with welfare, and second by giving them the cultural equivalentrnof toilet-training. They are also, by the way, afraid of ordinaryrnMiddle Americans whom they suspect of plotting a mutiny.rnLet mc be just as candid. 1 Irave enough to worry about, takingrncare of my family, attending to my job, and working to bringrnsome sanity to my own people. I have no time to spend on civilrnwar in Rwanda or Chicago, or literacy in I laiti and Los Angeles.rnIf an ethnic group cannot create or maintain a viable culturernon its own, it is probably incapable of taking culturalrninstruction from me. The dismal history of colonizationrnshould convince us that the most successful colonies, e.g., inrnNorth America, arc those which committed either accidental orrnintentional genocide, but in Africa white Europeans succeededrnonly in corrupting and destroying the native cultures without,rnin most cases, converting the Africans to European culture. Irnam not sure that such a conersion would have been a goodrnidea. It is the rankest kind of ethnocentrieity to suppose thatrnthere is only one right way for people to lie, and the West’srncontinuing crusades to impose peace and democracy in Iraq,rnHaiti, and Somalia arc realK ncocolonialist filibusters againstrnpeoples that are not adequatcl) integrated into global markets.rnIn America, we have tried such schemes of forced assimilationrnbefore, but without success. Indeed, much of Americanrnsocial policy is a series of failed cultural experiments practicedrnupon immigrant groups: the public schooling that was supposedrnto protestantize the Catholics; delinquency laws andrnmandatory school attendance tliat took children awav from irresponsiblernimmigrants; Head Start, school equity plans, and allrnthe vast apparatus of social engineering that were designed torntame blacks, Mexicans, Sicilians, and Appalachian whites butrnoiiK succeeded in destroying what particles and pockets of nativerncultures these people possessed. So long as thev had thernbenefit of segregated schools run by a black middle class, sornlong as black preachers were figures of authority and respectrnwithin the community, so long as voung black males were expectedrnto work for a living, black Americans as a whole werernmaking steady economic and even cultural progress. Thernso-called Hariem Renaissance took place in the 20’s and 30’s—rnbefore the establishment of the welfare state. Tourists still go tornisit Iladem, but it is not to hear jazz; now foreigners take toursrnin armored buses to get a glimpse of the violent and degeneraternsociety they have read about in their newspapers.rnCultural nationalism is an unmitigated evil, and I would notrnhesitate to call it fascism, if it were not unfair to the Duce. Givenrnthe choice between the antiwhitc, antistraight, antimalc bigotryrnof the left and the National Socialism offered by the Republicanrnmountebanks selling virtue in a bottle or a book, Irnprefer the left, because with them the war is open and wagedrnwithout hypocrisy. Besides, all their pett nationalisms mightrneven lead to something like literature and art, while the big governmentrnconservatives would turn us into a nation of indoctrinationrncamps in the form of the public schools that are at therncenter of many of their schemes.rnThe best hope for American culture today resides in the local,rnprovincial, and ethnic remnants that are struggling to survive;rnthev would be the first victims of cultural nationalism.rnFrom e crything I can see, there is still vitality in the South andrnit is growing in the West. In fact, wc are living in a time whenrnthe massive imperial cultures in the worid are all breaking up,rnand ours is no exception. One evil empire has alreadv collapsed,rnand the das may be numbered for its opposite numberrnin the West. I do not say there is anything we can or should dornto hasten the social and political disintegration of these oncernUnited States. On the other hand, something quite different isrnbound to emerge in the near future: perhaps it will be a slowlyrndecentralizing political sstem that evolves in the direction ofrn1787; perhaps it will break up into independent states or regionalrnconfederacies; perhaps there will be a tribal warfare withinrnthe regions; and perhaps there is even the possibility of arnstopgap solution of national socialism imposed by the currentrnelite class. Whatever comes, the real vitality of the nation willrncontinue to be found not in Washington or New York or Hollywood,rnbut in little communities and societies: in the states ofrnthe South and West, in groups of men and women who rejectrnboth cultural nationalism and the policy of nonresistance thatrnhas led to the current immigration crisis. As Alain de Benoistrnhas written of his own country, Erance, the problem is not sornmuch the cultural wreckage inflicted by too many Third Woridrnimmigrants who are, after all, only looking for a better life, butrnin the apparent inability of Europeans and Americans torndefend their civilization. crnBallade of the Literatesrnbv Gail WhiternThe Inquisition’s on the loosern(the dying Erangois Villon said),rnand poets’ lives are little use,rnso watch your step to save your head.rnRemember, when your comrade’s dead,rnhe left a short but useful creed:rnUntil you lie upon this bed,rntell no one you can write and read.rnSaid Jeremiah (that old recluse):rnThe Jews have reached a watershed.rnThe King of Babylon’s tied the noosernand Judah’s hanging by a thread.rnThe wise will leave their wit unsaid;rna clever slave is never freed,rnbut pity spares the dunderhead—rnTell no one you can write and read.rnWhen politicians wax abstruse,rnyou know the budget’s in the red!rnBe sparing of your sage abusernand keep the IRS misled.rnHold all authorities in dreadrnand memorize in case of need:rn”What books? We watch TV instead.”rnTell no one vou can write and read.rnL’EnvoirnPrinces, the printed word is sped;rnfluorescent screens have got the lead.rnNow Apple reigns in Milton’s stead.rnTell no one you can write and read.rnJULY 1995/13rnrnrn