A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon is to sit and talk with Marilyn Horne — the American mezzo-soprano who is, simply, one of the greatest singers who ever lived. I did this recently and have a piece on our conversation here. We talk about the past (what a past!). But also the present. And, to be sure, the future. If you don’t know this woman yet, you will want to — formidable, magnificent.
Some reader mail. In a recent column, I had an item on the general topic of Americanism. What is an American? The item was sparked by the memorial in Washington concerning Japanese Americans in World War II. One inscription begins, “Japanese by blood / Hearts and minds American.”
David Churchill Barrow writes,
Howdy, Jay,
My ancestors came to this continent over 400 years ago. Some of them did so on board the Mayflower, where they combined themselves “into a civil Body Politick.” That compact led to the tradition of the New England town meeting, whereby Yankees governed their own affairs for over 150 years before the Declaration of Independence. They were able, as Burke pointed out, “to augur misgovernment at a distance, and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze.” Consequentially, from Myles Standish and his little band of pitiable farmers onward, they formed militias to protect their way of life. You know the rest of the story, leading to that long ago April morning on that common and on that bridge.
My wife’s grandparents all immigrated here from Italy, yet she is just as much as American as I am (and has been known to defend American principles with her Sicilian passion). We have dear friends in our neighborhood who are Russian immigrants, but are now American citizens. Having lived under that which is the opposite of what is American, they have a deep appreciation of what is. I tell them stories from our history and remind them that they are a part of that story now. I get broad smiles in return. They are as American as I am.
That humble Mayflower Compact of just a few words was a tiny seed that grew into a great and mighty American tree. All those who willingly seek its shade and its protection — and are willing to abide by its “just and equal Laws” — are as American as I am.
(One of the things I love is the idea of defending American principles with Sicilian passion.)
I have a lot more reader mail — and thank you, everybody — but maybe I could close this post with some photos. Below is a current National Review intern, Matthew Malec, from Massachusetts, in Malec — a village in southern Poland, population 1,200 or so.
Finally, some photos from our Jessica Hornik Evans — poet and editor. First up: “Stargazer lilies with sunset clouds”:
Followed by: “A tiger swallowtail visiting a daylily”:
And: “A fritillary (I believe — but I’m not sure what type) on a purple coneflower”:
