tempting to put out the fire and indulgernin an orgv of drunken looting.rnGiven the Soviet state’s initial effortsrnto destroy Russian identity and the immeasurablerndamage done to the Russianrnlandseape by foreed industrializationrnand collectivization, it is not surprisingrnthat environmentalist, conservationist,rnand preservationist efforts became anrnimportant part of the program of the nationalistrndissident movement thatrnemerged in the 1960’s. In the publicrnarena, Rasputin was a prominent memberrnof the school of so-called “villagernwriters” who celebrated the authenticrncommunitv of the preeolleetivized villagernand the majesty of the naturalrnworld, and who loved the Rodina, one’srnnative land, the feminine Motherlandrn(in Rasputin’s case, Siberia), as an integralrnand indispensable part of loyalty tornthe Otechestvo, the Russian Fatherland,rnhi Russia, it is the nationalist right thatrnhas protected and preserved the nationalrnpatrimony, for what could patriotism bernwithout respect and care for the soil ofrnthe Rodina? How could a national consciousnessrnexist vithout the preservationrnof the national monuments, churches,rnand Kremlins of the Otechestvo?rnAs of late, Rasputin, along with arnnumber of former nationalist dissidents,rnentered the ranks of the “irreconcilablernopposition,” where nationalists of everyrnstripe have joined forces with the ncocommunistsrnin an all-out political warrnagainst the Westernizing “democrats,”rnman- of whom would like to install whatrnthe American official right has dubbedrn”democratic capitalism.” The nationalistsrncall this capitalization process thern”Snickcrsization ‘ of Russia, a processrnwhose symbols are the ubiquitous Snickersrnbar (seemingly available at everyrnMoscow street vendor’s kiosk), the Russianrnedition of Penthouse, and McDonald’srnGolden Arches, which even now arernlooming over the statue of Russia’s mostrnrevered poet on Moscow’s PushkinrnSquare.rnI cannot and will not attempt to justifyrnRasputin and company’s embrace ofrntheir country’s former destroyers. Thernrepulsive ideology of the “red-browns,”rnsome of whom probably took part in thernpersecution of their now staunch allies,rnseems inconsistent, to say the least, withrnthe anticommunism that Rasputin andrncompany formerly espoused. At least thernnationalists can take comfort in the patrioticrnrhetoric that has made its way intornthe speeches of their former adversaries.rnStill, when the “Snickcrsization” they sornstrongly object to is taken into account,rnone can grasp the fundamental motivesrnof men who now say “better the communistsrnthan the democrats.”rnI doubt that James Howard Kunstler, arnfrequent contributor to the Neir YorkrnTimes Sunday Magazme and a former editorrnof RoUing Stone, is now or has everrnbeen a conscryative. I myself have frequentlyrnturned up in the company ofrngranola crunchers and baby seal fetishistsrnduring some of our area’s preservationrnwars. I hope some of my Republicanrnfriends will understand why I say “betterrnthe Greens than the Republicans.” Betterrnthe Earth Shoe and the Volvo crowdrnthan the Gucci and Mercedes set whenrnit comes to saving what is left of thernAmerican landscape. Better the Woodstockrnleftovers than the Wall Street turncoats.rnI will never again count myself amongrnthe “conservatiyes” who would destroyrnground made sacred by the blood of thernBlue and Gray warriors who are my ancestors.rnI will never again tolerate thernwhining of those who liken the Manassasrnbattlefield to a mere pasture for fossilizedrnhorse dung, or the remains and artifactsrnof unknown soldiers to so many chickenrnscraps. I will never again let them tell mernthat I’m Standing in the Way of Progressrnand ask if I want to Take Us Back to thernHorse and Buggy Days. For what they reallyrnmean is that they don’t care aboutrnAmerica or Americans, that the first Allensworthrnto turn over a furrow on anrn18th-eentury Virginia farm worked andrnstrived solely for himself, without a carernfor his kin or country, that my kinsmenrnwhose body parts decorated the Americanrnlandseape during the War Betweenrnthe States were suckers who fought forrnnothing, and that the gaggle of globalistrnfreebooters who helped to send laterrngenerations to such charming spots asrnOmaha Beach and Saigon were justrnspouting so much bilge when they talkedrnabout honor, duty, and patriotism.rnI want my children, and their children,rnto be able to look out across the fields ofrnnorthern Virginia and picture their ancestorsrnworking behind the plow. I wantrnthem to be able to stand on the stonernbridge at Manassas and picture the ebbrnand flow of that battle. I want them tornfeel real affection for their native landrnand for the lakes, rivers, streams, andrnforests where their grandfathers huntedrnand fished and where, God willing, theyrncan do the same. They will not be PeoplernFrom Nowhere, either the consumeristrnclodhoppers of Kunstler or thernbesotted hooligans of Rasputin. I wantrnthem to know that they belong to theirrnhome country, to a particular place thatrnwill still be recognizable as such in a hundredrnyears, and I want them to know thatrnthey belong to something bigger as well,rnto America.rnWayne Allensworth writes fromrnPurcellville, Virginia.rnAmazing Discovery:rnBaptists, Fundamentalists, and Orthodox Jews are right: The Bible is literalrntruth. The world was created, fossils and all, in 7 days.rnHOW? He made it out of 3-D Fractals. In the beginning was the Word. 3-rnD Fractals are the visible echoes. They make all we see.rnWHY? Catholics are right. We have free will. So, Creation had to be madernin such a way that we couldn’t tell if He made it.rnCRATS! explains it. And tells us where we come from. For instance,rnCaucasians are from the Caucasus Mountains. How’d they get there? Theyrnwere the 10 northern tribes of Israel. We’re descended from them.rnIf you think jow’re tired of excessive government,rnwait ’til you see what the fieldrnbeasts (taxpayers) do about it in CRATS!rnan Adams book.rnTo order call: 1-800-OLD-DRUM VISA/MC acceptedrnOr send a check for $9.95; Two copies, $18.00 to:rnOld Drum Publishing, Box 401, Portersvllle, PA 16051.rnlUNE 1995/41rnrnrn