Kenneth Burke_RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS

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“dream” quality which makes predicting the plebiscite outcome so hazardous. Although a votewithoutclear and predictable conse- quences might logically be thought likely to favor a strong pro-independence expression, few observers are willing to predict an independence vote of more than 2 or 3 per cent. Once a powerful, if subterranean, current even in the PDP leadership, it is now reduced to a handful of small, programlessclusters of intellectuals whose leader- ship denounces participation in the plebiscite “fraud,” withoccasionalvague threats of violence if the “fraud” is consummated. Independence is on the ballotonly be- cause of unauthorized self-starter Independmas. The re- cent history of Cuba, the travail of the Dominican Re- public, the depth of American cdtural penetration, the benign paternalism of U.S economic coloniallsm. the presumably permanent presence on the mainland of nearly a million Puerto Ricans-all these and more may be relevant factors; but in any case the fires of nationab ism on the island seem to have been banked down to a flameless smolder. But F e d and his United Statehooders remain an im- ponderable and serious threat to Muiioz’s determination to drive the status question permanently underground. If statehood should manage to show significantly more than I the roughly 28 per cent of the vote which the Republican Statehood Party scored in the last election, then the status question must be conceded to be more alivethan dead, and the PDP’s insistence on an early plebiscite judged a strategic blunder. And if the pro-statehood vote should run as high as 40 per cent (as many believe possible), ~ the probability is that the island will be thrown into a continuing status crisis, more insistent, more real, than the merenagging backache which the plebiscitewasini- tially intended to cure. Seeking prematurely to bury a nuisance, Mufioz may have unearthed a monster. RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS KENNETH BURKE Crrtrc. teacher ar?d poet, Kenneth Burke is the author, anlong many books. of A Grammar of Motives. A Rhetoric of hlotlves (Peter Smith), Book of Moments (Hernlec. Pubhca- tlons) and Language as Symbollc Actlon (Unrverslfy of California Press). There is a critical difference between the powerful per- formance of an automobile and the effort of its driver. Runners or cyclists can increase their speed only by a corresponding increase of their exertions; but without any added effort whatever. by merely pressing a slight bit more on the gas pedal. the driver of a car can accel- erate his automotive monster. even to the extent where it can take over. and race or rage beyond his control. ThJs easy opportunity for a vast mechanical transmogrifying of our comparatively feeble physical powers can lure us into drastically irresponsible assertiveness. However, as impressive and extensive and hazardous as the automotive empire is (I take it that one is speaking not metaphorically but Iiterally, when one looks upon the overall resources of travel by car as a kind of empire), it is but an example of man’s relationship to all the great advances in the development of technological power, the tremendous expansion in the powers of physical motion. Everywhere we look, we confront the same fate-ridden disproportion between what I would distinguish as the realms of action and motion. That is: in our nature as persons, we act. Our machines, not being persons, can’t act; they can but move, or be moved. But their sheer motions vastly magnify our powers of action. And by the same token, they impose upon us correspondingly vast new areas of sufferance. In their power is our pride- and, as always, in man’s pride there lurks his greatest 4s danger. If classic tragedy can teach us anything, it should teach us that. Nor must we be on guard only against those machines which provide motion on command from our physical actions. The dangers of a related yet quite different kind of personal aggrandizement beset us, by reason of our good fortune as citizens identified with a nation of almost terrifyingly vast and expansive political and economic power. Note my expression, ‘‘our good fortune as citizens identified with” our nation. That term, “identified with,” brings into focus a more “spiritual” kind of aggrandize- ment. This aggrandizement centers in the nature of “iden- * tification.” the kind of corporate identity the individual crtizen possesses by reason of his personal identificahon with the collective might summed up in our present na- tional greatness. We know of many empires that rose and fell. We know of none that rose and didn’t fall. Hitler, at the height of hu arrogance, promised his followers, who obeyed him as automatically as conditioned cattIe, that his dis- mal outfit would last a thousand years. That dream was soon over. I don’t have the least idea how permanent our setup is likely to be, though it is a fact known to us all that a considerable number of our most characteristic contrivances have to be junkedstrikingly soon after we buy them. Meanwhile,wemay profit bymeditating on our per- sonal modes of identification with the great empire of I which we all are citizens. And regardless of how long , our hegemony may prevail, we can now say for sure that the rulers of no other country on earth can comeeven remotely so near to imposing their will upon all nations as can those elected authorities of ours who decide upon U.S. policies abroad. THE NATION 1 Jury 17, 1967 1 ‘4

description

THE NATION/ July 17, 1967

Transcript of Kenneth Burke_RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS

Page 1: Kenneth Burke_RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS

“dream” quality which makes predicting the plebiscite outcome so hazardous.

