the American Constitution as “the greatestrninstitutional repository and transmitterrnof Enlightenment values.” But he alsornappreciates the importance of arnBurkean pietas or “nimbus of awe” aboutrnthe American Constitution, for withoutrnit there might be an “American nationalismrnthat would be aware of nothingrnabove itself.” He acknowledges that “religionrnand nationalism, which in otherrncountries are always potential and oftenrnactual enemies of the Enlightenment,rnhave in America been bound togetherrnwith it.”rnO’Brien’s commitment to the Enlightenmentrnprompts his eloquent condemnationrnof politically correct multiculturalism,rnwhose advocates call for therndepreciation of the only culture theyrnreally know. While multiculturalism,rnpoststructuralism, and deconstructionrnare elitist enthusiasms, O’Brien fears thatrnif the elite “rejects or thinks it is rejectingrnthe whole of Western culture, then thernchances of the survial of the Enlightenmentrntradition are thereby significantlyrnreduced proportionately.”rnO’Brien has apocalyptic apprehensionsrnabout the Third VVorld, where hernsuspects that rising criminal elites amidrnthe impoverished masses could ultimatelyrnhave the technical sophistication tornwreak havoc within the West by the instrumentsrnof terrorism. In addition, hernnotes the possibility of engulfment ofrnthe West by mass immigration from thernThird World, seeing the refusal to admitrnthese problems, and the attempt to disguisernefforts at dealing with them byrnplatitudinous terms like Operation RestorernDemocracy, as a sort of “cognitiverndegeneration”; as part of a collectivernmadness threatening “the privileged inhabitantsrnof an overcrowded planet,”rnwhose “suppressed guilt” is resulting inrn”a collective denial of reality.”rnOther Burkeans, less infected thanrnO’Brien with bad memories of religionrnthough as committed as he to the moderaternAnglo-American Enlightenment,rnare more appreciative of the pre-EnlightenmentrnJudeo-Christian heritage whichrnprovided the premises concerning thernnature of man upon which the Enlightenmentrnwas structured. Eurthermore,rnhaving a Christian vision, they do notrnshare O’Brien’s pessimism. Rather thanrna resigned acceptance of future barbarianrnhorrors, they regard as more appropriaternthe approach of the Pope in reachingrnout to the Third Wodd and bringing to itrnthe word of human dignity and salvation.rnthus emulating his predecessors in thernbesieged Roman Empire who broughtrncivilization to the barbarian peoples,rnwhich later became Christendom.rnJohn P. McCarthy is a professor of historyrnat Fordham University. He is the authorrnof Dissent from Irish America andrnHilaire Belloc: Edwardian Radical.rnLook Away,rnDixieland!rnby William J. Watkins, Ji.rnCall to Home: African AmericansrnReclaim the Rural Southrnby Carol StackrnNew York: Basic Books;rn226 pp., $21.00rnBlack migration from the rural Southrnto the cities of the North is an importantrnchapter in 20th-century Americanrnhistory. What began as a steadyrntrickle developed into a flood as blacksrnleft the land in response to the promisesrnof the factory. The decade of the I920’srnalone saw nearly 250,000 blacks makernthe journey North in search of a betterrnlife. Life in the factory and the city, itrnturns out, was not better. And now thernhistoric migration is being reversed.rnCall to fiome: African Americans Reclaimrnthe Rural South is the first book tornmy knowledge that studies the reversernmigration of blacks from the cities of thernNorth to the Southern countryside. Accordingrnto Stack, in the last ten years thernnumber of blacks returning to the Southrnwas 50 percent higher than the numberrnof those choosing to leave. Interestingly,rntheir destinations are often still predominatelyrnagricultural and among the poorestrnin the nation, areas the Departmentrnof Agriculture calls “persistent povertyrncounties.”rnStack points to a number of factorsrnleading to the reverse migration: theserninclude aging parents, the managementrnof family property, idealism, and factoryrnclosures in the North. Personal interviews,rnwhich comprise the majority of researchrnfor the book, conducted by her inrnthe Carolinas give the work a distinct flavorrnas each returnee tells his unique story.rnBut despite the sundry reasons for returning,rna common theme is clear—therndestructive effects of industrialism andrnurbanization on a historically rural population.rnOn page after page, black men andrnwomen express frustration with the constantrnfears and degradation of city life.rnStack writes that many “had expected tornfind luxury, people rich beyond belief,rnbeautiful buildings,” but instead foundrn”ghetto, street gangs, garbage piled up,rndilapidation all around.” The black migrantsrnwho had grown up in the countrysidernwith its open spaces and relativernsafety were pained that their childrenrncould not even venture outside in therncity to play. According to Stack, the urbanrndangers caused a number of blacksrnworking in the North to send their childrenrnback to the South to be raised byrnfriends and relatives. The book also containsrndescriptions of the heroic strugglesrnof the black farmers who remained inrnCarolina and fought to retain control ofrntheir land. Stack tells the story of onernman who committed suicide rather thanrnface the costs of hospitalization and thernrisks of mortgaging his property to payrnmedical bills. Another willed his daughterrnten acres of land with the single stipulationrnthat she could never sell it. Suchrna respect and love for the land is heartening.rnUnfortunately, Stack, like many of thernblacks she interviewed, interprets the desirernto live on the land and maintainrnownership as a reaction against “landrnhungry white people.” It does not occurrnto Stack that the black farmers’ attitudesrntoward the land are identical to those ofrnwhites, while white farmers share thernsame fear of mortgages and banks. Suchrnare the results of the bitter experiences ofrnagrarian communities in the ruralrnSouth—they are part of the agrarianrnhabit of mind. But Stack, who clearlyrnhas never experienced the luxuries of lifernin a Bronx tenement or work in a sweatshop,rndespite the words of the blacks interviewed,rnconsiders all claims for thernbenefits of the countryside to be “nonsensical.”rnWere Stack more open to agrarianrnthought, she would see that the reversernmigration that she finds so surprising isrnno surprise at all. For instance, in hisrncontribution to /’// Take My Stand,rnRobert Penn Warren predicted thatrnSouthern blacks were making a mistakernby putting their faith in the urban industrialismrnof the North. Southern blacks.rnOCTOBER 1996/29rnrnrn