EDITORIAL
I
n artistic beauty there is truth—constant and
refreshing—a goodness. I often observe that the aesthetic
world, including the world of letters of tyrants and fanatics,
is devoid of beauty. Furthermore, such a visual and literary
world is often constituted of kitsch, cynical bromides with
sinister intent: think of Adolf Hitler's slogan, a narrow and
restrictive prescription for women, Kinder, Kueche, Kirche
(children, kitchen, church); or the motto, that with great
cruelty, overarched the entrance of Auschwitz: Arbeit
Macht Frei—Work Frees.
This past August was the fiftieth anniversary of the Reverend
Martin Luther King's historic march on Washington. During
the period of the march I asked Dr. King a question during
a single brief meeting: I had been brought by a teacher
to hear him speak at another school; we were late, and
he favored me with a brief private interview. Showered
by images of Rev. King in The Boston Globe, Herald and
on television, he and John Kennedy formed the iconic
leadership of my youth.
"What can I do to help?" I asked. His reply was, "Look
evil in the eye and give it no succor." I often think of Dr.
King's words when I hear the ravings, shrill or toneless,
of fanatics. I think of them also, I daresay, when I hear
similar conversation from quarters purporting to be the
most liberal in our land.
Beauty resides not only in the plastic world but in the realm
of words, which may also possess a beauty, memorialized
in their quotation or repetition.
HYLAND