Although a vote without clear and predictable conse- quences might logically be thought likely to favor a strong pro-independence expression, few observers are willing to predict an independence vote of more than 2 or 3 per cent. Once a powerful, if subterranean, current even in the PDP leadership, it is now reduced to a handful of small, programless clusters of intellectuals whose leader- ship denounces participation in the plebiscite “fraud,” with occasional vague threats of violence if the “fraud” is consummated. Independence is on the ballot only be- cause of unauthorized self-starter Independmas. The re- cent history of Cuba, the travail of the Dominican Re- public, the depth of American cdtural penetration, the benign paternalism of U . S economic coloniallsm. the presumably permanent presence on the mainland of nearly a million Puerto Ricans-all these and more may

be relevant factors; but in any case the fires of nationab ism on the island seem to have been banked down to a flameless smolder.

But F e d and his United Statehooders remain an im- ponderable and serious threat to Muiioz’s determination to drive the status question permanently underground. If statehood should manage to show significantly more than I

the roughly 28 per cent of the vote which the Republican Statehood Party scored in the last election, then the status question must be conceded to be more alive than dead, and the PDP’s insistence on an early plebiscite judged a strategic blunder. And if the pro-statehood vote should run as high as 40 per cent (as many believe possible), ~

the probability is that the island will be thrown into a continuing status crisis, more insistent, more real, than the mere nagging backache which the plebiscite was ini- tially intended to cure. Seeking prematurely to bury a nuisance, Mufioz may have unearthed a monster.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS

KENNETH BURKE Crrtrc. teacher ar?d poet, Kenneth Burke is the author, anlong many books. of A Grammar of Motives. A Rhetoric of hlotlves (Peter Smith) , Book of Moments (Hernlec. Pubhca- tlons) and Language as Symbollc Actlon (Unrverslfy of California Press).

There is a critical difference between the powerful per- formance of an automobile and the effort of its driver. Runners or cyclists can increase their speed only by a corresponding increase of their exertions; but without any added effort whatever. by merely pressing a slight bit more on the gas pedal. the driver of a car can accel- erate his automotive monster. even to the extent where it can take over. and race or rage beyond his control. ThJs easy opportunity for a vast mechanical transmogrifying of our comparatively feeble physical powers can lure us into drastically irresponsible assertiveness.

However, as impressive and extensive and hazardous as the automotive empire is (I take it that one is speaking not metaphorically but Iiterally, when one looks upon the overall resources of travel by car as a kind of empire), it is but an example of man’s relationship to all the great advances in the development of technological power, the tremendous expansion in the powers of physical motion.

Everywhere we look, we confront the same fate-ridden disproportion between what I would distinguish as the realms of action and motion. That is: in our nature as persons, we act. Our machines, not being persons, can’t act; they can but move, or be moved. But their sheer motions vastly magnify our powers of action. And by the same token, they impose upon us correspondingly vast new areas of sufferance. In their power is our pride- and, as always, in man’s pride there lurks his greatest 4s

danger. If classic tragedy can teach us anything, it should teach us that. Nor must we be on guard only against those machines which provide motion on command from our physical actions. The dangers of a related yet quite different kind of personal aggrandizement beset us, by reason of our good fortune as citizens identified with a nation of almost terrifyingly vast and expansive political and economic power.

Note my expression, ‘‘our good fortune as citizens identified with” our nation. That term, “identified with,” brings into focus a more “spiritual” kind of aggrandize- ment. This aggrandizement centers in the nature of “iden- * tification.” the kind of corporate identity the individual crtizen possesses by reason of his personal identificahon with the collective might summed up in our present na- tional greatness.

We know of many empires that rose and fell. We know of none that rose and didn’t fall. Hitler, at the height of hu arrogance, promised his followers, who obeyed him as automatically as conditioned cattIe, that his dis- mal outfit would last a thousand years. That dream was soon over. I don’t have the least idea how permanent our setup is likely to be, though it is a fact known to us all that a considerable number of our most characteristic contrivances have to be junked strikingly soon after we buy them.

