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  ne
of the enduring comedies of American life is the notion that criticism
of the American government is a species of heroism," Leon Wieseltier
wrote recently in The New Republic. For a certain kind of
person — usually a liberal — disagreement with the vast
majority of people is proof of his courage. But if he is wrong,
of course, it may simply be proof that he has an uncommon degree
of idiocy; and that this idiocy is backed by stubbornness.
Which brings
us to the case of Barbara Kingsolver. David Gates, a writer for
Newsweek, recently celebrated her and fellow novelists Arundhati
Roy and Susan Sontag as "The Voices of Dissent." They
raise important points, it seems, but are being persecuted by "the
hard right." But what about those of us who dissent from their
dissent? Aren't we being, in turn, persecuted by Gates's caricature
of us? ("The new united-we-stand orthodoxy holds that. . .
the attempt to understand the enemy's perception of us is disloyal.")
Some of our
colleagues in the suppressing-dissent business may have missed Kingsolver's
latest offering, an op-ed in Friday's Washington Post. Here's
a representative sample: "Gone is the inclusive vision of an
earlier president. [She means FDR.] Freedom from fear, freedom from
want-these clearly aren't meant just now for the millions of Afghan
civilians placed at risk of starvation because of the war. Our campaigns
proudly place our safety and material prosperity ahead of any concern
for the majority of world citizens who are starving and frightened-or
for that matter, the hungry here at home. . . . As our war drives
a population into refugee status, immense waves of new recruits
are entering schools in Pakistan and other places where young men
train to a lifelong vow of vengeance against America."
Kingsolver
has clearly spent too much time on Nation cruises. Where
to start? Has Kingsolver seen no footage of Afghans cheering their
liberation? Is she unaware of the food we are sending their country?
Does she think "the hungry here at home" will be better
off if terrorists are left alone? What's her evidence that most
"world citizens" are "frightened"? Kingsolver
lauds FDR for speaking many fine words about world peace and prosperity.
But she ignores one feature of FDR's wartime leadership that some
people might consider important: He waged a war. Including, you
know, bombing people. Unconditional surrender. That sort of thing.
In the Newsweek
article, Gates reports that Kingsolver "resents being told
— as she has been lately-that she should stick to writing novels."
We won't tell her that. From what we've read of her fiction, she
should lay off novels too.
The Bradley Presidency
Michael W. Grebe will become the next president of the Lynde and
Harry Bradley Foundation, its board of directors has announced.
"Mike
Grebe is a man of the highest ethical standards and moral virtues,
firmly holds those values that are the bedrock of our organization
as set forth by its founders, and is a proven manager and a splendid
and dedicated leader," said Bradley Foundation chairman Allen
Taylor in a statement.
Grebe, 61,
is the CEO of Foley & Lardner, a large national law firm based
in Milwaukee, and has served on the Bradley board for five years.
He is currently a trustee of the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University, a director of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute,
and a Republican National Committeeman. He was formerly president
of the University of Wisconsin's board of regents, chairman of West
Point's board of visitors, and general counsel for the Republican
National Committee.
Grebe will
start his new job in July. He succeeds Michael Joyce, who retired
from the foundation earlier this year.
On
the Site
Melissa Seckora on Emory University's Michael Bellesiles and his
fraudulent book, Arming
America.
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