response to 24-hour-a-day CNN broadcastsrnof people huddled in tents in Albaniarnand Macedonia. They carry withrnthem the sentiments of Mather’s MagnaliarnChristi Americana, molded by tworncenturies of American evangelicalism.rnArticles reminding us that ethnic Albaniansrnare responsible for the heroin trade inrnEurope and for teenage prostitution inrnItaly and have engaged in terrorist actsrnagainst tiie Serbian police simply cannotrntrump the sentiments that arise whenrnevangelicals iew footage of crying children.rnWe do not see footage of dead Serbianrnchildren or their crying mothers, and sornthe Serbs become a mere afterthoughtcollateralrndamage, a necessary evil, likernthe ra aging of Atlanta and Columbia inrnthe mid-1860’s. Nonetheless, the fact remainsrnthat 10,000 hours of ChristianernAmanpour and Geraldo Rivera could notrndiminish the resolve nor confuse the loyaltiesrnof a people with an identit}’ establishedrnnot b- cause or sentiment, but byrnthe Nicene Creed. Save for a small remnant,rnthat tpe of American Christian hasrnlong since perished from the earth.rn—Aaron D. WolfrnMYTHS are part of what makes us human;rnall peoples live by myths, somernhealthy, some destructive. Among thernunhealth)’ beliefs that have been propagatedrnamongst Americans are that thernConstitution came from the gods; thatrnthe conquest and destruction of thernSouthern states was noble; that the Americansrnwho fought and died in World WarrnII were starry-eyed devotees of globalrndemocracy. And, worst of all, that thern1960’s generation was the most idealisticrnand loe-filled of all generations. In fact,rnthat generation was the most spoiled, selfish,rnand vicious generation ever producedrnby America. I know. I was therernand saw them first hand. Their destructiveness,rnirrationality, and irresponsibilityrnwere evident to anyone who looked.rnTheir behavior has been blamed on DoctorrnSpock’s doctrines of permissive childrearing.rnBut there already had to be somernwidespread defect of character for Spockrnto gain entr)’ into so many homes.rnThe late undeclared war in the Balkansrn(like urban crime and the drug culture)rnis merely the natural outcome ofrnthe 60’s. The Flower Child generationrnhappily sends cluster bombs to destroy innocentrnpeople who have caused themrnfrustration. It is not a reversal of characterrnfor them, but a natural expression of theirrncustomary self-righteousness, irresponsibilit)’,rnand viciousness.rn— Clvde WilsonrnO B I T E R DICTA: A number of the articlesrnin this month’s issue are drawn fromrnChronicles’ recent conference in Londonrnon “The End of the American Centurv.”rnSome of the proceedings of the conferencernare available on audiotape; pleasernsee the order form on p. 2 5 for descriptionsrnand prices.rnReaders may have noticed a fewrnchanges to our masthead in recentrnmontiis. Dr. Srdja Trifkovic, the presidentrnof the Lord Byron Foundation and arnlong-time contributor to these pages, hasrnbecome our foreign affairs editor. Duringrnthe recent war against Yugoslavia, Dr.rnTrifkovic’s knowledge and contacts allowedrnChronicles and The Rockford Instituternto continue their tradition of indepthrncoverage of the Balkans.rnAnother long-time contributor tornChronicles, Dr. Harold O.f. Brown, hasrnagreed to become Chronicles’ religionrneditor. A professor of theology and ]3hilosophyrnat Reformed Theological Seminaryrnin Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr.rnBrown is also the editor of T/ie Religion &rnSociety Report. Starting in Januar)’, Dr.rnBrown will write a quarterly column onrnreligion for Chronicles.rnChronicles is also pleased to annoimcernthat Dr. Stephen B. Presser, the RaoulrnBerger Professor of Legal History atrnNorthwestern Universitv School of Law,rnhas become our legal affairs editor. Dr.rnPresser will ensure that we can providernour readers with sound analysis of the latestrnSupreme Court decisions, as well asrndevelopments in the legal field.rnChronicles welcomes our new designer,rnMelanie B. Anderson. She receivedrnher B.F.A. at Northern Illinois Universityrnand lives south of Rockford with her husbandrnand son. In her short time with us,rnshe has dramatically streamlined our productionrnprocess and put her own stamprnon the design of the magazine.rnTwo poets grace our pages this month.rnJohn Nixon, Jr., a Bellaman Avard winnerrnfrom Fork Union, Virginia, was coeditorrnof the Lyric for 16 ears. His poetryrnhas appeared in, among others, thernNew Yorker, America, Christian Century,rnthe New York Times, and the Georgia Review.rnOur second poet, Robert A. Hall, is arnMarine Vietnam veteran who laterrnserved five terms in the MassachusettsrnState Senate. Mr. Hall, who resides inrnOaklyn, New Jersey, is a political columnistrnfor the Courier-Post, a southern NewrnJersey daily, and the president of thernGraphic Arts Association of Philadelphia.rnOur art this month is proided by ourrnart director, H. Ward Sterett of Roscoe,rnIllinois. Mr. Sterett receixed his B.F.A.rnfrom the Universit}’ of Colorado and hisrnM.F.A. from Northern Illinois University,rnand attended the L’Abri Fellowship,rnwhere he studied the effect of Christianifyrnon art. He currentiy works as a sculptor,rnpainter, and printmaker in Roscoe.rnf^ii^^fi^fiiS^-irnIs Americans War Against the Serbsrna Just War?rnDr. Thomas Fleming gives the answer in hisrnstirring address delivered May 28, 1999, at thernChicago Athletic Association.rnFor a copy of the tape, which includes arnlively question and answer session,rnuse the order form found on page 25.rnf^sa^fe^yfiiyfflr^rnAUGUST 1999/9rnrnrn