civilizations of this area of the worldnknow these things intimately; theynhave practiced them for a thousandnyears, partly having learned them innthe course of occupations by foreignnpowers and foreign ideologies. Theyndo not need Western advice on how tonlive and how to be human, sociable,ngentle, severe — or, for that matter,nangelic or beastly. They are like everybodynelse, like Westerners, like Americans.nMinus the meddlesomeness.nMost advice-givers argue that wen(we who?) should not repeat the mistakesnof the past, by which, very unilaterally,nthey mean that the West shouldnprotect Eastern and Central Europenfrom new totalitarianisms. How moving!nWhy did the West not display suchna laudable attitude at Yalta, or in 1956,n1968, 1981 —these dates marking thenservitude imposed and reimposed bynthat great Western ally, Soviet Russia?nIn a word, the present solicituden”stinks.”nDoes the do-gooding West not understandnthat by gently forcing, withndollars and sticks, Europe to adopt thenWest’s way of life and ideological convictions,nit prepares a repeat of thenperiod between 1920 and 1940, preciselynthe period to be avoided? Let menexplain. There were many do-goodersnat Versailles in 1920; Lloyd Georgenremarked that President Wilson camenthere as the “personal spokesman fornthe Ten Commandments.” They werenas guilty as anybody else for the successivenphenomena of humiliations, inflation,nthe collapse of the middle class,nthe rise of Hitler and communism, andnfinally the war. Yet, what the West isnpreparing now shows that nothing hasnbeen learned, or that what was learnednhas been forgotten. Given another tennyears of the treatment now proposed,nin the name of Western benevolence,nand you will see extremist parties oncenagain. No, history does not exactlynrepeat itself; there will be no WeimarnRepublic or Nazis. But there just maynbe a gathering of disgusted elementsnwho are willing to embark on a newnadventure, turning on BERD bankersnlike Mr. Attali.nA kind of self-imposed censorshipnprevents me from listing examples ofnthe behavior of Western presslords,njoint-venturers, investors, and propagandists.nBesides, there are alwaysnthose who behave in an exemplary andn42/CHRONICLESnconstructive fashion, and do not stepnon sensitive toes. Let’s hope that theynwill know how to moderate their colleagues’nardor. This can only beginnwhen the West stops giving advice tonthe intelligent people “over there”nabout how to conduct their own affairs.nFor example — the last one — there arennow educational groups in these UnitednStates who plan “traveling seminars”nthat would “save” the schoolnsystems of these nations from theirnrecent heritage and inculcate themnwith the right content and the correctnmethods of education. Can anyonenbelieve that in its present shape Americanneducation has anything to teachnthe world, that it can serve as a model?nEven under communism schools “overnthere” taught more history, geography,nlanguages, literature, even Latin than Inever saw in American high schools andncolleges. There were some grotesquencases when the teacher, a party hack,narrived in class in worker’s overalls andnbefore starting to teach hung hisnKalashnikov on the wall. Students remainednwooden-faced, read novelsnbrought from home, and gave thenrequired answers when called upon tonrecite. They didn’t even bother tonmake fun of such a man.nThe less we preach to these nations,nthe better. Instead of the machine gun,nthey may see the dollar sign on thenwall.nThomas Molnar’s most recent book isnThe Church, Pilgrim of Centuries.nLetter From thenLower Rightnby John Shelton ReednSouthern Spies in thenIvy LeaguenSeveral recent letters from readers outsidenthe South have contained clippingsnand firsthand reports about the progressnof Our Nation’s cause. I hope myncorrespondents don’t mind, but I’vencome to think of them as a sort ofnintelligence service, even sometimes asna Fifth Column.nOne expatriate, for instance, sentnalong a brochure for a Boston bank. Itsnnncover shows a yuppie couple on theirnboat, sipping wine against a backdrop ofnthe Boston skyline, enjoying the goodnlife that their savings or low-interest loannhas made possible. On the bow of thenboat, so inconspicuous that it presumablynescaped the bank’s notice, is a rebelnflag decal. My spy labeled the photograph:n”The Confederate Navy in BostonnHarbor.”nKeep those cards and letters coming,nfolks.n^ * *nA couple of less cheering reports havencome in from the Ivy League—oneneach, as it happens, from Yale andnHarvard.nAt Yale, as you may know, there is anresidential college named for John C.nCalhoun, class of 1804. I’ve nevernvisited Calhoun College, but it soundsnlike a sort of oasis in the poststructuralistnwasteland of New Haven. In a devilmay-carendisplay of speciesism, for instance,nits oak-paneled dining hall isnadorned with Old South hunting pictures.n”Above the great fireplace at the endnof the room,” my correspondent reports,n”hangs a portrait of the GreatnNuUificator with his long white hairnbrushed defiantly back. His countenancenis stern, almost frowning at thenrascality of Yankee capitalists.” The Fellows’nCommon Room boasts a framedncopy of the Charleston Mercury’s announcementnof secession, and the college’sndean carries the senator’s walkingnstick at commencement, instead ofnthe customary mace. (By the way,nwhere is Preston Brooks’s cane whennwe need it?)nAnyway, Yale produced nine Confederatengenerals and a secretary ofnstate, so it’s only fitting that this aspectnof its heritage should be honored,nright?nWrong. Pamphlets appeared lastnspring, suggesting by selective quotationnnot only that Calhoun championednslavery (which he did, of course),nbut that he championed nothing else.nThey also pointed out that the sum ofnhis monetary contributions to Yale wasnone hundred dollars in 1824. (Doesnthis mean that if he’d come across in anbigger way his politics could be overlooked?)nThe point of these pamphlets is thatnYale should change the college’s name.nChange it to what, the pamphlet-writern