|
|
|
|
Through the Looking-Glass With Gore Vidal |
| Section: MODERN THOUGHT / LITERATURE AND SOCIETY |
| Author: James J. Thompson, Jr. |
| Publication: The world & I online |
| Issue Date: 12/1/1987 |
| Size: 6,995 Words, 42,316 Characters |
|
Is there no way to end the brutal warfare between fundamentalist and secular humanists? I have a suggestion. Let each camp name a paladin to confront his opposite number in single combat, the victor to carry off the laurels, the vanquished to skulk away in silence. This has been tried before, notably in the Scopes trial, when William Jennings Bryan squared off against Clarence Darrow. The results were inconclusive: The clash between two ignorant and foolish men served only to confirm each side in its ignorance and foolishness. It behooves us to make a fresh start.
I would tap Jimmy Swaggart to represent the fundamentalists, Gore Vidal the secular humanists. Lock them together in a bare room in the Ramada Inn in Sioux City, Iowa, the door to be unbolted only when one warrior shri...
. . .
...e her head in shame. One imagines that she might find Gore Vidal's infractions minor by comparison. Vidal's ultimate problem is not that he distorts the past, but that he twists the whole meaning of existence--or, rather, for Vidal, the meaning is that there is no meaning. "No more than bacteria upon a luminous slide": one suspects that Peter Sanford does in fact voice Vidal's sentiments.
(806 of 42,316 characters)
Do you want to read
the whole article? You can
purchase it here.
Subscriber Login |
|
|
Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
|
The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
|
Individual Subscription
|
 |
|
|
|
College Orders (based
on full-time enrollment) |
|
-
2 to 5 Computers |
|
-
Up to 1,000 Students |
|
-
1,001 to 2,500 Students |
|
-
2,501 to 5,000 Students |
|
-
5,001 to 10,000 Students |
|
-
10,001 or More Students |
|
|
|
Public Library Orders |
|
-
2 to 5 Computers |
|
-
6 to 50 Computers |
|
-
51 to 100 Computers |
|
For over 100
computers, call 866-211-6040. |
|
|