Meanwhile, we may profit by meditating on our per- sonal modes of identification with the great empire of I

which we all are citizens. And regardless of how long , our hegemony may prevail, we can now say for sure that the rulers of no other country on earth can come even remotely so near to imposing their will upon all nations as can those elected authorities of ours who decide upon U.S. policies abroad.

THE NATION 1 Jury 17, 1967

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The mention of such concepts as “collective might” and “hegemony” brings up the possibility of a misunder- standing; my title, “Responsibllities of National Great- ness,” may suggest to the reader a likelihood that I intend to deal wtth the problem of our country’s foreign policy. But though I have personal opinions on such matters, I do not have the equipment to substantiate them as thor- oughly as an cssay on the subjcct would demand. Rathcr, my focus upon “iclentihcation” is a terrnirziJrrc matter, about which I am cntitlcd to spcak. if not by my conl- petcnce at lcast by the yrcat amount of attention and number of ycars I have devoted to it. And the kind of “responsibilities” I shall deal with will concentrate not upon our country’s obligations to other countries but with a single citizen’s obligations to his country. More narrow- ly still, I shall treat not even of a citizen’s obligations i n their totality, but only of the need to pause occasionally and ponder the hepuzzlements of “identification” as they affcct our sense of citizenshlp. My only claim is that, bv peering into this term “identificatlon” somewhat per- sistently, we flnd that it revcals notable risks and dangers, which must bc recognizcd if democracy is to functton at its bcst. Indeed, what wi th tlre lleiglltcncd responsibilities placed upon us by the gcnius of our tcchnology, I miyht also have entitled this papcr. “Concepts of Identificat~on Nceded To Make Democracy Work ”

In the religious frame of reference, man acquired categorical dignity by identification with some transcend- ent principle-as in the Old Testament relationship be- tween man and God. and the New Testament relation- ship involving an identification with Clmst as interrnedlary between man and God. With the rise of nationalism, there gradually arose a more secular kind of categorical dlgnity, dcftned by ldentlficatlon wlth one pol~t~cal powcr or anotller. Machiavclli’s The Prince is a notable book along the way. For though I t rcflcctcd the breaklng oE “univer- sal” (that is “catholic”) tdentitication into political fac- tlonalism, Its incipicntly nationahstic nature was partially concealed by its concern with purely personal rule (a kind of rule that could not become wholly nationalistic until some one feudal ruler had triumphed over many rlvals and cstabllshed ccntraltzatlon of authonty) At the tlme of the Rcnaissance, Machlavelli was usually thought of as a kind of devil. For whereas, according to the universal notmn of religious motives current a t the time, a man’s privatc virtues would be the tram of character whlch, d culttvated I n each indlvldual, would be most bcnefictal to mankind as wholc. Machra~cll~ was concclllcd with a kind of conspirator tal vlrtuc whclcby cvcn thc ~ C ~ J O I I L I ~

vlcm OF a ruler m g h t be of bench1 to hls emplle as a whole.

It wasn’t until Hegel, with his glonficatlon oE ths Prussian state, that suGh factional klnd of identiflcation became wholly sanctioned. Many related developments could bc consldclcd hcrc. For lnstancc. thc conccpt of national idcntlty was capablc of two quite ddfercnt uses. One might hold to what I would call the “Picture Gallery” theory of culture, whereby each natlollal tnteger could be appreciated i n and for itself, without reference to othcr such ~ntegers But obvlously any such sttuatlon sct u p the condhons for a n lnvldlous clnphasls whcrcby a cul-

rwe NATION / July 17. 1967

tural dlffercnce could be interpreted rather as a cuItural superiority.

Ordmanly, such identifications involve simple cases of self-love whereby one admires oneself roundabout by identifying oneself with some group which one praises, whereupon one’s own shares in the assets of the corpora- tlon appreciate proportionately. Implied identification can ftgurc as a kind oE unavowcd statcment of policy or at- tltude. For instancc, to quotc from an carly revicw o l nine, in The Pllilo~opi1y of Lltertrry Fotw (the quota- tion, in which I change one word to avoid too much ex- plaining, will make it clear that tllc passage, on the sub- ject of identification, was wrlttcn belore the outbreak of World War 11):

