Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 5, 1993 TAG: 9309010302
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WILLIAM R. HAWKINS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some people thought calling the Soviet Union an ``Evil Empire'' was redundant. Empires are by definition multicultural. The classic liberal view has been that empires are inherently oppressive because they deny independence to cultural sub-groups. In the 19th century, liberals became nationalists, opposing imperialism in the name of freedom. They favored the establishment of ``self-government'' behind borders drawn on the basis of ethnic, cultural or racial purity. Yet the same feelings that fostered pride and dignity within a cultural sub-group often bred hostility toward other groups.
= r The United States is also an empire, one that has transformed itself into a nation. This is the pattern of all Great Powers that become great by expanding beyond the limits of a single ``nation'' or sub-group to encompass and assimilate other communities.
The reunification of Germany is often treated as natural, forgetting that Germany's previous period of unity ran only from 1871 to 1945. And in 1866 Wurtemberg, Saxony, Hanover, Baden and other smaller German states allied with Austria against Prussia's desire to unify ``Germany.'' Germany was formed as an empire, under an emperor, with the former states retaining autonomy over many domestic functions.
Ironically, today the land of Prussia is ``owned'' by Poland, a nation that has been off the map of Europe more often than on during the past two centuries. The Prussian people were moved west after World War II in what would now be called an ``ethnic cleansing'' campaign.
Similar unification examples are Great Britain, Italy, France, India and a host of other states that today display a solid block of color on the map but whose territory in the past supported a diversity of sovereign realms.
The United States fits this same pattern. Thirteen colonies huddled against the Atlantic coast gained independence and formed a government. By the dawn of this century, the United States stretched across the continent to the Pacific. It had overrun the sparse ``native'' peoples and conquered half of Mexico. It had fought the bloody Civil War to preserve the Union. The United States filled its vast holdings with people drawn from around the world. People who became a new self-aware nationality: American.
Nation-building is not easy. The 19th century saw a wave of empire building, but the 20th century has seen most of these empires disintegrate because they were unable to elevate the loyalty of sub-groups into a loyalty to the empire - that is, they were unable to convert empires into nations.
There is here a cycle. Most of the newly independent states have not proven viable. In a generation or two a new wave of empire building can be expected as small, weak states band (or are banded) together to form stronger, more self-sufficient entities. The key for a great national empire like the United States is to maintain itself while others disintegrate and position itself for the next round.
America must purge all forms of racism and ethnic antagonism. Such feelings are purely divisive and pose a grave threat to a national empire like the United States. Today the main danger is ``politically correct'' multiculturalism that stresses diversity and incompatibility against the traditional American values of assimilation and integration.
This movement is a creation of the far left, which has never had the best interests of the United States at heart. It must be rejected with the same vigor as white racism, perhaps more, since it is in the ascent. The cruder form of bigotry has been, if not wholly eliminated, at least pushed out of public life and decent company.
It is against this background that President Clinton wisely withdrew the nomination of Lani Guinier to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. In her writings, Guinier expressed the belief that blacks could not cooperate or find common ground with the rest of American society. She went so far as to question whether black politicians who received white votes were really ``authentic'' blacks.
The United States has already gone too far in Guinier's direction in the creation of racially defined legislative districts. Too many cities, counties, states and congressional maps already look disturbing like the Vance-Owen plan for the partition of Bosnia. Any ``separate but equal'' concept based on rigid lines of racial purity are overtly un-American no matter where on the spectrum it originates.
\ William R. Hawkins is director of the Economic Security Action Center of the U.S. Business and Industrial Council.
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