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continuously constructed and reconstructed. There is no death of a na–
tion, no death of collective memory. Unless it is to be the tomb of its
own grandeur, a culture must also know how to liberate itself from its
past, to break with, and even at times profane, its own customs. In order
to renew itself a culture must hide within itself a composite heritage and
be a battleground for a plurality of traditions to clash and to interact
without destroying themselves. There is no loyalty to the self that does
not include betrayal, no inconsistency that is not ultimately a superior de–
gree of loyalty. (Similarly a language never belongs to simply one people.
It can always be influenced by outer forces that will enrich as well as alter
it.)
No matter how fluid or extroverted, our societies will always need
the "great cosmopolitan souls" (Rousseau) of those migratory men who
open up possibilities of conversation and even love between cultures,
who reject egoism, and encourage exchange. Yet the
cosmopolitan spirit,
degraded into ideology appears merely as a diluted and vulgar
ersatz.
De–
sire alone does not effect cultural transformations. One needs
determination, courage, and perhaps even the touch of madness all great
mediators possess. In order to remain faithful to their memory, we must
refuse to put forward makeshift goods. Let us not ape these great figures.
Let us content ourselves with being democratic. In these times of re–
surging barbarity, that alone is not so bad.
Translated from the French
by
Tess Lewis
Harold Brodkey
1930-1996
