Category: Imported

an extremely unoriginal one. The namernof the unfortunate hero may vary, but asrna kind of modern version of the rake’srnprogress this tale of a divided self andrnwhat became of it has been told about arnnumber of very successful, very famous,rnvery original artists. To name onh’ three:rnJohn Wiin told it at Lord Byron’s expense,rnEdmund Wilson at...

in 1775. They are based upon revelation,rnnot mere information; they claim, andrnthose who value them believe, that theyrnoriginate in God’s revelation or inspiration.rnAsking the Gospels to give historicalrnrather than gospel truth confusesrntheological truth with historical fact, diminishingrnthem to the measurements ofrnthis world, treating Jesus as precisely thernopposite of what Christianity has alwaysrnknown Him to be,...

verts not just some ideologies but all ideologies.”rnAnd he coneludes, “the historicalrnJesus is a bulwark against the reductionrnof Christian faith . . . to ‘relevant’rnideology of any stripe. His refusal to bernheld fast by any given sehool of thoughtrnis what drives theologians onward intornnew paths; hence the historical Jesus remainsrna constant stimulus to theologicalrnrenewal.” Now,...

slaved blacks in the past and because thernabolition of slavery only resulted in newrnforms of oppression that left blacksrnhardly better off than before. Thoughrnprospects for blacks have in recent yearsrnimproved, the damage that racism continuesrnto cause remains of vast dimensions.rnYet Taylor maintains that this doctrinernreally demeans blacks: “It impliesrnthat blacks are helpless and cannot makernprogress...

appeals to the white-racism hypothesisrncannot justify its continuance. Perhapsrnof even more vital significance than therndetails of the book’s argument, however,rnis the tone of its discussion. In an arearntoo often dominated by catch-phrasesrnand emotion, this calm appeal to reasonrnand fact stands out as a model of informedrnsocial analysis.rnDavid Cordon is a senior fellow of thernLudwig von...

witz’s background. He shows its strengthrnin validating Horowitz’s individuahty asrnsuch performers as Battistini, Rachmaninoff,rnFriedman, and Kreisler (andrnthe musical culture they represented)rnpassed away, leaving Horowitz very nearlyrn”The Last Romantic,” as his publicistsrnclaimed. However, I also believernSchonberg lets a paradox escape him.rnUntil 1961, Horowitz had always appearedrnin the West as a “modernizer”—rnthe young sa’age of the late...

CORRESPONDENCErnLetter From Serbiarnby Momcilo SelicrnNotes From the Front,rnPart IIrnBasically, the Yugoslav problem is simple:rnit is a war of vanities, of various ethnicrnand religious groups vying forrnsupremacy. If this sounds familiar tornAmerican and other Western readers,rnthe parallel is intentional: after all, it wasrnTito, the archcommunist, who first implementedrnthe New World Order of formerrnPresident George Bush, of...

11″ (for the Ustashi and their victims or,rnmore expHcitly, for the Ustashi headsman,rnPero Brzica, and the 1,350 Serbs hernhad butchered in a single night, to set arnrecord and win a wager he had madernwith his pals). It would be interesting tornspeculate how Jews would have reactedrnhad someone suggested, say, that Auschwitzrnbe refashioned into a monumentrnto...

lation in belonging to the UniversalrnChurch and a Universal Empire and Serbrnfor those who rejoiced in being just asrnGod had created them.rnThe few Volochs—and many morernSlavs—who accepted Islam sought, inrnall probability, merely a respite from thernimpalements, the beheadings, the housernand village burnings, the eternal rapesrnand pillages that marked Ottoman rule.rnTurkic terror, refined over the millennia,rnhas...