One could even lmaglne the emergence of a particular aesthetic school. in whlch not one slrrgle thought or Image was “suhversrve” on Its face. yet functloned as a challenge. Nazis In Poland, for In\lancc, wear while sox, harmless enough ~n themselve?. yet slgnlhcant enough as a challenge to enrage a Poltsh patrlot-and so there may be subtlcr a5pects of a htyle. funct lonlng llhc thc whrtc sox In Pol;Ind, cvcn s t y l l ~ c ways of wear- 111s a n l ~ - w h ~ t c sox 111 Hltlcr‘s Cic~mnny So wlth “travel I~tcraturc“ hhc thal ol Lacllua. who wlote under con&- trons 01 cl~ctatorshp, ; ~ n d dtt.lchcJ the local polltical s~tuatron by an amb~guous clcvlcc, 111 prcscntlng an rdeallzallon ok Gcrmany that m p l m l a crrtlcisrn of

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Rorne (the point IS taken from Jacques Barzun‘s Inter- cstrng book on Rtrce Thcorres. whrch also notes \ome Irony In the fact that T,~cItus, for progresswe purposes. here gavc ’the tirst form 10 the doctrlnes of “Nordlc” superlorlty that were subsequently to serve the ends of rcactjonarles).

As to what our sins of identification (if any) may or may not be, we are necessarily uncertain. But at least. looking back upon the group madness that seized a great nation (the nation of Lessing. of Goethe, of Kant. of Schopenhauer, of Heine. of Thomas Mann, of Einstein, of the marvelous musicians, I could go on and on). we can clearly see that such a madness somehow got im- posed upon the citizens of that exceptionally great na- tion. until the citizens. as In the frenzy of a lynch mob, iderlrlfred themselves with a shrewd madman who had in turn tdmflfled hlmself wlth them, even to the extent that when contemplatmg sulclde at the thought of hls defeat, he was mmded to ~rsk takins his whole nation down to defeat wlth him. And. so crazy are the trlcks of Identifl- cation. we hear of self-styled "patriots" in Germany to- day, who wouId live that he all over again. and only recently have elected candldates to such an end

Since identifications also involve anti-identifications, those neo-Nazis would even blame this polltical relapse upon us For it is true that we are pressing West Germany to buy our ammunition. If West Germany does not do so, its cltizens can pay less taxes And If their citizens pay less taxes. they can sell their goods abroad more cheaply And where would that leave us. as prospective competitors I n thosc same foreign markets, when we ale taxmg ourselves llkc fury in the cause of armaments? (Once apaln, I am rlnt herc asking us to consider the rlghtncss or wrongness of such expenditures I am merely trylng to indicatc how such processes bear upon the nature of our problem, as cltlzens who are necessardy. and proper- ly, identlfied with the policies of our nation.)

At the very least, educators might, as I have been do- ing, pomt out the risks of identification where clearly manifested in errors committed by citizens of countries other than our own. The contemplation of such distresses might have a certain admonitory value. For high among the uses of hlstory is Its ability to teach by the patient study of past fumhlIngs, and thereby to help transform the record of manklntl‘s trasic crrols into sources of undcl- standrny And ;tfter all, rl you want to learn by the study of mankrnd’s Inlstakes. you must concede that you have a marvelously fcrtlle flcld to work wlth.

What, then. is thc range of rclevancies that a close look at the term “iclcntificat~on” reveals‘! The first instance concerns not how we relate ourselves to our society but rather how we employ symbols to relate as- pects of that society to one another. It seems to me ob- VIOLIS and lnevltablc that a highly developed tcchnological economy such as ouls must be ratlonallzed by some sort of monetary med~um to coordlnate thc almost Inhnlte detads of our country’s production and dlstribution. How- ever, this very function that finance performs in the allo- catin? of our rcsourccs can lead to a qultc faulty mode of ldcntlfmtlon

Scvcral years ago, we may rccall, a qulte dcstructwe

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hurricane tore its way through New England. And some ycars before that, there had been the blg Market Crash of 1929 Shortly after the hurricane. a writer in the finan- clal columns of a New York newspaper pomted out that, whereas losses in the hurricane were extensive. they were nunor as compared wlth those suffered In the Market Crash Note here a fallure to distlnguish between materud destructlon and purely symbolic losses Yet consider how vast the difference was, though both klnds showed on the books as a radical drop in the “value” of certain people’s holdings.

