SUMMER 1987 TJX >n 500 ON THE COVER Judgement—John Frank White punks on dope before jury of their peers—what’ ld he pen to Lauri’s baby? Callahan Unbottled—, John Callahan A fitting sequel to Paralfp Life—alcoholism from the out. Sexuality, the Neighbor Lady and the Family—Bob Sawatzki / F j What to do when your me otP comes an item from the National Enquirer. Bearing Witness— Doug Marx / J Poet Carolyn Forche reve lls f ie r sources—of vision, political ins igh t and a non-e thnocen tric world-view. KZo-Ed itors David Milholland Lenny Dee Associate Editors Jim Blashfield, Pi Washington State C Judy Hines Bevis Art Director David Milholland Ph illips, Sh Rice, Julie Jim Styskei Forgotten—Ross Ev West The War to End Wars bered, lest we forget. clear that any other nation has the combination of economic power, military depth or sheer chutzpah to outflank us completely. World power will instead become increasing ly frag mented, which seems only logical as we approach the millenium. The future is truly up for grabs. That leaves us in the interregnum, sitting in limbo. This nation needs to examine carefully its next few steps. We're in over our heads in the Middle East where the Reagan presidency has been pitiful when not frightening, in our own Central American back yard our policies have finally resulted in U.S. casualties, and threaten worse. And though impeachment seems the logical extension of developments-in Washington, the upshot is George Bush. Good Americans have traditionally made it through with creative schizophrenia, willing to countenance unethical, contradictory behavior if the overall package looks and feels good, especially in the pocketbook. We’ve had our tradition of civil liberties and a largely free press, at least at home, to fo res ta ll potential despots. Those rights are only guaranteed by practice, however, and we must struggle to amplify and defend them, or we’ ll never know what hit us when they’ re gone. Farewell to Arms Control-^ Mark Sommer & Gordon/^ Feller Taking the initiative back from the experts—a process to defuse tension and make peace the priority. Col. Ollie—Matt Wuerker The firs t Docucomic takgs w behind closed doors and I 'M ' the shredder. Fawn’s hairdress doesn’t know this much, v * W o o d Germans—a phrase w ith powerful resonance this summer of Klaus Barbie, Robert McFarlane and Ollie North. “ I was just following orders” is the timeless rationalization for involvements ranging from the criminal to the abhorrent. From our distance, i t ’s easy to imagine ourselves righteously standing up to denounce them, or refraining from participating at the very least. Yet only 45 years after Auschwitz and less then 20 since My Lai, individuals are still found to perpetrate behavior no culture could-con- sider civilized. And more times than not, they look just like the boy next door. The Good Germans responded to a disorderly world of rampant inflation, shortages and incipient chaos with a government that will horrify humanity as long as history exists. Ordinary c itizens looked the other way while millions of the ir people were exterminated. Here, the far right has plans for branding AIDS victims, selling off our national patrimony, e lim ina ting reproductive rights and rewriting history and science from a “ moral” point of view. We should not forget that these positions, once isolated on the fringe, have entered the political mainstream in a very brief time. Our way of life has long been dependent on a worldwide apparatus of repression and imminent extinction. The Contra forces in Central America and the bomb are business as usual here. I t ’s our tax money and elected officials who keep them rolling, not just a few bad presidents and their avid henchmen. Yes we’ve had our bananas, and kept much of Latin America under our thumb in the process. And the sweat shops of the Far East we underwrite politically, from Seoul to Singapore, keep us clothed and running. The sun is now rising over Japan, flush with capital from our years of foo t loose consumerism . But th is young U.S.A., an empire for less than a century, is loathe to yield up the mantle of power. So we cling to the elusive hope that good times are “ just around the corner.” They aren’t all that bad ye t, fo r most. We’ re exho rted to tighten things up a bit, use our Yankee ingenuity and stop buying all those damn imports, at least those things that are still made here. Oh yeah, and figh t the Commies too. We want it every which way, and like the restless adolescent we most resemble, find it hard to come to grips w ith painful choices. Presidential candidates from the middle to the far right are buzzing with “ visions” of a renewed U.S., even as we abruptly surge into first place in the ranks of the world’s debtors. It ’s not Letter to Hammond, I f Indiana— Richard Alishfol A bitter-sweet missive to the in^ dustrial heartland from a native son. Wr.ft Artist Jana Rekosh, a frequent CSQ con- tributor, lives in Seattle. Her show, “ The Traveler’s Tango,” has been at Raven- wood’s, 301 Occidental South. Portrait b y L e e M u e l l e r of Seattle. GistemachtfLast Nighto—^ Pander Bros. I JM Our travel feature to a rarely s^ew nightspot—don’t visit unless you can take the heat. The Clinton St. Quarterly is published in Oregon, Washington and National editions by CSQ—A Project of Out of the Ashes Press. Oregon address: P.O. Box 3588, Portland, OR 97208, (503) 222-6039. Washington Address: 1520 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, (206) 682-2404. Unless otherwise noted, all contents copyright 1987 Clinton St. Quarterly. Clinton St. Quarterly— Summer, 1987 3
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