Letter From NewrnYork Cityrnby Herbert I. LondonrnLife as PathologyrnThe tumultuous events at the New YorkrnPost over the last few months serve as arnperfect metaphor for New York. Thisrnoldest daily in the United States, establishedrnby Alexander Hamilton, is (as 1rnwrite) fighting for its life amid courtroomrnrecriminations over its ownershiprnand purported losses of $1.5 million arnweek. When...

rises to 1980’s levels, young couples eagerrnto leave New York will lead a mass exodus.rnNeedless to say, those leaving therncity do not include the poor, indigent,rnand homeless.rnThere are 80,000 “homeless” peoplernon the streets, most of them in Manhattanrnand most deinstitutionalized in thern1980’s, hi 1980 there were 93,000 mentalrnpatients in New York City; today therernare 11,000....

or New York City can survive the nextrnfew months. These decisions rest withrnan authority much higher than the mayorrnof New York.rnHerbert I. London is John M. OlinrnProfessor of Humanities at New YorkrnUniversity and was the ConservativernParty candidate for governor ofrnNew York in 1990.rnLetter From thernLower RightrnJohn Shelton ReedrnThe Mississippi Hippies andrnOther Denizens of the Deeprn(South)rnJanuar’...

Gonna be here the rest of my life / Andrnall I did was shoot my wife”). To Clarksdale,rnhome of the Delta Blues Museum,rnand beyond, past Graceland, into Memphis.rnFor the last part of the trip I was on oldrnHighway 61, the way out to the north forrncountless black Mississippians and arngood many white ones, too. Bill...

VITAL SIGNSrnA Letter to SenatorrnJohn Kerryrnby John LoftonrnSex and SoldieringrnMy, how time flies, sir. It seemsrnlike only yesterday (it was in laternNovember 1991, actually) that you werernapologizing after being caught telling arnso-called gay-bashing anti-lesbian jokernto Jerry Brown. You remember, the onernthat was inadvertently picked up by a CSpanrnmicrophone. I thought that whatrnwas wrong with the...

entations”? Well, I didn’t know eitherrnbefore I read these books. Fetishism is arnpreference for achieving sexual excitementrnby using things like articles ofrnclothing (such as women’s underwear,rnshoes, and boots) and, more rarely, partsrnof the human body (such as hair orrnnails). Transvestism is recurrent andrnpersistent cross-dressing in women’srnclothes by males for sexual excitement—rninterference with which, we are...

transactionrnNew and Recent Books on Family and PolicyrnThernSwedishrnExperimentrnin FamilyrnPolitiesrnAllanrnCarlsonrnFainilyrnQu^tjpnsrn^mrnReflecfciDns an thernAmerican Social CrisisrnAllan C. CarlsonrnTHE SWEDISH EXPERIMENT INrnFAMILY POLITICSrnTHE MYRDALS AND THE INTERWAR POPULATION CRISISrnAllan CarlsonrnThis devastating account of tiie work of Gunnar and Alva Myrdal portraysrnhow two young scholars used the power of ideas to help engineer a newrndomestic order in Sweden. It offers...

Quite simply: tlte finestrnone-volitme CliHstiaii referencernin tlte Cnglisli-spealdiig ^irorldrn^fi^j/rn’Indispensable”… ”hasnopeer’.. “thesit^mostrnuseful r^emux book for Christianity” — a few ^thernaccolades for this magisterkd woikrnNothing of Christian interest is absent from these pages. The sweep is awesome:rnThe history of the Church • doctrines • denominations • short biographies of somern4,500 eminent Christians: models of accuracy and objectivity...

EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrn’Theodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, ]r.rnEDITORIAL ASSISIANTrnChristine llaynesrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnJohn W. Mdridge, Harold O.j.rnBrown, Katherine Dalton, SamuelrnFrancis, George Garrett,rnE. Christian Kopff, Clyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnJanet Scott Barlow, Bill Kauffman,rn]ohn Shelton Reed, David R. SlavittrnEDITORIAI. SECRETARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnAllan C. CarlsonrnPUBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnCOMPOSITION MANAGERrnAnita FedorarnCIRCLILAI’ION MANAGERrnRochelle FrankrnA publication of The Rockford Institute.rnEditorial and Advertising Offices:rn934...

