really rock and roll, he would have beennas welcome as the young West Germannwho landed his plane in Red Square.nPerhaps the Politburo only wanted to getna closer look at Christie Brinkley.nThe last American musician to benattacked in the Soviet press was MichaelnJackson, and that was when he wasnmerely a thriller, not bad. Begloved Michaelnrepresented, to the Soviets, everythingnthat is wrong with the UnitednStates. Actually, Michael is hardly moreneccentric than, say, Malcolm Forbes, andnMichael works a heck of a lot harder.nRecently, Pravda, in the spirit of glasnost,nattacked the only true Americannicon, Elvis. The King, Pravda charged,nwas not merely a “monster” who cravedneverything and indulged himself in drugsnand food in copious amounts, but he alsonperformed mediocre songs that he stolenfrom blacks. Obviously, Elvis’ selfapotheosisnfrom rather oppressed, proletariannbeginnings was ignored, and onlynhis haute bourgeois being was indicated.nAnd we thought they would havenappreciated the proletarian-who-madegoodn- only – to – be – destroyed – by – the -ncapitalist-system. It sounds like a play bynArthur Miller. (GV)nFrench anti-Americanism strikesnagain. This year the government ofnFrangois Mitterrand awarded novelistnWilliam Styron the Medal of the Gommandernof the Legion of Honor. Styronnjoins the ranks of Leonard Bernstein andnJames Baldwin—both previous winners.nThree years ago, when the French madenStyron Commander of Arts and Letters,nwe wrote the following:nStyron is particularly liked bynPresident Mitterrand’s CulturenMinister, Jack Lang, the epitomenoi gauchiste 60’s radicalism innFrance. Now that he’s given upnon Danny the Red, Lang hasnadopted Mr. Styron as hisnfavorite culture traitor. After all,nin an already long (some wouldnsay too long) career, Styron hasnmanaged to sell books bynbetraying first his people (thenSouth) in The Confessions ofnNaf Turner, and then hisnadopted people (Jewishnintellectuals in New York) innSophie’s Choice. Who knowsnwhat he might have in store fornthe French? On the other hand.nmaybe Jack Lang is simplynindulging his well-advertisednanti-Americanism. Out of sheernspite, French critics have alwaysnpretended to adore Jerry Lewisnas the highest expression ofnAmerican civilization. After all,nStyron has done at least as muchnfor the novel as Jerry did fornfilm.nLe plus la meme chose.nInsanity as a way of life has finallynbecome sanctified by the San DiegonSuperior Court. In a November 5 decision.nJudge Judith McConnell awardednthe custody of Brian Batey, 16, to a Mr.nCraig Corbett, over the protests of thenboy’s mother, Mrs. Betty Lou Batey.nMr. Corbett’s only claim to young Briannhas been a homosexual liaison with thenboy’s father. The father, by the way, isndead from causes that the press has notndisclosed.nOutside extraterrestrial California,nMs. McConnelFs decree might seem, tonput it mildly, disturbing. Mrs. Batey hadndivorced her homosexual husband —nwhat healthy woman wouldn’t? She hadnfought a long battle for custody of hernson—what good mother wouldn’t? Butnmaternal love cut no ice with the Californianjudge, who in a 1982 reversal ofnthe original custody decision awardednyoung Brian to his biological father.nAmong other things, Mrs. Batey wasnfaulted for trying to keep her son fromnmeeting her husband and his “lover.”nMrs. Batey’s anxiety was viewed as anclearly criminal attitude, especially in thenlight of what subsequently happened.nAnd what did happen? Young Brian,nthe victim of California’s “I’m OK,nyou’re OK” sexual politics, eventuallyncame to prefer the no-holds-barred lifestylenof his father’s household. Hardlynstrange, in the view of a young boy’sndelight with a permanent holiday in anDisneyland, as opposed to the rigors andnobligations of responsible manhood.nEven before his 16th year, Brian Bateyncame on television to air his liking for hisnhomosexual “stepfather / mother / orwhatever.”nHis earnest, misinformed,nminor’s testimony was respected by ancourt of law, over his mother’s rights andnaffection.nCorbett has magnanimously declarednthat Mrs. Batey may have limited accessnnnto her son. Corbett’s tolerance for a waynof life which the human race has beennunable to shake olF yet is to be commended.nSo is Judge McConnell’s compassionnand understanding, especially fornthe clout homosexual lobbies have in hernneck of the woods. Young Brian Batey,nhowever, growing up in a world of flickeringn”life-styles,” may stumble uponnwhat is right, before his stepfather’snfriends communicate to him more than antaste for designer aprons. But it will benno thanks to Mr. Corbett, Judge Mc­nConnell, or the media luminaries of bothnCoasts.nBilingualism Causes Traffic Fatalitiesnmay well be the next headline you readnin the land of Ted Kennedy and thenDuke. In Amherst, “State officials andnlocal organizations are teaming up tonhelp curb the number of Hispanics arrestednfor driving without a license,”nwrites Daniel Gonzales in the DailynHampshire Gazette. The solution: oralndriver’s tests in Spanish, administered tonthe illiterate among the 20 percent Hispanicnminority in the region.nIn the Babel Sweepstakes, Massachusettsnis still behind Colorado, wherenJudge Alvin Lichtenstein of the DenvernDistrict Court threw out a murder convictionnof one Julio Sandoval because hisnMiranda rights had been read to him innAmerican Spanish, instead of his nativenMexican Spanish. In the great “polyglotnboarding house” — to use TheodorenRoosevelt’s prophetic phrase—the voicenof justice requires a dialect expert.nUnfortunately, traffic signs don’tnspeak; they don’t even have room for twonlanguages — trying to select a language,nmuch less a dialect at 60 miles an hour isna thrill we ought to leave to the Canadians.nThe Colorado judge, though, is ontonsomething: why bilingualism, instead ofntri-, quatro-, or any number of “lingualisms”?nDon’t the Amish have a right tontheir German, or the Cajuns to theirnversion of French? What about thenSwedes in Illinois, or Norwegians innWisconsin? How about the millions ofnPoles or Italians or Bohemians in Chicago?nWhy single out the Hispanics?nWhy not form a United Townships ofnAmerica — a giant Switzerland or anUnited Nations, whose inhabitants havennothing in common but their monthlynwelfare checks?nJANUARY 19881 Sn