South Bend, [Beginning of June], 1969
Campus Revolts
A series of revolts is raging through American colleges and universities these days, the effects of which cannot as yet be fully measured. Above all, the state universities in California are affected by them, but the unrests in Wisconsin and Indiana, at Harvard and Cornell University are no less alarming. The violent confrontations at New York City College have shown that these protests are also connected with the racial question. These upheavals have primarily been caused by the resistance to the War in Vietnam, but they are also a rebellion of the young generation against the traditional moral standards of the middle class. A distinguishing quality of these American campus revolts is their aimlessness. There is no common goal between students, workers and farmers, as it is widespread in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The university revolts in America are shocking by their radicalism, but their effects on society at large are limited. There is no danger that the country would be paralyzed or that higher education would shut down. On the contrary, colleges and universities will emerge from this crisis more mature and better prepared for the task ahead to house and educate the roughly 12 million young people on their campuses.
South Bend, [Beginning of June], 1969
Provincialism
Human nature tends towards provincialism. It is the understandable inclination towards security as well as clinging to what is known and familiar. The familiar environment gives a feeling of safety, ease and coziness. It may also be out of indolence that one feels comfortable with a way of life one has gotten accustomed to from early childhood on. Provincialism can be seen everywhere, here in Indiana and just as well at home in Austria, in Germany, France or Italy. It excludes what is foreign and persists with stubborn obstinacy in distrust of everything that is unknown, holding on to prejudices. Provincialism is the real obstacle to international understanding. It should be overcome by an education that goes beyond regional borders. It is necessary to go beyond the local point of view and to see the world in a larger context. First and foremost, it is necessary to be willing to understand and respect the peculiarities of a different way of life. Only by doing so, will it be possible to come to grips mentally with different continents that are fast growing together. It is also a prerequisite for creating a more world-open and humane common civilization.
[I was appointed resident director of the University of Notre Dame Foreign Study Program in Innsbruck, Austria, for the two year period 1969-71. By mid-June my family and I flew from Chicago to Zurich and back to Innsbruck.]
Chicago, O’Hare, June 18, 1969
East and West from a Similar Point of View
From here one part of the passengers flies to Asia and the other to Europe. However different they may be, seen from here, the problems of Asia and of Europe appear to be similar. Both regions are dealing with questions that have emerged from World War II. They are both under the American sphere of influence. This is especially true of Japan and West Germany. Under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella and with substantial American economic aid, both countries have achieved hitherto unknown economic prosperity. After the United States, Japan and the Federal Republic have advanced to the second strongest economies in the world. Japanese exports to the United States are so extensive that it is hardly possible anymore to pick up a consumer good not made in Japan. The Federal Republic has assumed economic leadership in Europe and Japan the same in Asia. But by comparison to their economic significance, both countries play a subordinate role in world politics. In this respect, Asia and Europe are in a similar position. America has no other choice but to warrant their security and to do justice to their demands. When a Japanese or Korean businessman flies home from here, then there is not much difference from Europeans flying home to Frankfurt, Rome or Amsterdam. The business delegation from Tokyo pursues the same interests as the one from Munich or Milan. Both are held here in high esteem and treated equally. Chicago radiates a cosmopolitan aura. Visitors from various countries in Asia and Europe meet here freely and in an unconstrained atmosphere as hardly anywhere else in the world.
Mid-Atlantic, June 19, 3 a.m., 1969
In the Twilight Zone between America and Europe
The flight on a Swissair DC-8 from Chicago to Zurich with a stop-over in Montreal takes about eight hours. Already two hours after Montreal, at 1 a.m., the aurora of an early dawn appears on the horizon. At 3 a.m. it is already bright daylight and the coast of Ireland will soon be visible through the cloud cover. In this twilight zone over the Atlantic, my thoughts are in part still going back to America, while at the same time Europe and the familiar environment of my homeland come to mind. Modern jet travel has conquered the distance that had separated the two continents for centuries with incredible speed. Thereby the customary routines of daily life are getting ever closer to each other. One goes to bed with Johnny Carson the night before and wakes up with Heinzi Conrads the next morning.* Nevertheless, mutual understanding and communications across the Atlantic are still very inadequate.
*[Johnny Carson, arguably the best known comedian in America in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, every evening hosted the “Tonight Show” on NBC. During the same period, Heinz Conrads, the most beloved emcee in Austria, on weekends hosted the entertainment series of ORF (Austrian Radio and Television).]
What do I leave behind in America, and what do I expect of Europe? I certainly leave behind a more spacious and generous way of life and will have to get used again to the narrower and more crowded living conditions in Europe. In America one can feel the pulse of our times, witness events of worldwide importance that determine the course of history. Europe on the other hand stands in the shadow of world affairs so that the judgment of their real significance gets lost. One becomes aware again that Europe lives by provisional arrangements for which no solutions are yet in sight. Still, how delighted I am returning to Old Europe. I look forward to seeing my homeland again and to enjoy the magnificent mountain scape of Switzerland and Austria. I anticipate the pleasure of standing before a real gothic cathedral as well as taking a leisurely stroll through the Altstadt, the medieval Old City of Innsbruck. My wife and I particularly look forward to attending an opera at the Salzburg Festival.
Europe’s cultural heritage is a gem that should be treasured and carefully tended to. The American longing for this heritage is undiminished; it is deeply rooted in the American character. Tourist attractions alone cannot fully explain why millions of Americans come to Europe every year.