Head to Head believes that the United States can maintain itsrnformer economic hegemony. That has passed to Europe andrnJapan. If, however, we arc to regain our competitiveness, wernneed to imitate Europe and Japan in several ways. Our educationalrnsystem must achie’e worid-class status in foreign languages,rnmathematics, and science. The massive lav-offs of ourrnprivate businesses are one side of a coin, whose reverse side reveals,rnfor example, the continual incompetence of our spacernprogram and the international scandal of our attempt to stealrnthe credit for the discovery of the HIV virus from Francern(whose entire budget for scientific research is less than that forrnour National Institutes of Health alone).rnWe must also resume self-rule and send the judges and bureaucratsrnwho now rule us packing. We must resume controlrnover our borders and oer the right to determine who is anrnAmerican citizen. This means the repeal of the 14th Amendment.rnIt is the 14th Amendment that, by planting the disastrousrnjus soli in the heart of the Constitution, makes it impossiblernfor the states to defend themselves from beingrnoverwhelmed b a hostile foreign invasion. It is the 14thrnAmendment that gives judges the power to overrule the will ofrnthe citizenry under the cover of civil rights. Foreigners havernswamped our schools and social safety net under the sloganrn”civil” (i.e., citizens’) rights. The true rights invohed are thosernof judges to rule our country. Only the repeal of the 14thrnAmendment can restore to the citizens the rights of self-rulernand self-determination.rnThe French people ha e regained the right to determine therncitizenry of France, the first step in maintaining self-rule andrncreativity. They may not use that self-rule and that creativityrnwisely, but the decisions will be taken by them, as individualsrnand as a people. We should remember that the votes of thisrnspring and summer came not only from the decision of thernFrench right to listen to the popular will, or from the raucousrneloquence of Jean-Marie Le Pen, but also, perhaps primarily,rnfrom a work of fiction. Twenty years have passed since ThernCamp of the Saints was first published, and in those years JeanrnRaspail has won many of France’s most prestigious literaryrnawards—and France is a country where literary awards matter.rnHis lonely ision and satiric fire brought alive the pictures ofrnwhat the future would hold if Europe and the West did not defendrnthemselves against invasion. His moving testimonial inrnthe form of a novel. Qui se souvient des hommes (PrixrnChateaubriand, 1986), showed that he valued and loved thernrich customs of even the poorest of the damnees de la terre.rnThe world would be a poorer place without the many customsrnand ways of life that cover its surface. Among those ways of lifernare the ones embodied in the nations of Europe. One does notrnneed to be a Francophile to understand that the greatness andrnweakness of France, from its abstract love of argument to itsrnsensual deotion to good food and wine, lie rooted in the languagernand culture and people of France. In one of the great environmentalrntriumphs of the decade, those people are now inrna better position to survive than they were just a vear ago.rnThose who love any aspect of French life can breath a temporaryrnsigh of relief. Those who love America need to begin torngird up their loins. Now it is our turn.rnTHE WISDOM OF THE PLANNED GIFTrnThere are many ways to give to educational and charitable organizations such as The Rockford Institute, publisher of Chronicles: ArnMagazine of American Culture. Most people make direct gifts, which result in a “charitable deduction” from their taxable incomernin a given year. But there are other ways to give that can preserve income or assets for a donor and his beneficiaries, avoid capitalrngains and estate taxes, and benefit the Institute or other charities. These are often referred to as “planned gifts.”rnThe Rockford Institute’s Pooled Income Fund provides income to a donor or his beneficiary and can be initiated at the $5,000rnlevel or above. The amount in the fund can be increased each year, and the amount of income depends on the performance of thernpooled fund. This fund has both high income and growth-oriented investments, and the return is generally much higher than stockrndividends. The amount of charitable tax deduction for the gift depends on the fair market value of the assets contributed (there isrnno capital gains tax on stock contributions) and is related to the age of the donor or beneficiaries. There is no capital gains tax forrnthe donor on the increased value of the fund over time. Upon the death of the donor or beneficiary, the assets would bypass estaterntaxes and go to the Institute.rnMichael Warder, Legacy Program, The Rockford Institute, 934 North Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103rnI 1 Please send me general information on “Planned Giving” options.rnI j Please send me information on the Institute’s Pooled Income Fund.rnNAME_ ADDRESS.rnC1TY_ STATE, Z1P_ PHONE_rnIf you have a specific asset, such as stocks, that you are considering for a contribution, and if you would like the Institute to evaluate the financial tax implications forrnyour gift, please include the following infortnation:rnSS#_ SS #(SPOUSE)_rnCOST OF ASSET__ ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE_rn18/CHRONICLESrnrnrn