most divisive issues of American politicsnare now about our warring conceptsnof right and wrong, good andnevil. In a way the Kerner Commissionnnever predicted, we have indeed becomen’two nations.'” Not much headwaynwill be made, Buchanan implies,nuntil we accept that. But, alas, it seemsnas if the whole history of Americannpolitics is made up of the avoidance ofnissues, not their confrontation.nIf he ever had any future aspirationsnto elective office, he probably abandonednthem with this book. RightnFrom the Beginning is personally frank.nNot only frank about youthful admirationnfor Joe McCarthy and Goldwaternbut frank about his own hell-raisingnyouth and young manhood. Frank, butnnot graphic: ladies are referred to respectfullynand mostly only by firstnnames. I am nearly of Pat Buchanan’snage, and I find his hell-raising youthnfamiliar and refreshing. Those of usnwho grew up through the 50’s andnearly 60’s can remember when hellraisingnwas exuberantly barbaric andnenjoyable, but not mean-spirited andndecadent. Those days left a lot to bendesired, but we are justifiably nostalgicncomparing them with the pall thatnbegan to descend on American lifenwhen Kennedy and his “best andnbrightest” took over, shortly followednby the blossoming of drugs, promiscuity,nand perversion. My chief regret isnthat my hell-raising career did not lastnMOVING?nLET US KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!nTo assure uninterrupted delivery ofnChronicles, please notify us in advance.nSend change of address on this form withnthe mailing label from your latest issue ofnChronicles to: Subscription Department,nChronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris,nIllinois 61054.nName.nAddress.nCitynState. _Zip_n301 CHRONICLESnas many years as apparently didnBuchanan’s.nThis is not a great memoir, but anninteresting one that does succeed inninvoking, vividly and memorably, a realnsegment of American life in the 50’snand 60’s. It ought to be enjoyed bynthose who had similar experiences andnto have a minor but secure place as anhistorical document. We all know angreat deal more than we need to aboutnthe heroic youth of that era and theirnnoble struggle for civil rights, peace,nfreedom, snottiness, drugs, degeneracy,nterrorism, and treason. It is good tonhave on record some account of thosenwho were young in that day and on thenother side of the barricades.nPat Buchanan suggests that thenyoung conservatives of the period cannbe understood in terms of the aftermathnof Worid War II. I think he isnright and would carry the observationneven further. How we split in the 60’sndepended upon which war we inherited.nIf our people were in the trenchesn(figuratively speaking) in order to makenthe world safe for decency, we becamen”conservatives.” Those from Washingtonnbureaus who saw the war as a greatnsocial welfare project—to make thenworld safe for Eleanor Roosevelt andnUncle Joe—begat the radicals of then60’s. James Could Cozzens foresaw itnall in Guard of Honor. The same faultnline decided Vietnam and will dictatenthe loss of Central America. There arentoo many Americans in high placesnwho cannot accept an effective, reasonablyndecent, anti-Communist regime.nThey have to have an imaginarynand impossible “democracy” in placesnwhere it never has nor ever will exist.nPerhaps Right From the Beginningnwas originally to be a campaign autobiography.nIf so, it evolved a great deal. Itnends where such a biography wouldnbegin, with Buchanan at 28, about tonstart his career as a draftsman for thenmighty. His last two chapters, however,nappear to be a campaign platform, fullnof worthwhile plans for specific action.nHe is, however, neither shallow nornoptimistic enough for the hustings. Henbegins with T.S. Eliot’s observation,nalmost a half century ago now, thatndemocracy is not enough. Democracynis fine and necessary (and the onlynpossible arrangement for Americans,nMr. Buchanan adds), but it is only anmethod—it does not have enoughnnncontent to sustain us. “If you will notnhave Cod (and He is a jealous God),”nsaid Eliot, “you should pay your respectsnto Hitler and Stalin.”n”The hard truth,” glosses Buchanan,n”with which conservatives mustncome to terms is that the resolution ofnAmerica’s social crisis may be beyondnthe realm of politics and government,nin a democratic society.” “Democracynreally has no answer to decadence.n…” “Naivete is not our problem;nthe West’s problem is willful selfdelusion.nThe reason that we do notnlearn from history is that we do notnwish to learn from history.” No faithfulnreader of Chronicles will disagree.nNevertheless, the government mustndo what it can. Buchanan proposes an10-plank platform, which is as muchnpopulist as Republican, and thereforenwill never be adopted by any partynpolitician. Aside from the balancednbudget, much of it has to do withnrepairing the havoc wrought by thenSupreme Court in the issues of unbornnlife, religion, reverse discrimination,nand the like. The only social concernnomitted is immigration. Yet Pat Buchanannshould know that there is nonpoint in getting tough with the Chinesengovernment while they are busyncolonizing our country.nBuchanan is ready to go for nationalninitiative and referendum, repeal of thentwo-term amendment, and limitednterms for federal judges including thenSupreme Court. The standpat conservativesnwill be shocked by his willingnessnto push this program through annew constitutional convention. Thisngoes against the accepted wisdom, butnas Buchanan points out, all proposednamendments would have to be approvednby three fourths of the states —nas good a guarantee as we could hopenfor. I agree. Constitutionally speaking,nwe could not be any worse off than wenare. The work of our Founding Fathersncannot be endangered by a ConstitutionalnConvention. It has already beenndestroyed. Such a convention mightnwork, especially if there were a concertedneffort to elect decent citizens tonit and to ratifying conventions —npeople who had not been previouslyncorrupted by public office.nAll in all, Pat Buchanan’s ideasnwould have made a great agenda for anReagan administration in 1981—ifnthere had ever been one.n