EDITORnThomas FlemingnASSOCIATE EDITORnTheodore PappasnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSnChilton Williamson, ]r.nEDITORIAL ASSISTANTnEmily Grant AdamsnART DIRECTORnAnna Mycek-WodeckinCONTRIBUTING EDITORSnJohn W. Aldridge, Harold O.J.nBrown, Katherine Dalton, SamuelnFrancis, George Garrett, Russell Kirk,nE. Christian Kopff, Clyde WilsonnCORRESPONDING EDITORSnJanet Scott Barlow, Odie Faulk,nJane Greer, John Shelton ReednEDITORIAL SECRETARYnLeann DobbsnPUBLISHERnAllan C. CarlsonnPUBLICATION DIRECTORnGuy C. ReffettnCOMPOSITION MANAGERnAnita FedoranCIRCULATION MANAGERnRochelle FranknA publication of The Rockford Institute.nEditorial and Advertising Offices: 934 NorthnMain Street, Rockford, IL 61103.nEditorial Phone: (815)964-5054.nAdvertising Phone: (815)964-5811.nSubscription Department: P.O. Box 800, MountnMorris, IL 61054. Call 1-800-877-5459.nFor information on advertising in Chronicles,nplease call Rochelle Frank at (815) 964-5811.nU.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by Eastem NewsnDistributors, Inc., 1130 Cleveland Road,nSandusky, OH 44870.nCopyright © 1992 by The Rockford Institute.nAll rights reserved.nChronicles (ISSN 0887-5731) is publishednmonthly for $24 per year by The RockfordnInstitute, 934 North Main Street, Rockford, ILn61103-7061. Second-class postage paid atnRockford, IL and additional mailing offices.nPOSTMASTER: Send address changes tonChronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris, ILn61054.nThe views expressed in Chronicles are thenauthors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect thenviews of The Rockford Institute or of itsndirectors. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot benreturned unless accompanied by a self-addressednstamped envelope.nChroniclesn4/CHRONICLESnVol. 16, No. 6 June 1992nPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESnOn ‘Southern Manners’nI’ve just finished reading the second ofnJohn Shelton Reed’s articles (LetternFrom the Lower Right, December 1991nand January 1992) praising his own manners,nand those of other Southerners.nI’ve encountered this in Southern printnbefore, and it has never failed to annoynme. 1 was taught that bragging is badnmanners, and that public sneers againstn”outsiders” is provincialism.nThere is, of course, a difference betweenntraditional northern and Southernnmanners. In the upstate New Yorknregion where 1 spent the more importantnof my formative years, we did not dwellnon the fact that it was one of Washington’snheadquarters during an importantnperiod in the War of Independence,nnor did we allude to our regional heritagenon social occasions.nThe best American manners 1 recallnwere those exhibited by the northernnpre-World War 1 people, who were genuinelyngraceful and democratic. Suchnmanners were well represented by FDR,nwho managed to conceal his innate snobberynwith remarkable ease in public, andnHamilton Fish, one of his contemporaries,nwho more honestly did the same.nThey were members of my father’s generation,nand their manners reflected thosenof tlieir fathers. I mention them as representativenbecause both became wellknownnand many were exposed to theirnmanners. Both my father and my grand­nfathers (one of whom was not an American,nbut a Scot) had the same ease, andntook the same care to not carelessly offendnothers. In my view, they had the Anglo-nAmerican manners of their generation.nIn recent decades American mannersnhave shown a deplorable decline, duenlargely to the influence of various subculturesnscornful of eadier traditions andncustoms. Such changes are also alteringnthe South. Mr. Reed apparently residesnin some pocket that time forgot, andnwrites as if Southern courtesy is stillnwidespread, as in antebellum days. Mynexperience with Southern manners in recentndecades has been considerably lessnpleasant, but I will not follow his examplenand cite instances. That approachnsimply exacerbates a sad situation.n—Otto ScottnMurphys, CAnMr. Reed Replies:nMy intention has always been merely tonshow that Southern manners are different,nnot that they’re “better.” It wouldnbe foolish to deny that many Southernersnbelieve that, but others of us are quitenready to acknowledge that courtesyncomes in many forms. (See, for instance,nDonald Davidson’s appreciation ofnVermonters, in Still Rebels, Still Yankees.)nMy favorite definition of a gentleman isn”one who never gives offense unintentionally,”nso I apologize to Mr. Scott.nCULTURAL REVOLUTIONSnA N NEA GRANT has been awardednto an “artist” in Utah to erect a monumentnto the myth of a pre-Roe v. Waden”back-alley” abortion holocaust. DarinnBiniaz, a 26 year old who has discoverednthat “art” is more profitable andnless demanding than actual work, hasnreceived $2,000 to create a “sculpture”ncalled “No Choice (No Freedom).” Thenwork will consist of a rust-red 40-foot Inbeam and a sealed box containing thennames of 100 American women who supposedlyndied as a result of illegal abor­nnntions between 1932 and 1989. Then”sculpture” will blemish a tract of publicnland leased to Biniaz by the Bureaunof Land Management. Previous worksnby Biniaz have also dealt with politicalnsubjects. Last year he filled a Plexiglasncube with air from Deer Valley and danglednit over a Salt Lake City intersection;na sign informed the public that “ThenClean Air Is in the Box.” In April henpresented a work entitled “No Home fornthe Brave” about homeless children.nThese pieces persuaded NEA jurors ton