To the editors:
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Over the years, syndicated columnist William Pfaff has marred any number of curious tales in telling them. His work ranks among those most heavily indoctrinated with Cold War ideology, often to the point of sheer embarrassment. To cite just one of his many ludicrous examples: Back on June 11, Pfaff’s “The power of myth: Beijing and the Paris Commune” ran in The Chicago Tribune. In it, he argued that whereas the slaughter of the Chinese dissidents in early June can teach us important lessons, the slaughter of the Paris Communards in 1871 cannot–and what lessons the Commune has taught its students, Pfaff relegated to its mythical, not historical, value. Incredible.
It is one thing to give Pfaff the intellectual rope he needs to hang himself. It is quite another to not even notice when he does it. I had expected more. I was wrong.