After the hurricane, the countryside was in ruins. To this day, in my area, which was on the outward fringes of the storm, you can still find evldence of that disaster. Yet no matter how deep the plunge of the stock market, the material plant represented by those depreciated shares remamed exactly as It had been Not a single locomotwe had been lost, not a slngle bridge had collapsed. not one tree was down. Malermll~, there had been no damage at all, except for an occaslonal speculator who. on seeing hls stocks drop as though they had been brlcks thrown out the window, threw himself out after them. Thus, to identify the Market Crash wlth the results of the hurri- cane would be like making no distinction between the actual destruction of a house and the destruction of a document attesting that so-and-so is the owner of that house

How might that particular misuse of monetary identitrcatlon serve an admomtory purpose. as regards our current predicaments3 Havmg spent the most urgent ycars of my llfe on the study of symbolism, and having often been accused of wanting to turn the world Into nothing but symbol systems. T would point out, on the con- trary. My studies in the nature of symbols (or “symbol~c action”) have led me all the more strongly to realizc thc inexorable difference between the symbolic and nonsym- b o k realms. Hence, I grow particularly disturbed at what seems to me a new, and much more dangerous, situation involving this same error of identification, thls same fad- ure to distinguish clearly enough between things and sym- bols.

In recent years we have heard much talk about the "_cross natronal product.” whlch IS dclined i n terms o f I I I O I I P I When our \urn oC econolnlc operations IS thus idcntltrd. I t looks qurte reasonable to conclude- Slnce thcse transactlons amount to hundreds of bllllons of dol- lars. what’s a mere $10 billion spent for Improving the condltlon of the poor‘) Approached thus, in terms o€ shcerly nzone~ary ldentlficatlon, the solutlon of the prob- Icm seems quite smple, involvlng little more than a small tax easily borne.

However, if you identify this probIem in terms not of money but of materzals, the conclusions are drastically different For. as regards sheer rnatenals, a merely svm- holrc allocation ot $10 btllton for such social servlces I n -

volves a corresponding allocatlon of goods and manpower. It means, for instance, that the resources employed for construction, medical aid, transportation and the like, in connectmn wlth our mllitary actlvitles abroad. slmply can- not at the samc time bc employed for improvclnents at homc. When the issue is approached in terms of monetary

THE N A T I O N / ~ U ~ Y 17, 1967

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identification, the extent of the gross national product may seem able to allow for both. But when the same problem IS consldered in terms of materlal resources and manpower, one reallzes that the monetary mode of identi- flcatlon In this case is mlsleadlng.

Perhaps I should pause to make clear that whcther you favor puttlng our treasure over there or keeplng It here, wlthln this problem there lurks thks tricky shifting of identlflcatlon. My present theus IS simply that among our responslbdlties as citlzens in a democracy whose economlc functlons are ratlonalized In monetary terms, IS the obh-

gation to admonish ourselves agalnst a “natural” tenden- cy to use monetary or symbolic modes of Identiflcatlon. e\’cn I n cases whc.rc nmrc spccltlcally mnterlallstlc tcrnls might hc callccl lor

But whcrcas an ldentrtlcatlon problem O E that sort involves us prrlllarlly 111 an /tztcllccrml contusion. a more dllcctly C / I ~ O ~ ~ O ~ I N I klnd of rcsponslblllty arlscs from thc nature ol po l~ t~ca l reprcsentatlon in a democracy. I I C -

fer to Ihc l x t that thc mtcrcsts of a nation ale not ncccs- sarlly Idcntlcal wi th the interests of a party I n power. Ohv~ously. any party wdl usc all the rhetorical and ad- nunlstratlve re~ources at Its command to make such iden- thcatron seem absolute. Thls is a natural and wholly UII- derstandable aim of any polltlcal faction, be It In power 01 out u t powcr

But surely among the major virtues of a democracy such as ours IS the fact that we are not constitutionally requlred to accept any admlnistratlve pollcy wrthout ques- tlon, regardless ot thc cxlgencles that may bcsct U S In- solar as a pollcy can be changcd by oldcrly proccdurcs

?HE N A l l O N / J u l y 17, 1Y67

of government, there is nothing treasonous in debating the advlsablllty of changes. There 1s nothing in the United States Constltutlon that outlaws the swappmg of horses In the mlddle of a stream If the cltizens want war when an admmstratlon wants peace, or if the citizens want peace when an admlnistratlon wants war. it is their duty to peer beyond the klnds of persuasion and self-persuasion (In bnef, the kinds of Identification) that make adminls- tratlve pollcy and national policy seem Identical.

