THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

When the twentieth century began, Americans felt totally inferior to Europeans. Especially European nobility.

A few years back a friend of mine married a real Austrian Countess and it was kind of a joke between them.

But if we felt inferior to Europe in 1900, the rest of the world BELONGED to Europe. Back then the whole world was part of one empire or another. By 1900 Europeans were dividing up China, though it was officially independent.

By 1945, Europe was a blasted-out ruin. Its empires were on the way out and the homelands were destroyed. They had been saved from fascism by the United States and, if they had been left to themselves, they would have become colonies under Stalin.

But American east coasters STILL felt inferior to Europe. Even looking at the total catastrophe European thinking had made of itself, they still worshipped European thinking.

In 1945, East Coast "intellectuals" could not understand why a bunch of "cotton-chopping Southerners" and "corn-fed Midwesterners" were not desperate to copy everything from Europe.

Nothing liberals do ever WORKS. The East Coast and Ivy League worship of Europe was a formula for the same disaster Europe had just created for itself. So naturally post-War liberals thought it was the only way to go.

Professors and the media will never grow up. But some people HAVE to. One of the former Eastern European Communist satellites that has done well economically was trying to find an economic plan to make the transition from Communism to capitalism. Their leader said, "And we don't want something cooked up by East Coast academics."

This leader had observed how East Coast "intellectuals" had dealt with the Communists he knew so well, and he wanted no part of their idiocy.

By 1945, after total destruction and tens of millions of deaths in Europe, Europeans were not so charmed by their "intellectuals," most of whom were Communist by then.

You see, to an East Coast "intellectual" (or a William Buckley), "European" means "foreign," it means "exotic," it is means "classy."

But the few European "intellectuals" who didn't fall for socialism did not see themselves as "exotic." To them, Middle Americans were exotic. Today, American tee shirts in Moscow are considered very avant-garde. East Coast intellectuals sort of know this, but they don't have the imagination to UNDERSTAND it.

If there is wisdom in this world, it won't come from the thinking of blasted-out Europe. It will be somewhere in the thoughts of the Reagans and even the Bushes. It is only when they listen to the Voices of Shrewd that they screw up.