EDITORnThomas FlemingnMANAGING EDITORnKatherine DaltonnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSnChilton Williamson, Jr.nASSISTANT EDITORnTheodore PappasnART DIRECTORnAnna Mycek-WodeckinCONTRIBUTING EDITORSnJohn W. Aldridge, Harold O.J.nBrown, Samuel Francis, GeorgenGarrett, Russell Kirk, E. ChristiannKopff, Clyde WilsonnCORRESPONDING EDITORSnBryce Christensen, Odie Faulk,nJane Greer, John Shelton Reed,nGary VasilashnEDITORIAL SECRETARYnLeann DobbsnPUBLISHERnAllan C. CarlsonnASSOCIATE PUBLISHERnMichael WardernPUBLICATION DIRECTORnGuy C. ReffettnCOMPOSITION MANAGERnAnita FedoranCIRCULATION MANAGERnRochelle FranknA Publication ofnThe Rockford Institute:nEditorial and Advertising Offices: 934 NorthnMain Street, Rockford, IL 61103.nEditorial Phone: (815) 964-5054.nAdvertising Phone: (815) 964-5811.nSubscription Department: P.O. Box 800, MountnMorris, IL 61054. Call 1-800-435-0715, innIllinois 1-800-892-0753.nU.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by EasternnNews Distributors, Inc., 1130 Cleveland Road,nSandusky, OH 44870.nCopyright © 1989 by The Rockford Institute.nAll rights reserved.nCHRONICLES (ISSN 0887-5731) is publishednmonthly for $21 per year by The RockfordnInstitute, 934 North Main Street, Rockford, ILn61103-7061.nSecond-class postage paid at Rockford, IL andnadditional mailing offices.nPOSTMASTER: Send address changes tonCHRONICLES, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris,nIL 61054.nThe views expressed in Chronicles are thenauthors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect thenviews of The Rockford Institute or of itsndirectors. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot benreturned unless accompanied by a self-addressednstamped envelope.nChroniclesnA MAGAZINE OF IMEXICAN CULIUREn4/CHRONICLESnVol. 14, No. I January 1990nPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESnOn ‘Closing of thenConservative Mind’nThomas Fleming makes some excellentnpoints in his September Perspective.nBut he really ought to leave his ownnmind at least ajar on the subject ofnfreedom and the ancients. They did notndischarge their moral and political obligationsn”freely and without compulsion.”nIn his classic book, The AncientnCity: A Study on the Religion, Lawsnand Institutions of Greece and Romen(1889), Fustel de Coulanges tells ofnthe results of the belief that the Greeknand Roman states were God:n”The citizen was subordinate inneverything, and without any reserve, tonthe city; he belonged to it body andnsoul. The religion (pagan) which producednthe state, and the state whichnsupported the religion, sustained eachnother; these two powers formed a powernalmost superhuman, to which thenbody and soul were equally enslaved.nThere was nothing independent innman; his body belonged to the statenand was devoted to its defense.” Hencontinues: “The ancients, therefore,nknew neither liberty in private life,nliberty in education, nor religious liberty.”nIndeed, in Athens, a man could benput on trial for something called incivism,nfor being insufficiently worshipfulntoward the state.nBy contrast, Coulanges says that itnwas only when Christianity prevailednthat true individual liberty flowed. Henwrites: “Sentiments and manners, asnwell as politics, were then changed.nThe ideas men had of the duties ofncitizens were modified. The first dutynno longer consisted in giving one’sntime, one’s strength, one’s life to thenstate. … By giving less honor to thencity, Christianity placed God, the family,nthe human individual, above country,nthe neighbor above the city.”n— John Loftonnlaurel, MarylandnMr. Fleming Replies:nFustel de Coulanges was a great socialntheorist, but the state-as-we-know-it wasnalien to the ancient Greeks, who regard­nnned their cities (Athens numbered a fewnhundred thousand souls) as a set ofninterlacing extended families. Withoutnthe Greeks and their perennial example,nwe would not be free to have thisndiscussion.nOn ‘A FlagnAmendment’nYour October 1989 Cultural Revolutionsnpiece opts for an alternative to anconstitutional amendment in dealingnwith the results of Texas v. Johnson. Insay with you, “Yes, repass the TenthnAmendment,” and return governmentn”to the people.” But I suggest a safeguardnagainst the “repass” beingn”repo’d.”nOne group of nine old men and/ornwomen is just fine. They should continuento be appointed by the President,nalthough it would be a joy not to haventhe likes of Joe Biden and televisionninvolved. But each appointmentnshould be for only one nine-year term.nNo reappointments, please! New appointmentsnshould occur annually duringnthe month of April with the nomineentaking office within 60 days (thenSenate be damned) of his or her appointment.nThe process should begin with thennext vacancy, say Thurgood Marshall,nand continue on an irregular schedulenuntil the lifers are out of the Court.nThereafter, the Court is reconstitutednevery nine years.n”We the people” will never regainncontrol of government in this countrynas long as we sanction unlimited politicalncareers in either the Congress or innthe Court. An activist, revisionist, noninterpretist,ndeconstructionist SupremenCourt justice is a politician with annunlimited political career.nWe still elect Presidents. We onlynpretend to elect M.C.’s and senators.nThe President of the United Statesnshould be our shepherd before thenCongress and the Supreme Court.nCorruption is parented by longevitynand privilege.n— William H. AtchisonnGillett, PAn