“The implementation of X as a completerncode of life cannot be limited tornthe home and to personal relationships.rnIt is to be sought and achieved in societyrnas a whole.” Now if we replaced “X”rnwith “Christianity” or “communism” orrn”homosexuality,” for that matter, andrnlarge numbers of Christians, communists,rnor homosexuals presented themselvesrnfor entry into this country, wernshould do well...

South he represented was a far marchrnfrom the cavahcrs and belles sippingrnbrandy on the veranda that I lollywoodrnand romance novels have inflicted onrnus.rnMel Bradford’s South had the hardrnbeauty of old women who have buriedrntheir sons, of Texas frontiersmen whornhave fought Comanches, of small farmersrnwho have worked barren fields alonernand died at Shiloh for a cause...

more suspicious, KTF would not divulgerntlic warrant (as of early April). I’hat is,rnthcv wouldn’t allow the press or anyrneiilian to see the arrest warrant, whichrnis supposed to be a public, court-issuedrndocument open to all. Did thev realKrnhave a warrant prior to the attack?rnCompare this mess to the situationrnsix cars ago when a similar charge wasrnmade...

ism like the anti-tobacco lobby, but on arnlegal philosophy that claims unborn babiesrnought to be protected from aggression.rnSecondly—though I am loathe tornadmit this—laws have a pedagogical effectrnon society. Tax-funded abortionsrnare more persuasive to larger numbersrnof people than personal conversations.rnA working strategy for the next centuryrnwould complement the educationalrnwork of pro-lifers, circumvent all threernbranches of the...

and who challenged Henry Clay to arnduel. An officer of the parents’ associationrnexpressed “outrage” that Randolph’srnname should be associated withrna school that is “65 percent Hispanic,rn30 percent black, and 5 percent Asian.”rnThe question arises: What to changernthe name of P.S. 47 to? The article saidrnthat the most popular name for schoolsrnin New York is Roberto...

the new report states, “assumed thernhnmigration and Reform [sic] Aet ofrn1986 (IRCA) would partially reduee undocumentedrn[i.e., illegal I immigration.”rnThat, indeed, was a major purpose ofrnthe aet, as its sponsors repeatedly assuredrnus, but “in faet, there is no evidenecrnof any reduction in the undocumentedrnmovement. In addition, thernImmigration Aet of 1990 allows morernimmigration. For these reasons, the...

portant contributions to an evolvingrnAmerican culture made by the Europeanrnimmigrants of the 19th century.rnUnlike the British immigrants of thernprevious era, he argues, the Irish, German,rnJewish, and Southern and East Europeanrnimmigrants who came to thisrncountry in the 1800’s had little attractionrnto the prevailing Victorian ethicrnthat the Anglo-Saxon stock had imparted.rn”The immigrants, then,” he writes,rn”were bringing to...

PERSPECTIVErnMiddle American Helotsrnby Thomas FlemingrnRodney King is back, and his trial is center stage in thernfreak show of American television. The fact that these legalrnburlesques are called “the Rodney King trial” is worthrnpondering, because, the truth is, Rodney King now has immunityrnfrom prosecution for his reckless driving, for his violentrnattack on the officers who arrested...

In a civilized country, there would have been no trial, becauserna hoodlum like Mr. King would have been flushed outrnof the social system long before he began experimenting withrnthe use of the automobile as a deadly weapon.rnIf the first trial represented an attempt to dismantle thernliving wall that protects Los Angeles, the second is an...

stipulates that two species cannot occupy the same ecologicalrnniche, and a similar principle applies to subspecies and socialrngroups in direct proportion to the strength of their identity.rnIn colonial South Carolina, French Huguenots were so relievedrnto find themselves in a Protestant country that theyrnset aside their differences with the English and merged theirrnown churches into the...

gene pools that dominates human existence, and while a fewrnprivileged individuals may be spoiled into believing they canrnlead their own lives selfishly, most of them end up marryingrnand rearing families whose interests they promote as ruthlesslyrnas a mother tiger.rnThe American ruling class holds power by pretending to believernin equality—racial, ethnic, political, social. But whenrnthey send...

