Category: Imported

16 / CHRONICLESnAt Machu Picchunby Elizabeth MarionnIt’s winter in our hemisphere; brute darknsteals off with Hght at briefest intervals,nand bitter winds can blow out every sparknof passion heaped against inimieal,ndestructive forces which may separate,npropel us into chaos. If, dear, nownyou must leave me in order to placatena power we neither understand, may younnot be enticed...

18 / CHRONICLESncountry,” he observes. “At what point,” he asks, “doesncultural, racial diversity become a kind of social anarchy?nHow do you get national cohesion this way?”nIt has been said that Americans would rather live withncomfortable myths than confront “inconvenient” realities.nJohn F. Kennedy’s pedestrian observation that “We are annation of immigrants” (what nation isn’t?) is used...

continued to receive aid for a period ranging from four to 10nyears, “raising the possibility that a permanent welfare classnhas emerged,” according to the Los Angeles Times (Februaryn9, 1987). As many as 75 percent of those on welfare alsonearn unreported cash incomes in side jobs.n—A spot check conducted by the Illinois AttorneynGeneral revealed that 45...

20 / CHRONICLESnpublic health presented by Third World immigrants showsnno signs of decreasing.nAlong our southern border in particular, violence isnincreasing. U.S. Customs Chief William von Raab hasndescribed the situation as a “modern-day horror story” andnnoted the involvement of Mexican officials in drug smug­nSouls in DistressnTourists seldom give a secondnthought to the natives who, likenhostages, inhabit...

border patrol and local law enforcement officials to keep upnwith it in many areas. Howard Ezell, western regionalncommissioner for the INS, said last November that “Thensituation is dangerously out of control.” Ezell recentlynauthorized the construction of a concrete barrier to helpnblock a five-mile stretch of the border at Otay Mesa, nearnSan Diego, where alien and...

universal education, and its relativenfreedom of cultural information.”nHere Mr. Ellison is not referring tonhimself, but those sentences mightnreadily be applied to him. As a boy, hencame from a Negro neighborhood innOklahoma to study music at TuskegeenInstitute, and there picked up a copy ofnThe Waste Land—Eliot’s notes theretonled him to other books; and so, bynchance or...

perial attitude. When help is notnforthcoming, or when it does comenbut disappears in the sea of corruption,na new share of blame is put on thenWest. As a result, a welfare mentalityndevelops in the nonwhite world: thenWest will provide. These things havenalready been made in the West; thentrick is to get them from “them.”n”They” owe it...

freedom’ that fills the discourse of ourn’founders’ [the philosophers representednin part one of this book] must, nondoubt, be replaced by the ‘theory ofnliberation’ that should have as its fundamentalntask the elaboration of newnintegrating categories beginning with anredemption of the historical sense ofnman.”nThe anthology thus moves in itsnconsiderations from the inner life ofnthe person to the...

30 / CHRONICLESnWell, the point is that he has progressed.nIn his lifetime he has progressednthrough many of the happynillusions and bitter disillusions of ournera into a primary concern for eternity.nBut his commitment to eternity,nhis “dynamic orthodoxy” (as John CardinalnO’Connor puts it), encouragesnhim to turn around and see throughnthe little deceits and big lies of thosenwho...

Letter From thenHeartlandnby Jane GreernHawkeye Econ 101n”Directions for Iowa’s EconomicnGrowth” ought to be required readingnfor every local and state governmentnbody, to say nothing of the boys innWashington (the less said about them,nthe better).nDrafted by a University of Iowanresearch team under the direction ofnthe Iowa Department of EconomicnDevelopment and the Planning andnResearch Bureau, the 82-page documentnillustrates...

32 / CHRONICLESntax is being diverted to the ethanolnindustry. And the new legislaturenvoted, after long debate, to keep thentax break; after all, they’d promised.nIf our legislators had had the Iowanreport in front of them back then, theynwould have known that “direct andnflexible methods of assistance, such asnloans, grants, and principal and interestnbuydowns, are much to...

troubled ethic. Yes, now I too wouldntravel.nMy fiancee decided to come along,nand so it was only reasonable to try andnexpand the trip beyond its originalnscope. We would travel—yes, traveln—to Switzerland and stay for a fewndays with some friends in Lucerne.nWe missed the plane to Munich, ofncourse. I say “of course” because this isnthe sort of...

