INTELLECTUALS AND WRITERS
SINCE THE THIRTIES
535
fest in what they conceived as a new, equalitarian society, quite a few of
those who were involved in its establishment were left out of its
promises. I'm speaking of slavery and the limited definition assigned to
what was, and what wasn't, American . 1'm thinking of the role played
by slave labor in getting the econom.ic basis of the system established, and
of the ethnic, the racial, and the religious ties to the past that added
notes of disco rd to the Founding Fathers' transcendent dream of felicity .
Later the nation moved closer to the fulfillment of the material aspects of
its dream through the explosion of technology. But then the war of
words that has marked our history since the 1860s was suspended by
World War One. Which gives substance to Clausewitz's remark that war
"is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse with the admix–
ture of different means."
Thus it seems to me that European intellectuals might learn how
better
to
deal with the confusion which now exists in their countries
because of the break-up of the Soviet Union by paying closer attention
to the history of the United States, and to the revisions of earlier ac–
counts that are now being offered. And most especially should they read
the fiction of Southern writers , beginning with W arren and Faulkner.
Now if you find this odd coming from an inside-outsider like myself,
don't be surprised, for I am also a citizen who believes in the
id~als
that
are shared - at least in the abstract - by all Americans. And if one wants
the truth concerning the intermingling of the past with the present, the
ideal with the mundane, and the comic with the tragic, one must first
realize that there are always myths spun in the name of a nation's ideals
which interested parties, individuals and group, project as a means of
achieving their goals and maintaining their share of power. Therefore it
is necessary to keep one's ear tuned to any contradiction that might arise
between their words and their actions, their assertions of abstract ideals
and their performance. Yes, and an eye on what they do in the inevitable
scrambling for power that marks the political animal.
It is well that European intellectuals remember that historically this
country moved from a war of words in which the ideals of the Enlight–
emnent were made flesh, to a Civil War of rifle and cannon that erupted
over the question of slavery. A war which led to the Reconstruction and
to the ongoing conflict which even today is made manifest in racial fric–
tion, rioting, and the burning of segregated neighborhoods.
So now, after the fall of the Soviet Union, and with Europe under–
going a period of reconstruction, I'm led to suggest that European
intellectuals might learn useful lessons from this country's history. And
especially the wheeling and dealing, the distortions of ideals, and the