However, the problems of identlflcatlon become more compllcated in cases of this sort insofar as a national admmstratlon makes alliances wlth forelgn governments or factlons. or even 1s Itself responsible €or them holding offlce, as 1s apparently the case with Premler Ky. For though a declslon to wlthdraw our fighting forces from Vletnam would certalnly not involve “lettlng our boys down,” so far as sparmg them the horrors of war is con- cerned. there would be the further problem involved In thc fact that we are now Identifled wlth Prenuer Ky and those of hls cablnet who have not yet resigned. Thls sltuatlon IS partlcularly awkward since the factlon with whlch we are there Identified is Itself hard to identify wlth democracy And so, alas! there is a tangle of identi- flcatlons atop ldentlflcatlons atop Identlficatlons, some of them clearer than others-but let’s hurry on!

All told, as regards such ldentlflcations, there would seem to be a complex of this sort.

Flrst. there is a supranatlonal klnd of Identity that comes to a focus in relation to one’s rellgious or ethlcal convlctlons We mlght call it in general “the realm of conscience ’’ Below thrs comes national identification which. owing to our party system of government. is not dlrcctly cquatable with any incumbent adminatration.

1 had thought of puttlng vocational afflliatlons next in Ilne beneath natlonal ldentlficat~on But unfortunately many of our vocatlonal efforts become identifled with the ethics of workmanshlp. and there are respects in whlch It would be hard to uphold such a scale, since many aspects of vocatlon involve matters of conscience.

Such thoughts. regrettably. r equm us to turn aside and introduce a contrary companion term to “identification.” I t usually gocs by the name of “autonomy.” By “autono- my” I n this connectlon we would mean an exclusive refer- CIIC‘C to thc prlnclples lntrlnsrc to any speclallzed pursuit. FOI instance. a man may say ‘‘1 am ;I hlologst. a physl- crst. a chcm~sl I consldcr It my lob to bc as competcnt a blologlst. or physlclst. or chemst as I can be Thls IS an autonomous actlvlty. havlng Its own laws and methods. Lct mc go about my business And it IS r~ot my business to dabble 111 matters of polltlcs. and the hke ”

It only the Ilncs really could be drawn there, there’d be no problem But here enters that damned word “lden- tlflcatlon” agaln. And looking at any man’s same autono- mous pursurt as Judged In terms of “~dentiflcation,” we’d be prodded to ask ourselves. “But with what other trans- actions IS this autonomous speclalist identified, whether he wants to be or not?” Adapting a tender-minded an- cient parable to a present tough-minded purpose, and noting that any specialized or autonomous activity fits Into some lalger u n l t of actlon. we might sum up the re- latlnnshlp bctwcen autonomy and ldentlflcatlon thus. “The shcphcld, (111~1 shcphcld, acts for the good ot the shcep,

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to protect them from dlscornfiture and harm. But he may be ‘Identifled’ with a project that is raising sheep for market.” (I am quoting slavishly from my Rhelorlc of Motives.)

As regards the “conscientious” kinds of identification, we should further note that they involve family rela- tionships, relations to nelghborhood projects, to schools, to lodges, and so on (all variously impinging somcwhat upon vocational. factional. national and supranational identificatlons). There can be happy times when all those kinds of identification are working together, when the party I n power is helping our nation do the things we can be most zestfully proud of, and when all other corn- tries throughout the world are joining us and praising US, and when this spirit of good wdl filters down to our relations with one another, in all our minor identiflcations.

That’s concewablc, is It not: There i s sometimes a temptation among some of us to feel that a dominion could be as great as ours only by maximum reliance upon the powers to threaten. Maybe they’re right If so, may thcre be a God. and may God have mcrcy on us all. For if It’s to be by threat, T fcar thcrc arc much Iiicmcr times ahead Yet evetywherc I go i n this country. I find, along with the squabblcs that we all Cct into, a constant background of good fellowship

True, thcre are the mean places. Each clay thc news assiduously hunts them out, that we newsnlongers may variously Identify ourselves with some persons in those selected areas of victimage. Bllt there is also the humanity of our people. the fountain of good will that keeps welliw! up anew. And with this WL‘ woulcl he idcnlil‘lctl. will1 thls wc n ~ u y f be identifled, for otherwisc thc supclsonlc this or that. the moon shots. the great new realms of knowl- edge, the d w e r genrus of all such accomplishments. the whole thing beconics a damncd Ire. a crinlc against the Crcator. for so much of I t mvolvcs thc raping and pol- luting o€ naturc, not by dchbcrate lntcnt but by prayiiatlc urgencies with which wc happcn to become identitlcd, as we must, if only to go on living under the conditions which our own contrwances have imposed upon us.