34 / CHRONICLESnin 1966, two years before the “ParisnSpring” and its not quite minor revolution,nbut Rector Alberto Sancheznwas already an impotent prisoner innhis office. He admitted to me thatnabsolutely nothing could be done tonshore up his university against the redntide.nThings have changed somewhatnsince then. No mistake about it—thenmost vocal forces in student governmentnare revolutionary: Marxist,...

together, easy victims of agitation andnmass culture. The buildings themselvesnare mostly nondescript, factorylike,nfar from the Oxford-Sorbonne-nHarvard style—another indicationnthat universities in the post-1945 masssocietiesnare now subject to the requirementsnand mentality of the industrialnsociety. Universities no longernstand out proudly with their architecturenrivaling churches and palaces;nthey are parts of the system of production,nof sociological transformations,nand of the political...

36 / CHRONICLESnare ritualistically denied philosophicalnand religious relevance. The very instabilitynof changing regimes, of thenemployment market, of a Church hesitantnbetween secular antagonists providesnuniversity life with the obligationnand risk of existential choices. As thenWorld Comptroller confides in BravenNew World, a robotized humanitynneeds no literature, no theater, nonphilosophy, and no art because thentragic essence of life has...

Calexico, I went to some of the parties.nThe winners were proud; thenlosers accepted their fate, even thoughnthe results had been close and they hadnlegitimate complaints. Nonetheless,nno one spoke of disrupting the electionnor disputing democracy by force. Innthis respect, Calexico was, as one hostessnput it, “an ordinary Americanntown.” But at those local parties nearlyneveryone was bilingual,...

38 / CHRONICLESntas? Why are there 8,000 Cubans innNicaragua? If they represent the people,nwhy don’t Sandinistas allow reallynfree elections like several other LatinnAmerican countries? Why does Qaddafinsend money to Nicaragua? Whyndid the Sandinistas send arms to ElnSalvadoran guerrillas?nThe meeting ended in an uproar asnthey leaped from their seats to shakentheir fists and shout revolutionary slogans.n”Death...

SCREENnMaking Lovenby Katherine DaltonnMaking Mr. Right; directed bynSusan Seidelman; written by FloydnByars and Laurie Frank; Orion Pictures.nPerhaps it’s living in New York thatnmakes me Hke Making Mr. Right.nSusan Seidelman’s latest (she did DesperatelynSeeking Susan with Madonna,nremember) is just one step up fromnfarce: a lighthearted comedy of mannersnand sexual politics. As in many ofnthe best Restoration...

40 / CHRONICLESnnewly integrated Hollywood. NownNora Charles is sending Nick off tonGrant’s Tomb, not so much to get himnout of the way but because he deservesnit. Making Mr. Right is also exactlynthe film you might expect as a responsento the now discredited Yale-nHarvard study, in which statistics demonstratednthe appalling unlikelihoodnany female over 25 has of...

for The Human Comedy (based on thenSaroyan novel) instantly comes tonmind as a good production that evaporatednwhen its book idea was panned.nSondheim’s best score, for Merrily WenRoll Along, survived only because henis Stephen Sondheim and because henhas a champion in Richard Shepard, anrecord producer at RCA.nBut, back to Les Miserables. I wasnshocked to hear Cameron...

42 / CHRONICLESna tenacious grip on ebullience andnoptimism—became the single featurenthat detractors of the form found unacceptablenin recent years.nThe musical comedy became increasinglyndismissible and less viablenwhen the nation’s mood did an aboutfacenin the 60’s. Despair, angst, andncynicism had little use for hopefulnessnand even less tolerance for blatantnescapism, the birthright of the musical.nConfronted with such a...

ingness to be offensive.nI wonder if rock has ever promulgatednethics that would be acceptable innany world this side of Blade Runner.nRobert Pattison, in The Triiimph ofnVulgarity: Rock Music in the Mirror ofnRomanticism (Oxford University Press;n1987), heatedly argues that rock, thenroots of which he says are Romanticismnand pantheism, “the pervasivenmusic of contemporary vulgarity,” is anform that...

Is the family in Americanan outdated relic of tlie past?nIs the intact nuclear family now just a memory from days gone by … a vestigialnsocial form that was, at best, oversentimentalized and, at worst, a narrow prison,nforcing men, women, and children into stereotypical roles that stultified freedom and individuahty?nIntroducing a monthly newsletternthat holds this truth...

6 / CHRONICLESnThe Reagan Court has been a sourcenof great expectation for conservatives.nIf only a few more superannuatednjustices would retire (or die), then wencould have the court’s unchecked authoritynin our own hands. A favoritentarget of pious hopes and voodoo dollsnis the apparently senile ThurgoodnMarshall. An example of tokenism atnits worst, Marshall has consistentlynopposed responsible self-governmentnin...

versed by the U.S. Supreme Court inn1964, because his confession had beennobtained in the absence of a lawyer,nBernhard Goetz was concerned withn”right and wrong.” Unlike convictednfelon Troy Canty, Coetz was also concernednwith the “truth,” which Cantynpresented differently at each of hisnpublic appearances. Whether JudgenCrane, who ruled as inadmissible evidencenan interview Canty gave tonABC’s 20/20, has...

