JOYCE CAROL OATES
575
measure of passion. Since coming to Germany he hasn't seemed
quite himself . . . not quite the man she believes she knows. The
edge of antagonism in his voice has the curious effect of provoking
her to an uncharacteristic naivete . "But is a Soviet invasion a real
possibility?" she asks . "Isn't it all exaggerated, as the anti-arms peo–
ple say?"
"For Christ's sake, Cecilia, nothing is exaggerated
here,"
Philip
says . "Don't you know where you are?"
But still the matter does not rest. Their odd disjointed conver–
sation, their discussion-on-the-edge-of-quarreling, continues even at
dinner. Cecilia supposes it is pointless of her to question Philip
Schoen on such issues, her knowledge is haphazard and blurred,
much of it, in truth, garnered from the
Herald Tribune
of recent days;
but she cannot forget the black soldiers, their foolish conspicuous
behavior, their air of ... wanting to be seen, noted.
If
Cecilia
Heath does not take note of them, who will? Yes, she says, the situa–
tion resembles Vietnam in certain ways: an army consisting of many
impoverished blacks, very young ill-educated men, men who prob–
ably know little about why they are where they are, or even , pre–
cisely, where they are . In a way it's a tragic situation .
Philip laughs irritably. He says that, in his opinion, the "trag–
edy" is Germany's. He feels sorrier for the Mainz citizens than for
the United States soldiers. In recent years the soldiers have caused a
good deal of trouble in Germany: drunk and disorderly behavior,
drug-dealing to young Germans (even school children), assaults,
vandalism, even rape and robbery. Maybe even murder, for all he
knew . Such things were hushed up. As for the blacks . . .. "The
Germans ignore them completely," Philip says. "They aren't senti–
mental about certain things, as we are . They don't assume virtues
when they don't have them."
Seeing her startled expression Philip says that he isn't a racist–
she shouldn't think
that-
but he likes to challenge liberal pieties; he
wouldn't respect himself as a scholar and an historian otherwise. It is
his role as a professional to challenge, for instance , the media's image
of such countries as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. How inno–
cent are they, historically-objectively? What are their records con–
cerning the treatment ofJews and other minorities, and neighboring
countries- ("provided the neighboring countries are weaker")? Fed
by a sentimentalist public media, how many Americans know any–
thing at all about Poland's terrifying history of anti-Semitism- or
of Hungary's belligerence against Rumania- or of the cruelty of
