Latin America with its own army; tlienpolitical party that “exercises controlnin the name of the workers … or tonput it another way, the workers controlnpower through the FSLN” (SandinistanNational Directorate, 1979).n”Heroes and Martyrs”: a phrase usednto distinguish government-approvednorganizations from their privately organizedncounterparts, e.g., CON-nAPRO is the independent Council ofnProfessionals, and CONAPRO Heroesny Martires is the government-approvedncouncil allowed to participate in debatenon the new conshtution.nHotel: the main interface between policenand visitors. Hotels must reportndaily to police the names of all visitorsnin residence.nInturismo: the tourist bureau whosenofficial mission is to publicize andnpromote the Marxist-Leninist principlesnof the Sandinista party to bourgeoisnvisitors from capitalist countries.nInturismo recently announced that itsncontribution to Nicaragua’s “mixedneconomy” would be a 540 millionngambling casino and resort on thenPacific coast, where all spending willnbe in dollars.nLake Managua: the big empty lakenthat lies near Managua and one of thenworld’s most polluted bodies of water.nGovernment officials blame the pollu-nHon on the capitalists of Somoza’sntime, but seven years after the Revolutionnall the storm sewers and toilets ofnthe capital shll empty into the lake. Itnmay be that some people’s – – – -ndoesn’t stink.nPrivate sector: a pejorative term referringnto backward, paranoid, or greedynpeople who do not believe that theirncountrymen trained in Bulgaria, Romania,nand the Soviet Union can runnthe Nicaraguan economy; also in thenbody politic of a Marxist workers’ state,na vestigial economic structure similarnin utility to the body’s appendix; thatnpart of the prerevolutionary businessncommunity whose survi’al serves asnevidence of a “mixed economy.”nSomocista: the name commonly usednfor anyone who suggests that communismnmight not be the best form ofngovernment for Nicaragua; also a legalnterm whose application to any personnallows the government to legally confiscatenhis property and personal assets.nTaxi: a car that looks like it is taking anvacation from a demolition derbv. Thenowners are actually waiting for sparenparts to appear at the government partsndepot. Visitors do not have to worrynabout a taxi breaking down on a longntrip since the government will not letnthem leave their home town limits anynday except Sunday.nUnions (independent): capitalist workers’norganizations whose economicnself-interest leads them to “separatenthemselves from the collective interestn. . . because they do not see the wholenpicture with a patriotic conscience”n(Minister of Labor).nWinter: one of the two seasons innNicaragua, being the dry season whennthe temperature usually hovers nearn100 degrees and when the country’snfailing pumps leave people withoutnwater two to five days a week. Summernis the rainy season by the end of whichnthere is a little more water in thenreservoirs but no more parts for thenpumps.nWallace Kaufman travels frequentlynin Latin America.nLetter From thenHeartlandnby Jane GreernWhat Ever Happened to BasketnWeaving?nI try to be a calm and charitable person.nBut just when I have some of mynsmaller base urges under control—nmy flippancy, my latent cynicism—Intrip in some new droppings of thosensincere, well-meaning U.S. citizensnwhose rhetoric can’t be distinguishednfrom the Kremlin’s, and am freshlynundone. This time the Boy Scouts andnCamp Fire, Inc., have sabotaged mynresolve: I grow reckless with despair atnsuch folks.nLet me say first that, judging byntheir handbooks, the Girl Scouts are asninnocent as when I was one. They donnot appear to deserve mention here.nIt’s the Boy Scouts and Camp Firenpersons (no longer is membership restrictednto those of the female persuasion)nwho have bought—lock, stock,nand loaded barrel—the peacenik pointnof view.nThe Boy Scouts are by far the lessernnnof the two evils. To their credit, theyndon’t once talk about the “arms race”nin their handbook for the “Citizenshipnin the World” badge. In their discussionnof different types of government,nthey start out straightforwardly enoughnon democracy and even begin wellnwhen they get to communism: “Communismnis both an economic systemnand a political system. In these countries,npolitical power lies in the handsnof relatively few. Opposition to governmentnis severely limited and therenare few individual rights.”nBut did you know that;n—“Central planning is thenchief feature of communism”?n—“Cuba is the onlyncommunist nation in thenWestern Hemisphere”? (This,nin a handbook claiming to be an1985 printing of a 1984nrevision.)n—“Tension and conflict arisenbetween democratic nationsnand communist nationsnbecause their ways of life arenbased on different ideologies”?n—“The aim of communism isnthe equal distribution of goodsnand wealth”?nThere is no mention of communism’snimperative atheism, which, since “AnScout is reverent,” surprises me. Andnthe Boy Scouts also wear green blindersn(or are they red?) when examiningn”military dictatorships”: “Examples ofncountries ruled by a military dictatorshipnare Libya, Ethiopia, Afghanistan,nand Chile.”nMaddening as this is, the correctnparts are perhaps a beginning of enlightenment.nWe can’t give our kidsnthe kind of history books we proffernnow and expect them to swallownwhole the real truth of the world; theynneed it in littie doses. This is especiallyntrue if, as the Camp Fire handbookn”In Pursuit of Peace” claims, “Youngnpeople are crying out for a chance toninteract with caring adults who are notnafraid to admit that they are scared,ntoo.”nHere are some examples of whatnCamp Fire, Inc., obviously thinks isnwrongful, counterproductive thoughtnexpressed by misled “adolescents recentlyninterviewed about war, peace,nand nuclear issues”:nOCTOBER 1986 / 41n