culture, which the evidence from recent decades hasnproved to be morally and existentially superior to anynother behavioral proposition.nThe liberal occupation of the American mind, of Americannsensitivities, of the American sense of moral attractiveness,ndaily choices, preferences, proclivities and even everydaynlogic, creates an unhealthy situation in which conservativencounterproposals are doomed to a stunted existence. Thenliberal appropriation of the sole franchise for the entirengamut of social feelings—like compassion for the needy,nsocial conscience, the decency of political mores, respectnfor progress—results in a pervading bitterness among thosenAmericans who disbelieve in the fundamentals of the liberalnworldview. The liberal engineering of the American mindnand American sensibilities—as it is performed in mass culture—pavesnthe way for subversion of the American communitynby ideologies which are fiercely hostile to both conservatismnand liberalism. It also restricts the Americannconservative to an exclusively political mode of expressionnwhich, in the long run, may prove to be destructive to thenTimely Reminder fromnthe BeyondnWe are witnessing a spurt ofngeneral interest in the messagesnof the recently deceased SupremenCourt Justice, William O.nDouglas. His last book. ThenCourt Years: 1939_-1975, hitnthe book stores last year. JusticenDouglas’s oft-cited credonwas: “to keep the governmentnoff the backs of the people.” Itnsounds like a conservative principle,nvery much our own. YetnMr. Douglas was routinely describednby others, as well asnhimself, as a flaming liberal.nSo, whose declaration of faithnis this statement about the governmentnand people’s backs.-‘nAfter all, there must be somendifference between them andnas, right.”nWell, we’re sorry to have toninsist, but it looks to us as ifnJustice Douglas firmly believednthat his sitting on people’s backsnwas a tremendous service to thenpeople. He even called his beliefsna philosophy of decency. We donnot share his sense of decency.nThis is the difference. DnPublishing in AmericanNew York magazine offers a bit of introspection intonthe publishing industry’s quandary:nAlready seven months overdue on a novel owed Simonn& Schuster. Sally Quinn is taking a leave from thenWashington Post next month to concentrate on hernfiction … a ‘Washington love story’…nWho is Ms. Sally Quinn.’ According to our recognitionnshe’s an illiterate who works on the WashingtonnPost staff. This is not really a conflicting situation,nas working for an influential liberal daily in Americandoes not require the ability to construct a coherentnsentence or even a logical thought. However, writingna novel—even a love story, for which Ms. Quinn maynbe able to demonstrate an empirically founded expertise—that’snanother matter. Of course, it could bendictated to someone who has mastered the art of grammaticallynputting together words. In general, it mustnbe acknowledged that Simon & Schuster is trapped:nno one can sue an illiterate for not delivering a novel.nMs. Quinn might have had a poor childhood, or antraumatic experience with wealth, and both are legitimatenexcuses for illiteracy. Qnnnhistoric compromise between reason and conscience on whichnthe American civilization has thrived for so long.nTh .he American conservative must realize that—contrarynto Marx’s predictions—politics and economy have become,nin our epoch, functions of culture. Neither politicalnvictory nor economic preponderance can assure the conservativenof any participation in shaping the national ethos. Onlynthe conservative presence in culture can offer that power.nIt is not so much the liberal federal government’s greed forntaxes, but its usurpation of our consciences and its attemptsnto dictate how we should love one another, which mostnoffends the conservative sense of integrity and values. Thenfinal struggle for values which govern both human consciousnessnand social interaction will be fought on the battlefieldsnof culture. We must be there with adequate armor. Modernnconservatism must turn its human face toward America fornthe good of us all. Only then will we remain mankind’s hope.n—Leopold TyrmandnRomeo—We Need You!nShakespeare’s work has beennput to many uses over the years,nand it is currently playing ansomewhat unusual role: the balconynscene from Romeo and Juliet-nis being used by the NorwegiannHealth Department inntelevision ads as” a part of a campaignnagainst VD and unwantednpregnancies. After Romeonmounts the balcony, the messagen”If you love somebody—ntake precautions” appears onnthe screen.nIn America, where the functionalnilliteracy rate of highschoolngraduates is rising at anseemingly inexorable rate, thisnad probably wouldn’t work. Althoughnthe typical teen-agernknows that a Romeo is a lover,nhe might be confused by the costumesnand the setting. After all,nmen in tights are either rock performersnor homosexuals, andnbalconies are places from whichnto throw empty beer bottles.nAn additional trouble mightnbe to explain the words love andnprecautions, (GSV) DnJanuary/Febrttary 1981n