Letters
LETTERS to the Editor Regaining Perspective Tiank you for giving me a good swift kick in the butt with your Comment on the threats to the nuclear freeze movement ("No Time to...
...This is true—on the premise, again, that the artistic freedom of one person requires the enslavement of another...
...The Israelis were all brutish, beastly murderers, and those lovely angels of death, the PLO, were brave fighters protecting the poor civilians...
...Can you honestly name anything more immoral than being forced to support those who advocate your destruction...
...Suspicions grow, tensions rise, and the world moves ever closer to the brink of nuclear war...
...August issue...
...Vorster, on August 24, 1977...
...Hoover) Dam sneak upstream to the state of Colorado...
...The Reagan comment is merely an illustration of the fact that one mission of the U.S...
...That is how the non-Jewish world has repaid us for producing the finest minds in religion, ethics, art, and science...
...Just self-defense...
...Granted, no state action is involved here...
...Bill James Claremont, California A Rose by Any Other Name Apologies to members of DSA...
...That these are the feelings of our head of state is worth pondering...
...Really, now, who wants to take what away from whom...
...So were all the private businesses and other organizations which fired people because they were listed in Red Channels during the 1950s...
...Last time I checked, Boulder Dam rested firm and foursquare astride the Colorado River at Boulder City, Nevada, on the ArizonaNevada border...
...A. M. Bohn Chapel Hill, North Carolina Ihave noted how "evenhanded" you were concerning the Israeli attack on the PLO in Lebanon...
...Kaufman's anger would be better directed toward the real absence of women from the lives of hundreds of thousands of black miners—and the policies of our government that help perpetuate this and other aspects of apartheid—rather than the imagined invisibility of women in the head of this particular writer...
...Some of the strongest anti-Zionists are Jews who believe in the universal, ethical monotheism of Judaism rather than the chauvinism of Zionism...
...The more I thought about it, the angrier I became...
...I do not expect to agree with everything I read and I am not among those who cry "cancel my subscription" every time a magazine prints something I do not like...
...Further, Hentoff calls Redgrave a "victim...
...Without 100 per cent attention, 100 per cent of the time, we here in our cushioned recliners can easily forget that there are thousands dying in conflicts somewhere in the world every day...
...Madison, Wisconsin There I was, enjoying the fascinating work of Samuel H. Day Jr...
...It is true that the President characterized the hypothetical American attack as retaliatory, but one should not be misled by this customary disclaimer...
...The sensational conclusion of Day's article hardly merits comment, but I would merely like to refer you to a statement made by the former South African Prime Minister B.J...
...All letters may be edited for clarity and conciseness...
...The theory, which is by no means original, is inherent in the advertised silo-busting features of the new weapons systems and in public statements about how the weapons might be used...
...Since the concept of MAD relies upon the assumption that the use of nuclear weapons would be suicidal, the U.S...
...on "The Afrikaner Bomb," when I was brought up short...
...Since the miners are all males, they are assigned to all-male living compounds, separated from normal family contacts— a brutalizing condition which, for women and men alike, exacerbates the inequities of apartheid...
...The author and, presumably, editors of this piece assumed they were addressing only males...
...Are there females-only barracks...
...The statement that I misrepresented the purpose of my trip to South Africa is untrue...
...GertJ...
...And if she is limited to life in a "homeland...
...As a practical manifestation of our policy in support of nonproliferation, South Africa has participated actively in setting up the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency...
...September issue), and wish to record my strongest protest and exception not only to the superficial, twisted, and malevolent contents of the article, but also to the highly unethical and unprofessional conduct of your journalist...
...Or would a black woman be transplanted to a "homeland" which, your article stated, has no relation to actual residence...
...Samuel H. Day Jr...
...It is common for American policymakers to use the term "nuclear retaliation" to mean an American nuclear response to a Soviet conventional attack against U.S...
...They described an exclusively male reality, leaving us invisible "others" to wonder, as usual, about the fate of our counterparts in that troubled country...
...What our President actually did say, however, is significant...
...His statement about the Russians' ability to "hit us again" obviously reflects his belief that the second Soviet strike would matter...
...I did return to the scenes of my childhood, and I did investigate a significant aspect of South African energy development...
...Miriam Mallay Trumbull, Connecticut You have asked for an extra contribution from your readers and I have given careful thought to this request...
...Tamar Kaufman Los Angeles, California The author replies: The passage to which Tamar Kaufman refers describes the conditions in which black gold miners are employed in South Africa's Witwatersrand...
...In order to make truly credible a nuclear threat which would deter the Soviet Union from attempting an invasion of Western Europe, Morland argues, the United States would need to possess the ability to launch a disarming first strike...
...Not only does Day's article constitute an unacceptable deviation from the standards of fair, balanced, and objective reporting, but his unethical conduct as a journalist is not worthy of any publication that seeks to maintain high standards...
...I do want to continue my subscription to The Progressive...
...Winston N. Martin Federal Way, Washington The author replies: It is when decent folk like Winston Martin begin to create rationalizations for punishing speech that the winds grow cold over James Madison's grave...
