AMERICA
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iean foreign policy in the last twenty years has been intelligent and pro–
ductive. Vietnam has been an exception, the Dominican intervention an–
other. But on the whole I am proud of the way my country has behaved
in recent years. I might add that I think the Soviet Union has also dis–
played admirable responsibility.
6. What a silly question! I guess we'll go on pretty much as we have
been going. Maybe the Chinese will blow us up. Maybe we'll blow our–
selves up. On the whole I am rather hopeful for us.
7. Sure, though I'm not clear as to what is meant by "activities."
Students for a Democratic Society? LSD? Young Americans for Free–
dom? Black Power? White power? Peace Corps? War Corps? I am in
my fifties and have children in their twenties. From what I've seen of
their generation, I think it somewhat superior to my own.
There are many things about American life I find it hard to stomach.
But I am unaware of the present "deterioration" of which you write. I
think it vulgar to cite as evidence your contention about the economy
being "out of control." In fact, our economy is probably more "under
control" today than most economies have been throughout most of
modern history. Nor am I much impressed by the other formulations. I'm
not sure that "our problems can be solved within the terms of our current
methods and policies." How could one be? But I think we have as good a
chance as anyone and that our "current methods and policies" are for the
most part as good as those that any large, diverse, human society could
come up with.
Richard Schlatter
Does it matter who is in the White House? Of course it does.
History is made by men, especially men in positions of power. Great power
is never unlimited power; even an absolute monarch, or a Lyndon B.
Johnson, who has greater power than any other person in the world,
cannot command the impossible. But the President does influence Amer–
ican policy.
For example, the split between the Administration and the intel–
lectuals and the universities is clearly a matter of Presidential choice. The
