfree. To order, send check or money order, made payable to “The Rockford Institute,” to:rnRegnery LecturesrnThe Rockford Institutern934 N. Main St,rnRockford, IL 61103-7061rnTapes are also still available of John Lukacs’s talk “To Hell with Culture: What Is It That We Must Conserve?” and thernInstitute-sponsored debate between Howard Phillips and David Keene onrn”Should Conservatives Leave the Republican Party?”rnEach of these is available for only $12.50, shipping and handling charges included.rnFEBRUARY 1997/35rnrnrn