...So is CBS, which canceled Ed Asner because certain advertisers feared his views would lower sales...
...As an organization resulting from the recent merger of two progressive groups (NAM and DSOC), the Democratic Socialists of America membership certainly deserves to have us get its name right...
...One is to return to some of the scenes of my childhood—schools, residences, vacation places, etc...
...Nat Hentoff New York, New York Mad Momentum Iread with great interest Howard Morland's article, "Old Math and New Realities" (September issue...
...policymakers are not satisfied with MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) as a means of deterring Soviet aggression...
...nuclear force is to attack Soviet nuclear weapons and destroy them before they are launched against us...
...Maybe Tom Chaffin got confused in the desert heat...
...allies...
...Their price has consistently been the destruction of Israel and a Palestinian State...
...If she maintains that the Boston Symphony Orchestra fired her because it feared that financial contributors might decline to support the symphony, then her argument simply means that she had an inalienable right to perform at the expense of the personal convictions and interests of those who were to provide the funds and artistic effort...
...How did Boulder (a.k.a...
...but I also want to express my strong difference with your position against Israel and in support of the Palestinians...
...Africa's position on the use of nuclear energy...
...Grobler Consul-General Republic of South Africa Chicago, Illinois The author replies: Careful readers will note that Consul-General Grobler does not deny the principal conclusion of the article, that South Africa has built and tested an atomic bomb, just as Prime Minister Vorster did not deny the allegations that prompted his statement of August 24, 1977—that South Africa had been on the verge of testing a nuclear device...
...In my opinion, the President's statement, because it does not specifically refer to the lack of an American firststrike potential, does not provide a springboard to Morland's otherwise very sound and very original theory of the dynamics of the nuclear arms race...
...How carefully you omitted the PLO military stores in densely populated apartment houses, churches, schools, athletic arenas, and the twelve years of PLO slaughter of Lebanese Christians and Israeli children...
...You can almost taste the tears...
...Any Soviet attack on the United States would leave thousands of American nuclear weapons intact and ready for launch in retaliation...
...Judaism does not instruct us to turn the other cheek, and therefore I cannot make an extra contribution...
...If they didn't save any, they wouldn't have any left to "hit us again...
...Otherwise it becomes a plan to ensure that any Soviet nuclear attack on the United States is both prompt and massive...
...This rigid position has led directly to the present tragic situation of the rank-and-file Palestinian Arabs...
...Some of the strongest Zionists are fundamentalist Christians who want all Jews to go to Israel and convert to Christianity...
...What about Hentoff...
...The Boston Symphony thereby would have retained its integrity...
...Whether or not the Soviets "could absorb our retaliatory blow and hit us again," assuming anybody cared, would depend in large part on how many missiles they held in reserve...
...All in all, I found Morland's piece a stunning assessment of the nuclear arms race and the Reagan Administration's rejection of the nuclear freeze...
...it is a race to achieve first-strike capability...
...When Day applied for a visa for South Africa at this office prior to his departure, he stated in writing that the purpose of his visit to South Africa was the following: "I have reasons for wishing to visit South Africa...
...The mining compounds of South Africa are, indeed, an exclusively male reality...
...Dave Perrotta Providence, Rhode Island The author replies: Idid not deduce my theory from President Reagan's remark...
...how does she live...
...However, I must point out what I believe to be a major failing of the article— Morland's attempt to deduce his theory from President Reagan's remark that "the Soviets' great edge is one in which they could absorb our retaliatory blow and hit us again...
...S. Ted Isaacs Cincinnati, Ohio Artistic Freedom Why does Nat Hentoff accept Vanessa Redgrave's idea that "no one should have the right to take away the work of an artist because of political views" ("Who's on First...
...I was admiring the transplanting of South African reality to a major American city in "A Tale of Two Cities," knowing how this technique would bring that foreign reality home to American readers, when I came across the following: "If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of nonwhites employed in heavy industry in Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Kenosha, or some other nearby factory town, you are apt to live not in a township but in a males-only barracks, or 'hostel,' in a compound on the mill site...
...Try this easy exercise: a) shut off all the noise, b) sit down, c) be quiet, and d) listen...
...policy of so-called "extended deterrence" lacks credibility...
...So belated congratulations on your excellent editorial, "An Unconscionable Burden" (August issue...
...And if they thought we could destroy any missiles they kept on the ground during their first assault, they would fire everything they had in order to deny us the opportunity of punishing them for having exercised restraint...
...Wendy C. Wilson Brattleboro, Vermont The Afrikaner Bomb Irefer to "The Afrikaner Bomb" by Samuel H. Day Jr...
...It is another to defend its aggression in Lebanon and its occupation of the West Bank...
...The Boston Symphony is a private institution...
...As I understood it, Morland suggests that the nuclear arms race continues because U.S...
...It is not Israel's fault that the Palestinian Arabs have been misled by their leadership...
