[At Issue]
Despite claims of its demise, the footnote lives on, serving its widely misunderstood functions.
Official symposia and ceremonies marked France’s “Malraux autumn” last year. But they were not the end of interest in the writer who became his nation’s first minister of cultural affairs. His vision of the unifying power of national culture grows even more pertinent, to France and to other nations, in these contentious times.
Apart from questions of racial injustice, affirmative action raises questions about a new style of politics in America.
The European continent has been wracked by war throughout its long history, but accepting the lessons of that past has paved the way for peace and cooperation.
The author of Was Huck Black? tells how she came upon an insight, long recognized by African-American writers, that led to her pathbreaking book.
The thoughtful Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne last summer chided presidential candidate Robert Dole for his favorable review of the box-office hit Independence Day and his more mixed assessment of the recent output of Hollywood in general. Dionne's swipe was only half serious, and the columnist ultimately conceded that presidents and presidential aspirants should be encouraged to take matters of culture seriously, even to comment upon them from time to time. They should indeed.
[Introduction to articles on civility in America]