VARIETY
FIAT LUCE!
B. Let's think of the magazine out
of context for a moment, as a
ding an sich.
You'll have to
admit it's a primitive organ–
ism, a sort of non-cellular, mul–
tinucleate, promiscuous growth
like the slime molds that only
need liquid refreshment to go
on forever.
A. You flatter us! Yes, I'll grant
it's often been pretty squalid on
the big issues. But even your
slime mold renews itself. We
have our primeval, Kronos ele–
ment, the Founding Fathers
who were admittedly barbari–
ans, and we have our younger
gods who will eventually make
peace with Prometheus.
B. 0 spare us thy peace!
A. Now you're simply being heret–
ical. Youth is in the saddle
and rides man. To the small
businessman and schoolteacher
we are the Universal Reason,
uttering our oracles with the
homely narrow truculence of
Dad. To the aspiring urbanite
we are a clearing-house for all
the current innuendo and Hous–
manesque attitudinizing. A
newsmagazine can be only a
1250
very thin slice above the press
that feeds it.
B.
Or the people who read it.
A. We are the people, and wisdom
shall die with us.
B. But the bland arrogance!
If
I
should ever merit your atten–
tion for committing sodomy or
the like, as a Marxist of sorts
I would be sure to appear as
"penguin-figured B," or "puf–
fy, pointless B." I counted twen–
ty-three uses of the adjective
"little" in this week's issue and
nineteen of them described the
persons or families of the poli–
tical or spiritual left wing. This
refutation-by-physique is a weird
pseudo-psychological hypochon–
dria that's come over you peo–
ple.
A. We are
the
People....
B. The devil you are! Ye are the
Power, and ye care principally
to "cover your number," as we
used to say in the Navy. To
someone who only has a modest
stake in that power it rubs to
be presided over by a vast,
ogling, aggressively paternal In–
difference.
A.
Look, my son, son-your ideals
are worthy of you. I seem to
have heard them from less
worthy mouths. Why do you tor–
ture yourself with our maga–
zine?
B.
No, seriously,
if
freedom is any
