With the presidential election season off to an early start, it's useful to get some background information from serious political journals like Dissent. This venerable leftist quarterly was founded in the tumultuous early 1950s, and was edited by Irving Howe until his death in 1993. It is published by the Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas, located on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the Vatican City of the intellectual American left.
The table of contents of the Winter issue reflects the current preoccupations of Washington and the presidential candidates. Foreign policy problems dominate the journal's meticulously edited 144 pages, and the Middle East is the focus of many of the articles.
Iran gets the main cover headline, as Dissent presents a brave speech given at the Iranian Center for Strategic Research in Tehran last year by Joschka Fischer, the former foreign minister of Germany. It's the first time the speech has been published in English.
The topic he addresses is the European community's take on the Iranian government's apparent efforts to develop nuclear weapons. He also cites its leader's call for the annihilation of Israel and what are perceived as rampant violations of human rights and women's rights within that strongly Muslim country.
Fischer's warning to the Iranians to cool their military ambitions and rhetoric in the region is unequivocal. He recalls the German experience trying to challenge the European balance of power system twice during the first half of the 20th century. Both attempts ended disastrously. "What was our strategic mistake?" he asks. "We followed hegemonial aspirations that relied on military might and prestige, and we miscalculated the anti-hegemonial instincts of Europe. And twice we underestimated the strategic potential, the power, and the political will and decisiveness of the United States."
The health and future of the left in American politics is very much on the minds of the editors of Dissent. The burning question is whether the precipitous fall in popularity of the Bush administration over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other issues, means a resurgence of the left wing of the Democratic party.
Dissent's co-editor, Michael Walzer, doesn't think so. He writes that the Democratic left wing "is doing the best it can, I guess, given poll data that strongly suggest that if it prevails, the party will lose the next presidential election." He continues, "My views about the Democratic Party are simple: I want it to win, because any Democratic victory would be a setback for the far right."
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
2 - Rebecca Milward
Yikes!...here they go again...
I've lived in San Miguel de Allende for over 10 years now, and as in every desireable place on the planet, changes are underfoot. Most people here, though, feel that the changes are good--yes, even the local Mexicans. It is SO UNTRUE that the town is "being taken over by...foreigners". There are plenty of us here, but for the most part we all try to learn to speak spanish (by no means does "everybody speak english"), we contribute to the community by being involved in over 60 local charities that directly serve the Mexican community (and most of which were created by sincere, well-meaning foreigners.) If anything, Mexicans from other cities across the country have discovered San Miguel de Allende as a place where they can come to experience a more “authentic” version of a small, charming Mexican town. Their numbers and visibility are growing exponentially. I wonder who surveyed the locals and determined that "the Mexicans have mostly sold their houses to the rich foreigners and now live outside the town." Most of us moved to San Miguel to find a kinder, more gentle way of life, and Mexico gives us that. I was born in the US, but I don't own it. I applaud anyone who wishes to move there and enjoy the opportunities it affords. But, I chose to relocate to a different latitude-longitude, and no one told me I couldn't. We don't own bits and pieces or acres or continents of this earth. They are ours to use, to borrow, to explore and to settle. Some of us chose Mexico, some of us were born here. By virtue of those facts, can someone really tell me where I can and can’t, or should or shouldn’t live? I don’t think so. We live alongside Mexicans very genially and many, many of us have made wonderful Mexican friends along the way. The influx of younger people, Mexican, European and American alike, has brought a dynamism to our town that is breathtaking. Elderly Americans pushing wheelchairs are being quickly replaced by bright young people of every nationality and description pushing strollers. It is an exciting time in San Miguel and a delightful place to live. Please don't rain on our parade! And yes, I am one of those MANY sporting a "Pinche Bush" button. I am every bit as thrilled with San Miguel de Allende as I am sad, disgusted and disheartened by what George Bush has done to our once-glorious United States. H-m-m-m...I wonder how you say "Impeach Bush" in Spanish...?
3 - Donna Meyer
There seems to have been a rash of negative articles about San Miguel de Allende recently. And whenever one pops up, a slew of gringos will rise up to defend our precious town.
Here's another one. Yes, that's me, waving my fist and shouting "Why don't you at least try to verify your facts before publishing such drivel?"
San Miguel is a long, loooonnnnng way from being "taken over by foreigners." We currently make up some 12-15% of the population of the urban center. Anyone who does the math can see that that means that 85-88% of that same population is still firmly Mexican. If you walk thru the Jardin--the main town square--any evening, you will see at least 75-80 Mexican faces to every anglo one. Try it on a Sunday evening and the percentage of Mexicans will double. And a huge number of those will be Mexican tourists, enjoying traveling in their own country and visiting a town acclaimed all over the country for its authentic Mexican charm.
And the statement that "everyone in San Miguel speaks English" is a true howler. If that is so, why are there at least a dozen Spanish schools and a very long list of tutors for all the gringos trying to learn how to communicate with their neighbors?
The idea that every Mexican has sold his/her house to an American and moved out of town is even sillier. The writer obviously did not take a simple stroll along any street in the "centro" and count how many Mexicans she encountered versus how many Americans.
In the more than 10 years I have lied in San Miguel I have never, NEVER, been made to feel anything less than completely welcome by the Mexican population. Many have told me how glad they are that the American population helps so many needy causes in town. Many others--especially working class Mexicans--have personally told me that they are grateful for the job opportunities San Miguel offers because of the presence of tourists.
San Miguel de Allende is growing and, in some ways, changing. That's inevitable. But many of those changes are being brought about my Mexicans themselves, not by the Americans, Canadians, and Europeans who choose to visit and/or settle here.
Hyperbole may make for an amusing read -- especially when a writer is trying for a smart-aleck tone, like this one -- but facts give a much better picture of what's really going on. And facts make for better writers of every kind.
4 - Irving
Dissent is a great magazine. Good review. Check out their new website, which appears to be posting its articles on a biweekly basis.
5 - Kimberly Kubalek
I have to echo Donna Meyer's comments. I live in San Miguel too and guess what? You are way, way off. What happened to fact checking in journalism? This is just gross exaggeration.