...Every American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has pointedly refused to renounce the first use of nuclear weapons, though each has shown a great fondness for the word "retaliation...
...LETTERS to the Editor Regaining Perspective Tiank you for giving me a good swift kick in the butt with your Comment on the threats to the nuclear freeze movement ("No Time to Be Respectable," September issue...
...In doing so, he only weakens the otherwise impeccable coherence of his article...
...Furthermore, South Africa has voluntarily undertaken to supply its uranium to non-nuclear weapon states only under Agency or equivalent safeguards...
...It is hard for me to believe that you didn't know the full truth, so I can only imagine that you had some ulterior motive for slanting the news to vilify Israel...
...it is well known that I as prime minister and other ministers as well as the president of the South African Atomic Energy Board have on frequent occasions stated and reaffirmed the South African government's support for the ideal that nuclear energy be used solely for peaceful purposes...
...Emphasis added...
...The other is to share with Americans my impressions of how the Republic is faring in a field that interests me as an author and lecturer: energy development...
...Norman Solomon Portland, Oregon The editors welcome correspondence from readers on all topics, but prefer to publish letters that comment directly on material previously published in The Progressive...
...Any way you look at it, a plan to attack Soviet missiles while they are still in the ground has to be a plan to attack first, or at least a plan to threaten to attack first...
...Howard Morland Washington, D.C...
...This was and still is South...
...It, however, turned out that the true and deliberate purpose of his visit to South Africa was to write a grossly sensational expose on South Africa's nuclear industry...
...I doubt it...
...Was it to continue to feed the fires of antiSemitism...
...Samuel H. Day Jr...
...If the Reagan statement is understood to refer exclusively to an American counterattack following a Soviet nuclear attack on American nuclear forces, it simply makes no sense at all...
...There is a Boulder, Colorado, and it's not far from the Colorado River...
...Would she even be employed in one of these factory towns...
...If some contributors wanted to withdraw in protest against the Redgrave appearance, let them...
...Time and time again they could have had a Palestinian Arab state, but they refused...
...Your "objective" reporting mirrored the "objective" reporting of the television networks, the newspapers, and the columnists...
...There's no "force" LETTERS involved in letting Redgrave or your local Nazi speak...
...If orchestra members want to boycott her appearance, get substitutes for that night...
...I expect better of a magazine calling itself "progressive...
...Morland is trying to force the President's statement into line with his own theory...
...Further, it suggests that, in his opinion, such a Soviet "edge" could qualify the Soviet Union as the "winner" of a nuclear conflict...
...But those who do nurture that spirit have every right to be publicly critical of the Boston Symphony and any other private institution that punishes speech, anybody's speech, by keeping them from their work...
...This is what Redgrave wants...
...Furthermore, all Jews are not Zionists, and all Zionists are not Jews...
...You will agree that Day deliberately misled this office about his true intentions and hence obtained a visa for South Africa under false pretenses...
...Redgrave, of course, demands laissezfaire for her own artistic endeavors, but socialism and physical force for everyone else (including certain other artists...
...Are nonwhite women employed in white-collar positions...
...Surely the President was not referring to the Soviets' ability to retaliate after an American attack (and therefore to our inability to launch a successful disarming first strike...
...You can almost hear the guns going off...
...Rather, he was referring to a Soviet capacity to attack the United States, receive an American retaliatory second strike, and still be able to launch what might be termed a "counter-retaliatory" strike (if I may be allowed to coin my own jargon...
...Misplaced Boulder Tom Chaffin wrote a fine review of Empires in the Sun (July issue...
...It applies as much to management and contributors as it does to the orchestra members who said they would not accompany Redgrave...
...In such a race, fears of an enemy's first-strike capacity (real or imagined) multiply even as each opponent continues to try to outrun the other...
...Madison, Wisconsin Unconscionable Burden It is one thing to support Israel's right to exist...
...It is how you would repay us for building a viable democratic nation that has offered the hand of friendship and cooperation to every nation that would accept it...
...The nuclear arms race, therefore, may be viewed as a rejection of the MAD theory of deterrence...
...The initials stand for Democratic Socialists of America—not Democratic Socialist Alliance, which appeared in my Datelines article, " 'True Friend' Tom Splits the Left" (October issue...
...Because if Redgrave can be fired for her political views, so some day can I—or Winston Martin...
...One thing puzzles me, though...
...In your eyes, Israel stands condemned for not acceding to still another holocaust...
...The invulnerable retaliatory forces of the United States make such a Soviet attack so unlikely it is usually mentioned primarily for public relations purposes...
...I was left wondering where a nonwhite woman would live...
...Torture, mass murder, and human strife are all a safe distance from us...
...Reagan considers the Soviets to have a "great advantage" if any Soviet weapons can escape destruction in such an attack...
...Nobody can "force" anybody to respect the spirit of the First Amendment...
...I cannot help but feel that you would be in favor of a new Inquisition, maybe a few pogroms, and even a new Hitlerian solution to the "Jewish Problem...
Vol. 46 • November 1982 • No. 11