that amount every year—forever. Moreover, to bring the island’srnpopulation down to its carrying capacity Castro wouldrnhave to send more than 120,000 per year. In which case, asrnthe less crowded islanders became more comfortable, theyrnwould no doubt practice contraception less conscientiously,rnthus allowing fertility to rise and producing even more candidatesrnfor emigration.rnThen, as other overpopulated nations—overpopulated inrnthe...

over the nearly two hundred nations one notes a negative correlationrnbetween fertility rate and prosperity: rich nationsrnhave lower fertility than poor ones. Such a correlation is consistentrnwith both of two hypotheses: either high fertility causesrnpoverty or prosperity causes low fertility.rnLogically, these contradictory hypotheses are equally defensible.rnThey are not, however, equally “acceptable” to mostrnkindhearted people. For...

law rooted in ethnicitv” is somehow “outdated.” In fact,rnexactly the reverse is true. The nation-state, the sovereignrnpolitical entity based on specific ethnicity, is the product ofrnmodernization. What are now regarded as archetypal nation-rnstates like Germany and Italy were actually united onlvrnin the 19th century. Multinational and multilingual statesrnorganized on other principles, like the Ilapsburg Empire,...

scendants today. Diversity did not have to be abolished. Onrnthe contrary, the common good was seen to entail respect forrnand adjustment to the legitimate needs and interests of individuals,rngroups, localities, and regions. Diversity would bernmade compatible with unity through self-restraint and considerationrnfor others—again, not merely in theory but in actualrnconduct.rnToday the virtue of moral self-discipline...

interchangeable.rnA similar ahistorical view of society is reflected in the clichernthat the United States is a young country. Except in thernsense that America was settled in new geographic territory, thernUnited States is of course no younger than any other countryrnin the Western world. Its roots stretch deep into the distantrnpast. The Kramers of the Constitution...

grams, movies, records, musicals, and novels? Who is paying can be as tyrannical as any king,rnall those college and university faculty and electing and re- If a renewal of American and Western civilization is stillrnelecting all those congressmen? possible, it requires advanced ethical, intellectual, acstheti-rnTrue, among the common people are the millions of decent cal,...

tempt of ancient democracies to limit rigorously the right ofrncitizenship.rnSuch facts, it can be argued, illustrate the impoverishedrnimaginations and bigoted mindsets of the ancient world. IfrnAristotle had only known about democratic capitalism, hernwould have established his own Heritage Foundation, propagatingrnthe ideas of open borders and universal nations. AndrnPlato, once enlightened about global economies and thernpropositional...

reaucratic structure has sprung into being in France to lielp absorbrnincoming North Africans under the banner of “the rightsrnof man.” This bureaucratic network has also been chargedrnwith the “sensibilisation” of the French population, whoserndislike of the new immigrants is all too apparent. Of course, itrnis hard to imagine anv group that would clash with the...

(including Christians) continue to rakernold chestnuts over the fire while prattlingrnabout being fruitful and multiplyingrnand subduing the earth. (St. Augustinern—who arguably did take arndisparaging view of nature, perhaps owingrnto his preconversion relationshipsrnwith its female element—understoodrnfruitfulncss and multiplication as referencesrnnot to human sexuality but ratherrnto manifestations of the Holy Spirit.)rnIn 1967, an article by Lynn White,rnJr.,...

fallacies of radical environmentalism.rnEarthkeeping notes how our appreciationrnof the natural world has paradoxicallyrnincreased together with our abilityrnto destroy it; Lewis argues that, havingrncome this far in both environmental destructionrnand technological development,rnonly further scientific discoveryrnand technical advancement can rescuernnature (and ourselves) from destruction.rnHe also insists that capitalism alonernamong competing systems is both efficientrnand productive enough to...

which appeals to the misrepresented imageryrnof the statue and a recitation ofrnEmma Lazarus’ sonnet would providernready answers to any and all immigrationrnpolicy questions. America, according tornthis view, should be perpetually openrnto unlimited immigration. Two, therncaveat phase, in which people would beginrnto reconsider their position, whilernfeeling obliged to voice departures fromrnorthodoxy discreetly by prefacing commentsrnwith, “Now,...

sovereign states must accept the responsibilityrnof solving their populationrnproblems in their own territories.”rnLamm points out that such pressing nationalrnproblems as unemployment,rncrime, health care, education, pollution,rnand national unity are all exacerbatedrnby population growth fed by immigration.rnHe urges America to becomernan example to others of how a prosperous,rnstable society can be created.rnMost discussions of population arerncarried on...

