of his film, for it jars both with Woodrell’srnbook and the fihri itself. In an essayrnfound on the website for the movie, Leernadmits that he both identifies and sympathizesrnwith the Southerners. However,rnhe goes on to argue that it was necessar)-rnfor progress that the North w in the war.rnHe starts by noting that manv peoplernthroughout the world arc complainingrnthat their countries are being Americanized.rnAccording to Lee, the AmericanrnCivil War is where “it all started.” Wliatrnhe describes as “the Yankee invasion andrnvictory” was a victory for “the Yankeernprinciple” that “even’one is equal, e’er-rnone has the right to fulfill himself.”rnMoreover, the Northern victory led directlyrn”to the new world that we are livingrnin today: the world of democracy andrncapitalism.” Lee also misinterprets thernnovel as being about “the emancipation”rnof the “tvvo outsiders (the German immigrantrnand the black slave).” Lee seems tornhave forgotten that Roedel was not an immigrantrnbut the son of an immigrant, andrnthat Holt was not a slave but a freedman.rnDespite this Lincolnesque spin (whichrnsounds to me like an attempt to counterrncriticism that the film portravs the Northernersrnas the bad guys), Lee has created arnmovie well worth seeing. At times, it revealsrnan understanding of the war that isrnstunning. In one scene, a local planterrnconfesses to some of the guerrillas overrndinner that he fears their side will lose.rnWhy, they ask? The planter explainsrnthat, when the Yankees settled Lawrence,rnthe first thing they did was to build arnschool, not a church, and then the’rnforced the children from everywherernaround to attend. The Yankees, he says,rnwant everyone to think and live like theyrndo, but we Southerners don’t care howrnothers live. That is why we will lose.rnRide With the Devil brings to light arnlargely forgotten but fascinating chapterrnof Southern history during the War Betweenrnthe States, and it presents thernSouthern side of the war with sympathyrnand fairness. Perhaps this is why, after anrnearly release in mid-December 1999 torn60 theaters nationwide, and despite goodrnreviews. Universal Pictures canceled thernmain release and sent the movie straightrnto video. This, plus the fact that thisrnfine movie received not a single AcademyrnAward nomination, leads me to suspectrnthat Hollywood is ignoring a filmrnthat does not convey the “right” moralrnlessons. Ride With the Devil is simply farrntoo complex and realistic to be approvedrnor rewarded by the contemporan’ entertainmentrnindustr)’.rnH. Arthur Scott Trask is descended fromrnMissouri Confederates.rnEDUCATIONrnThe Life of the Mindrnin Ghtter Gulchrnby Francis J. BeckwithrnFor seven years (1989-96), I was a fulltimernfaculty member at the Universityrnof Nevada,’ Las Vegas (UNLV). Irngrew up in Las Vegas, earning a B.A. inrnphilosophy from UNLV in 1983 beforerngoing to graduate school. In Augustrn1996, my wife and I left Nevada andrnmoved to Southern California, where Irnhad accepted a tenure-track posiHon atrnWliittier College. Although leaing ourrnfamily and friends in Las Vegas was difficult,rnour departure from Glitter Gulchrnhas provided me with a new perspectivernon casino gaming and the culture of LasrnVegas.rnAs a social conservative who grew uprnin Las Vegas, I used to be defensive aboutrnmy hometown. In 1989, at a professionalrnconference of evangelical Christianrnscholars, I met a professor from a SouthernrnBible college who had attended thatrnyear’s meeting of the Southern BaptistrnConvention in Las Vegas. Noting that Irntaught at UNLV, he said in a deep Southernrndrawl, “I’ll ne’er ferget walkin’rnthrough them casinos and feelin’ the sinrnin the air,” to which I replied, “Similar tornthe feeling you had during the days ofrnsegregation?” He turned and walkedrnaway, and I felt pretty proud of my cleverrncomeback. Yet he was perhaps closer tornthe truth than I would have cared to admitrnat the time.rnThe problem is that the life of thernmind is inconsistent with the cultural valuesrnof Las Vegas. This is why I believernthat academics in communities that arernconsidering the legalization of casinorngambling should be in the forefront ofrnopposition to such measures. Moreover,rnI do not believe that the study and teachingrnof gaming has a place on a universityrnor college campus, except perhaps to examinernthe social and economic consequencesrnof gaming and the historical andrnphilosophical justifications for it. A universityrnor college should not give aid andrncomfort to an industry which promotesrnvalues anfithetical to the mission of higherrneducation.rnThat is not to say that higher educationrnin Las Vegas is impossible, or that gamblingrnper se, as a form of personal amusementrn(e.g., church bingo, playing pokerrnwith “the boys,” or making a friendly betrnon a ballgame), is wrong. But the culturalrnvalues that permeate southern Nevadarnmake it extremely difficult for the communityrnto understand why a univcrsit}’rneducation is important and should bernsupported. That is why this metropolitanrnarea of 1.7 million people has only onernunivcrsit) and one community college,rnand why southern Nevada will never be arncenter in which academic excellence atrnthe univcrsit}’ level is cherished and promoted.rnThe cultural values of Las Vegas emphasizerninstant gratification, gettingrnsomething for nothing, and the beliefrnthat a thing is worthwhile only because itrnhas instrumental alue. The gaming industryrnand its culture promotes these notionsrnwith a vengeance —for withoutrnthem, gaming would not have becomernthe multibillion dollar industry it is today.rnAll three attitudes are antithetical tornthe life of the mind. Intellectual achievementrnis challenging and requires a lifelongrncommitment to excellence. The resultsrncan be personally rewarding, butrnrarely does a scholar hit the jackpot financially,rnand never instantly or throughrnmere luck. Even if she does succeed financially,rnthat is not why she pursuedrnscholarship in tlie first place. The idea ofrninstant gratification has a detrimental effectrnupon the intellectual and academicrncommunity. A imiversity that namesrnclassrooms and buildings after peoplernwho promote these ideas sows the seedsrnof its own destruction. The students whornsit in those classrooms become the citizensrnwho decide how higher educationrnwill be funded and whether it is worthrnthe cost.rnThe life of the mind is valuable becausernit is intrinsically good in itself h-rnthough it certainly may have instrumentalrnvalue (i.e., it can help you get a goodrnjob), that is not the reason why peoplernshould attend universities. If you thinkrnthat the purpose of higher education isrnmerely instrumental, then you shouldrnseek out a two-year vocational program atrna community college or trade school.rnThe culture of Vegas tells us thatrn52/CHRONICLESrnrnrn