8/CHRONICLESnPERSPECTIVEnCULTURAL CONSERVATION by Thomas FlemingnAfew years back, when the air was fresh and the worldnwas new, some of us thought that the election ofnRonald Reagan was only the beginning of the beginning ofn”morning in America.” It is a common mistake. Somendecades have an identity for those who set their mark uponnthem. In periods like the...

tional values”; and finally, that in looking for solutions wenmust take a long view that recognizes the wisdom of ournancestors and considers the needs of future generations.nIn an article in The American Spectator (November ’86),nChester Finn describes the project’s goals as “unexceptionable”nand attempts to put meat on the bones and musclesnprovided by Weyrich and Lind....

10 / CHRONICLESnhard to discern, but the books he reads and the code ofnmanners he hves by are a fair indication of his “culture,”nand what is more, they present opportunities for correction.nWe are caught on the horns of a dilemma. On the onenhand, cultural norms have no transcendent origin either innthe will of God or...

something if we listen very carefully? In other words, cannwe reach the past through a heightened awareness? Donworlds linger? Certainly, the modern mind is not inclinednto believe any such thing. The modern mind lacks historicalnconsciousness or a sense of what lies beyond history. Innmuch of the modern world, the folkchain of memory isnbroken. People don’t...

fullest. Modern men and women are not the first to seek annanswer to this queshon, to explore their potential, or tonsearch for fulfillment. Men and women have been doing sonsince the dawn of consciousness. While most of life, asnPeter Levi has said, has been the plodding process of grazingncattle or the spinning of cloth, it...

attacking the Versailles Treaty and Allied intervention innthe Russian civil war. Nock, however, was unhappy workingnfor another editor. He wanted his own journal, and,nthanks to Mrs. Neilson’s money, he was to get his wish.nNock and Neilson edited The Freeman from 1920 untiln1924. Modeled after the Spectator, it was planned as “anRadical paper,” in the tradition...

names, but that takes the prize.”nNock spent the waning years of the 30’s recapitulating hisnearHer themes. There were many essays, none major, asnwell as Henry George: An Essay, a curious tribute to thenVictorian single-tax advocate. It was only when a publishernproposed his autobiography that Nock got out of his rut andntried something new. Nock had...

WHY I AM NOT A CONSERVATIVE’nby Steven GoldbergnLike most sociologists, I am conservative in the sensenthat I beheve in the existence of barely perceived socialnmechanisms—mechanisms that satisfy the deep physiological,npsychological, and cultural needs. This sociologicalnworld view contains a conservative element: the belief that ansuiEcientiy great attempt to alter society will introducenmore unintended, and undesired, consequences...

18 / CHRONICLESnpolitical conservatism is this: In the academy and in thenpress, a large number of empirical beliefs have beennaccepted not because they are correct, but because theynmeet a felt ideological need, and it is to demonstrate thenincorrectness of such empirical beliefs that I have devotednmuch of my career. For example, the belief that capitalnpunishment...

20 / CHRONICLESnand all the other shibboleths of liberalismnare predicated on the illusion ofnman as an autonomous being capablenof isolating himself from society and itsnpast and of reshaping social arrangementsnto suit his “rights,” his preferences,nand his fantasies.nNisbet’s work on the conservativenroots and meaning of sociology hasnbeen one of the most important intellectualnachievements of our time,...

fogel, James Burnham, Reinhold Niebuhr,nStefan Possony, Thomas Molnar,nand Frank Meyer. Most of thesenthinkers, Gottfried argues, assimilatednHegehan elements through their formalneducation in Europe or indirectiynthrough exposure to the Hegelian elementsnof Marxism during their involvementnas Communists. Hegeliannthemes emerge in their writings despitentheir frequent and explicit polemicsnagainst Hegelianism.nThe genius of Gottfried’s work isnthat he transmutes what at first...

realization, namely that their drive fornboth the White House and ideologicalnconsensus had failed to producenenough ideologically pure bodies tonstaff the new administration—whichnexplains the proliferation of conservativenthink tanks during the 1970’s.nWith President Richard Nixon,nconservatives quickly grew disenchanted—nhence the wildly unsuccessfulnAshbrook candidacy in 1972.nWith Nixon’s departure they began tonlook beyond the Ford interregnum.nHence the narrowly unsuccessful Reaganncandidacy...