38 percent of Latinos have less than arnninth grade education. Should Texasrncontinue to receive a large number ofrnI lispanics, whether legal or illegal aliens,rnhow will the state cope with a growingrnpopulation characterized by limited educationrnand poor proficiency in English?rnEmployers already report that 70 to 80rnpercent of applicants for entry-level clericalrnand technical positions lack basicrnEnglish and...

Readers of this book may be especiallyrninterested in Professor Abernethy’s explanationrnof sustainability and carryingrncapacity, botfi based on the questions:rnWhat is an acceptable standard of living,rnand how many people can we supportrnat that level without running downrnthe resource base? Here Abernethy marshalsrnan impressive array of evidence tornsupport her contention that, should thernUnited States fail to create...

project that really was unnecessaryrn(L.A.’s busing program was undertakenrnas part of a state suit, not through thernfederal courts) and that California votersrnquickly outlawed (the propositionrnprohibiting state-ordered busing wasrneventually upheld by the CaliforniarnSupreme Court). Traffic, perhaps therncommon denominator for all SouthernrnCalifornians, was already intolerable.rnDuring the 1980’s, middle-classrnSouthern Californians did what theyrnhave been doing since shortly afterrnWodd...

CORRESPONDENCErnLetter From Serbiarnby Momcilo SelicrnNotes From the Front,rnPartirnIn the twilight, the machine gunnerrnholds aloft the dissembled barrel of hisrnweapon, his hands oily and stained, andrngrins at me. White-toothed, red-haired,rnhe wears his beret like a bonnet. Cocky,rnnot too large, he laughs, then swears arnheavy, loaded Serbian curse, unsparingrnof the Croats.rnThe machine gunner is a Kraina Serb:rnhe...

to drum up international support for itsrnvision of a South Slav, rump Austria-rnHungary, but Western victors would notrnhear of it—until two years ago, whenrnGermany set out, once again, on thernroad to a world war.rnIn 1918, however, Croatia was orderedrnby the “international community”rnof the day to join up with Serbia as wellrnas with Slovenia (another formerrnAustro-Hungarian...

more—were committed by the Croats,rnthe MusHms, and the Albanians 50 andrn80 years ago, in World Wars I and II.rnThe 1914 mass hangings of Serb womenrnin Austro-Hungarian-occupied SerbrnMacva can hardly be explained away as arnSerb invention, since photographs, takenrnby the Croat, German, and Magyarrnexecutioners themselves, still exist, and arnWar Crimes tribunal that wants to setrnthe record...

mess, marked the sky: red tracers fromrn20-m.m. guns streaked between our positionrnand the Croats’, sometimes crisscrossingrneach other like a giant game ofrntic-tac-toe.rnIn 1992, in Serb Cajnice, close to thernbesieged Muslim town of Gorazde, Irnlived on military Spam and rationedrnbread; that was the time when all thernworld was talking of Serb “concentrationrncamps” where Muslims, as thernclaim...

guy was . . .” and he gave the name.rn”You got the rest of it right, though.”rn”Wait a minute,” said the DistinguishedrnMale Poet, “I know him.” Andrnthe conversation was off in a differentrndirection. Later, though, I shook OurrnHost’s hand. It’s not often one meets arnhving legend.rnWiping the grease from our chins, wernleft Doe’s. “You got...

at play is so contemptibly worse? Whyrnare the British such bad sports? The answerrnlies more in the nature of therngames than of the people. Soccer, orrnfootball as it is called in England, is byrnits verv nature divisive and apt to causernconflict. There arc always two sides andrnsets of mutually hostile supportersrnwhose feelings are bound to...