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PARTI SAN REVI EW
In
one sense, the wides pread patri o tic res po nse suppo rts Fukuyama's
thesis of the reversibility o f Sixtyism.
It
wo uld a ppea r tha t Sec reta ry Rums–
fel d's admini stra ti on o f the America n milita ry opera ti ons in Afghani stan
has laid to rest the ghosts o f Secretary McNama ra's micro-ma nagement of
the Vietnam Wa r. Yet there rema ins a g rea t di stance between the resu r–
gence of patrio tic solida rity and the reconstructi o n o f socia l norms th at is
required, in Fukuyama 's view, to repa ir the "Grea t Di srupti on."
Kimba ll 's a rgument tha t the apprecia ti o n o f the Amer ica n way of li fe
had been eroded by the culture o f the 1960s a ppea rs
to
have been eclipsed
by the many deepl y felt express io ns o f regret over the losses to th a t way
o f life whi ch have been susta in ed as a res ult o f the events of 9/ 11. Yet the
rejo inder in defense of Kimba ll 's thes is wo uld be the recogniti on tha t th e
intell ectua l and cultura l elite g ro ups whi ch he has po rtrayed re ject par–
ticipa tion in the ma jo rita ri an culture of th e new pa tri otism.
In a striking assessment of the cultura l impact of 9/ 1
I ,
th e Ca nad ian
critic M a rk Steyn has focused o n the va ri o us ways in w hi ch Wes tern
media and religio us a nd po liti ca l lea dership have la id the blame fo r te r–
ro ri st acts upo n the West 's hi stori ca l reco rd of pove rty, rac ism, co lo ni a l–
ism, and insensiti vity to th e as pira ti ons of o thers . Stey n suggests th a t thi s
"syndrome-the vague sense that the West's success mu st somehow be
res po nsible fo r the rest's fa ilure-is a fa r slye r viru s than the toxic effu –
sio ns of the Chomsky-So ntag set, a nd it has seeped fa r deeper in to th e
cultura l bloodstream." Yet it co uld be a rgued th a t th e fa ct th a t Steyn 's
conclusion has reached beyond the intell ectua l fi gures of th e cultu re a nd
academy whi ch Kimba ll has surveyed a nd into public ex press io n by
po litica l a nd reli gio us fi gures o f the Esta bli shment represents a confir–
ma ti o n ra ther tha n a depa rture from the thes is of
The Long March.
The Long March
a nd
The Grea t Disruption
prov ide far richer inter–
preta tion s o f the f960s tha n competin g presenta ti o ns. Nosta lgia fo r
"Camelot " may survive, as shown by the la rge crowds th a t turned o ut
fo r the N ew Yo rk M etro polita n Mu seum 's exhibiti o n o f Jacquelin e
O nass is haute co uture. Fo rme r acti vists will retain a sentimenta l rh etor–
ica l view th a t the "good " th a t the six ti es did in the c ivil ri ghts move–
ment and the wa r o n poverty li ves after them whil e th e ev il , vio lence,
a nd riots have lo ng been interred with o ther ske leto ns o f th e pas t. Yet
Fukuyama and Kimba ll have etched the d a rker sid e of the per iod a nd
give n us a d eepe r account.
In
d o ing so, d es pite th e ir di ffe rent
approaches, each o f their wo rks represents a n a ttempt to seize the hi gh
g ro und in the o ngo ing struggle to interpret Ame ri ca's " usa bl e past " o n
beha lf of th ose wh o support hi storica l sta nda rds o f exce ll ence in culture
and the need for traditi o na l mo ral norms in soc iety.