One particularly dangerous form of identification is that whereby a man may personally be quite com- pliant, yet feels that his nation should be in every way anhending;. Or. while he is himself the soul of unprc- tcntlousness, he can think of 1115 nation only in the spli t of thc old German challenge, Dcuf\clrIand rrlwr t r l l c v . And sometimes T wondcr whether the largcly anarchic rclatlonship that prcvails among all nations 111 thc wollcl today is having an intlucncc upon tcntlcncics toward juvenile delmquency, Insofar as young pcople take the norms of national sovereignty as models with which to identify their personal conduct.

One notable device involves identification by antithesis, sometimes with paradoxical results. For instance, our Constitution was framed with feudal monarchy as the enemy. Yet by its very naturc it tenloved t h ~ s enemy; hence the very government itself took over this antithetic role, and laws formally intended to protect the individual against the Crown came to functron as devices for weak- enmg the V ~ I I O U S States‘ rlchts to control cxccsscs of ~USIIICSSI~ICII. Also, ~dcntd~cat~on by ant~thcsis IS gcat ly SO

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responsible for much political oratory. A candidate would have considerable difficulty explaining to the voters exactly how his proposed policies would work But if he says, “they are against the policies of so-and-so,” that statement somehow makes things seem clear. Doubtless this prime resource of identification by antithesis is also ~nflucntial in bringing it about that so many citizens vote not for sorncone but against sorncone clsc.

Therc is also what we might call “negative identifica- tlon” or “lack of identitication.” Its manifcstations ~ a n z e from unconcern for thc suffcrin~s of cxper~mcntal ani- mals to unconcern for the sufferings OF tne enemy in war. It ties in with the “autonomous” motive, in the sense that a bombardier might cause much havoc, not through any great feeling of aggression on his part but out of sheer obedience, in doing what he’s told to do. and as thorouch- l y as he is able. Also. of course, such “lack of identifica- tlon” is matched by heightened identlflcation with those on one’s own side, whose safcty or rcscue 1:1ay depend upon the skill with which the technically unfeeilng opera- tlon is carried out.

Such “lack of lckntifmtion” can h n v c rcqrettnhle results. but rt is wholly devoid of emotional cruelty. How- ever. It can bccome transformed into morbid yratifica- tlon. Thus. I will never forget a story in a Gcrman nlaga- zlne’l read near the start of the First World War, before the British prohibited the exchange of mail between Ger- many and the United States. Tt had to do with a part of the front that for some time had been quiet, and the men 011 holh sicks of the line had hrlilt u p undefined rules of dTslmt camaraderie. They did not actually fraternize, but they came to accept it that nelthcr side was aiming to kdl men on the other side. The protagonist in the story got to know cxactly whcn a particular enemy soldm would bc cxposcd to gunfrrc. Hc bidcd his timc. and one day shot this cncmy dead. I t was an unforgcttable storv. F o r o f a sucldcn this klnd of kllllng took on a quite diF- fcrcnt meaning from the professional killing that would have been in order had the troops been commanded to advance. Here some morbidly different motive had en- tered, a motive not unlike that of the various arbitrary killings we have been reading about rcccntly (for instance, the boy In the tower at the Unlvcrslty of Texas, who p d e t l off vlctlms a t random).

nllt surely first pri7e for the vnpnries a n d vngneneweq of itlcntification must go to that tiny flrst-pcrson plural pronoun, “we.” Until a few years ago, when the Dodgcrs won a hall gamc. a l l Brooklyn proudly proclaimed that ‘bwer’ had won Now this purely privatc conlplny 1s in Los Angeles. opcratmg on a quite different idcntdication. Or “we” as a natlon advance funds to foreign countries from which “we” as private corporations receive thls money back in payment for exports. By this ambiguity of identification, as a nation we become “idealists” while s o m of OUI rmliotrals arc involved i n transactlons that are. to say the least, quite ~calistic. Or whenever “wc” flght a war, the range of identifications under the one head extends from men in co111bat to gamblels in war stocks Yes. the marvels and mysteries of identification conic to an ultimate focus in that scarcely noticeable, workaday pronoun, “wc.”

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THE M I ION / 3 ~ 1 ~ 17, 1967

Page 6: Kenneth Burke_RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL GREATNESS