by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
By its very nature, a “brouhaha” hardly lends itself to an article, as all kinds of notes spring from it with the violence and unpredictability of chaos.
In recent days, the global brouhaha has become even more pronounced. How can one write a continuous, regular article, like a paved road, about events of the most diverse nature that tragically pop up here and there?
The only way is to extract a few facts from the chaos with tweezers, present them as numbered topics, and comment on each as if it were a tiny article.
From this laborious operation, five miniatures of horror and one of hope have emerged.
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On the international stage, the big news in recent days—or the most widely reported fact—is the Red Brigades’ assassination of Mr. Aldo Moro. A prolonged outcry against this crime, truly worthy of utter repudiation, is occurring throughout Italy and the world.
The personality of the former prime minister, who at the time of his kidnapping was president of the Italian Christian Democrats, is now entering the pages of history. His political work as a whole is being examined in countless obituaries.
I do not intend to participate in the ongoing study. Perhaps I will speak out soon. Or, instead of commenting on the actions of the ill-fated public figure, I may comment on his obituaries. Although I disagree with various aspects of his long public career, for today, all that is left for me to do is to say a word of respect and offer a prayer for his soul. “De mortuis nisi bonum.” This Latin phrase is so similar to Portuguese that it needs no translation.
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However, no matter how much the significance and scope of this barbaric crime are emphasized, it seems to me somewhat unfair that another crime, not only more brutal but also of greater magnitude, has gone almost unnoticed by our public.
The ICP (Italian Communist Party) presented itself as legalistic and respectful of human rights by aligning with the forces of law and order to condemn the despicable actions of the Red Brigades. Meanwhile, the Russian Communist Party, the driving force behind the Soviet State, quietly swallowed up an entire nation. The Communist Party of Afghanistan rose to power in a single moment and began confiscating property. As usual, once these confiscations began, murders were already taking place. And a people of twenty million inhabitants, rich in historical traditions and appreciable cultural values, has been reduced to slavery identical to that in which lie, for example, Vietnam and Cambodia. The 650,000 square kilometers that make up Afghan territory have become slave quarters where cemeteries will grow rapidly and disproportionately.
Isn’t all this at least as important as Aldo Moro’s death?
In reality, however, it suited Russian imperialism that this new act of plunder went unnoticed, or nearly so.
And so it happened.
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In fact, communists today are interested in presenting a “human face,” which is the only reason for the Eurocommunist “show.” And the swallowing of Afghanistan can only harm the facade Russia seeks to project.
While Carter and his bizarre aides extend Kissinger’s “détente” over the months under different labels, Russia, not content with devouring what remains of Africa’s independence, is also spreading its claws across Asia. This leaves Carter’s policy oscillating between burlesque and tragedy.
Burlesque, I say, because laughter is one’s natural reaction to anyone who allows themselves to be deceived despite the obvious. It is tragic because there is no other way to describe the situation of a country as large as the US, with such heavy international responsibilities, when it finds itself in such a state.
This can only provoke anti-Carter reactions in the United States, which are essentially anti-Russian in nature.
True, Kissinger has strongly criticized the current US policy toward Russia. However, the policy is essentially Kissingerian.
In substance, the “détente” of which Henry Kissinger was the great architect was based on a theory, more or less articulated by the former Secretary of State:
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a) Deep down, no one is bad, and if you treat well those who seem bad, they will become good.
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b) Applying this principle to Soviet Russia, one would expect that, if treated with trust and generosity (oh, lots and lots of generosity!), it would undergo a psychological turnaround and become peaceful rather than aggressive.
Therefore, the “détente” was a linear and uninhibited application of this principle. The result is what we see.
Carter’s policy is nothing more than the fruit of the very same doctrine, expressed in an even more ostentatious and ill-considered manner. It differs from Kissinger’s détente only in being even more clumsy and catastrophic.
The White House’s blandness in the case of Afghanistan proves this beyond a doubt. Let us hope that the Afghan catastrophe will not be followed, in the near future, by the surrender of South Korea to Russia or of Taiwan to Chinese communists, with equal indifference and optimism on Carter’s part.
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Ultimately, Nazism had no greater benefactors in the world than British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier, the President of the French Council. Both pursued a policy toward the German Third Reich inspired by the same principle that Kissinger has now established as the rule of conduct for the entire West toward the East, and that Carter is now exaggerating in frightening ways.
Churchill famously rebuked the British politicians who signed the Munich Agreement: “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.” The phrase applies fully to the United States’ and Europe’s great powers’ inert attitude. It is as relevant in 1978 as it was in 1939.
The only thing outdated about it is the word “honor,” which is so depreciated or even forgotten in our day.
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At least one hope remains on this horizon, so fraught with shadows.