24 / CHRONICLESnca. Why? Because Blumenthal’s Reagannis at heart a Social Darwinist,nalbeit a Social Darwinist with anhuman face. He champions not thenself-made man, who would work hisnway to individual greatness by crushingnthose who would stand in his way,nbut the self-indulgent man, whonwould spend his way to societal prosperitynby buying from those whonwould stand in his...

once as sensible as a banker and asnvisionary as a mystic—a quintessentialnAmerican hero.nThe entrepreneur has proved tonhave considerable appeal for the liberalsnwho bait the bureaucracy innCharles Peters’ Washington Monthly.nEven PBS is getting into the act with antelevision series, The Entrepreneurs,naired this spring. Surely the astoundingnpopularity of Lee lacocca’s autobiographynowes much more to that erstwhilenFord salesman’s...

have reluctantly come to believe thatnthis tendency has grown to a veritablen(albeit still partially underground)nflood-tide in our time. Underlying it isna deep-rooted belief on the part ofnmany Western intellectuals that theirnown traditions are spiritually bankrupt,nand that one must look elsewhere forninspiration — China, Japan, India,netc. A strong current in this type ofnthinking is a belief...

Aestheticism as much an attempt tonescape from traditional authority andnprescription as the political selfdelusionnthat insists on projecting anUtopian enterprise upon some othernpart of the globe? And are not bothnthese undertakings refined and sophisticatednanalogues of the adolescentnrebellion against parental and othernVictorian RestorationnVergil compared human progressnwith a man rowing against the current:nIf he relaxes at the oars...

30 / CHRONICLESnThe American Flea CircusnFleamarkets by Joel D. Levinson;npostpaid signed editions availablenfrom PM Publications, 8352 KentnDr., El Cerrito, CA 94530; $16.95nsoftcover; $28.95 hardcover (CAnresidents add 6y2% sales tax).nChronicles rarely reviews a book ofnphotographs. For all the technical perfectionnof the camera’s eye and for allnthe ingenuity exercised by photographers,nthe end result hardly ever seemsnto justify...

“For three years in the mid-seven: •nthroughout the state of California’nand varied flea markets. Instead ••’nhomogenized hot-tub culture whh ”nmedia had been propagating, he -..•.• •”.•• ..^ . • i ••,••- •nof American society. Apart from ^ ‘• •_• l.•^ i. .•; . .’..•’i ‘• •nthe recycling of artifacts, a great variety of attitudes andnlifestyles...

house, virtually surrounded by thenGermans. In this oasis of freedom, cutnoff from political commissars, CaptainnGrekov, without the trappings of rank,nwages effective warfare against the invaders.nStalin’s order means nothing tonhim and his men, who simply fight tondefend Russia.nGrossman’s battle descriptions arenexcellent. He served in World War IInas a correspondent and spent muchntime at the front. He...

poor and beleaguered immigrants tonsuburban affluence, they found newnmeaning and renewed faith in thenRoman Cathohc Church and faith.nThe story is told in personal terms,nwhich makes the document all thenmore compelling. The message is fornthe entire world of letters and learning.nLet me translate Greeley’s pictureninto one I know better to show thenuniversal relevance of his ideas.nWhen,...

Letter From Floridanby Janet Scott BarlownHow I Spent My Christmas VacationnThe day after Christmas this familyntook off for the National CheerleadersnAssociation’s High School CheerleadersnNational Championship in Orlando,nFlorida. The National CheerleadersnAssociation’s High SchoolnCheerleaders National Championshipnis not the kind of event a parent—thisnparent, anyway—ever anticipates attending.nIt is the kind of event a parentndiscovers herself at because of...

38 / CHRONICLESnCincinnati, Ohio (one of them innborrowed shorts), do their stuff.nTheir stuff was not encouraging.nThe squad’s big move, their finale,nwas an extension. An extension isnaccomphshed when two girls on thenfloor lift their arms and lock theirnelbows while a third girl stands 12 feetnin the air on their hands. It is the jobnof the girl...

juice,” my husband said, “Just writenyour orders down, and I’ll figure thingsnout later.” He left the room with ninenpieces of paper in his hand. Consistentnwith the theory that nothing having tondo with kids is ever simple, the last slipnbore this little brainteaser: “One cinnamonnDanish, uncooked.” And I hadnthe pleasure of overhearing a Southernngirl declare, “I...

40 / CHRONICLESnpeople. People are not for the rituals.n”People’s Day affirms there are othernpeople besides us. It falls Novembern1st. Children collect for Unicef. Thencongregation celebrates by singing secularnsongs, like ‘It’s a Small World.'”nI asked for a tour of the Temple.nSince that was the last question and Inwas the only one interested, Wine andnI soon stood...

quick fix like pop psychology. Beginningnwith the oedipal, I peel my patientsnapart, layer by layer, like annonion.n”It would be horrible for these peoplento have to depend on a supremenbeing.”nShe ended her testimony with anwildly applauded miracle, “By thenway, I had my baby.”n”Can you beat that?” began thensecond witness, a soprano lawyer withnsmall flip-out ears and...