INTELLECTUALS AND WRITERS THEN AND NOW
529
bal activity of "commun icative" communities, which involve the rules
of "practical discourse," and the va lidation of norms through the give–
and-take of open deliberation. At present the eminent school of politi–
cal phi losophy is that started by the German philosopher Jurgen
Habermas, who presides over contemporary thought with the same
ben ign optimism that the kindly John Dewey once radiated. A situation
of free, uncoerced speech and discussion wi ll, Habermas hopes, resur–
rect the promises of democracy and fulfi ll the ideals of equality and sol–
idarity. Nietzsche's " long lie," the false premises as well as promises of
religion and philosophy that have been perpetuated over the centuries,
has given way to the new faith in conversation without end. God is
dead, but language lives to liberate us from the way of all flesh. No anx–
iety about truth when we can take the talking cure.
Edith Kurzweil: Thank
you, Jack. Now would the panelists like to cha l–
lenge each other, comment on each other?
Sanford Pinsker:
Well, this is hardly a challenge. But, Norman, I think
your sense of the country and intellectuals' response post-September
I I
calls for more teasing out. Not on ly is there a stake in this country, as
was admitted in
1952,
but there's a place to use the word
patriot
with–
out embarrassment or shame, something that I think did not occur for
a long time. Do you think we can use that word?
Norman Podhoretz:
Well, it depends on what circle you're talking
about. On the left, as far as I can make out, there's very little of it except
among the students. In fact, there has been something of a debate on the
left, sparked by people like Michae l Wa lzer in
Dissent
and Christopher
Hitchens. One or two others : Todd Gitlin, once the head of SDS, has
supported the war on terrorism, and has chastised fellow leftists for
refusing to join in that fight. And Walzer-I'm not, incidentally, one of
those people who think of him as a saint, which is his reputation in
many circles-actua ll y went so far, in his piece called "Can There Be a
Decent Left?" as to chastise his fe ll ow leftists for not understanding that
they have a stake in this country, that there is a mutual responsibility.
They are protected, and they have a duty to do what they can
to
protect
the country. Instead, they have taken the opposite tack. Walzer has been
castigated for this by his fe ll ow ed itors at
Dissent,
but my feeling is that
the majority of the university faculty-as distinct from the students–
have taken the view, either quietly or loud ly, that we had it coming, that
it's our fault, and that the cause of the attack on us is bad American pol-
