Books, Arts & Manners: Is There an Idiot in the House?

I diagnose some gross ego inflammation here: Dr. Sidney Alexander has been speaking. As president of the national organization of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Alexander specializes in importing Soviet medical spokespeople to reduce nuclear risk. You might better attack bubonic plague with Super Rat.

“I’m often asked, ‘Don’t you think the Russians are using you, when you go over there?’ And I say, ‘Of course they’re using me. They’re no fools. But we use them even more.’ Yesterday we had a symposium in Wilmington, Delaware—called ‘Prescription for the Planet’—and 1,100 tickets were sold. They got to see a real live Russian. This ability to demythicize them is so important. Every time the Russians appear on a program the attendance doubles. They’re human beings just like us. So, I’m no fool, if I want to get my message across to the American people, just grab a couple of Russians.”