is one of the great constants of contemporary social criticism. Whether the nostalgia is for small-town intimacy, ecological sustainability, communitarian solidarity, family values, religious faith, primitive communism, or harmony with the rhythms of nature, everyone longs to turn back the clock. What has technology given us, they say, but alienation, despoliation, social pathology, the loss of meaning, and a consumer culture that is destroying the planet to give us McMansions, SUVs, and reality television?
Either way, Cain represents the emergence of a truly new phenomenon in Presidential politics: the fringe frontrunner. Every Presidential campaign attracts eccentrics with slim résumés and no chance of winning. Sometimes they are wealthy businessmen (like Steve Forbes) who buy their way into the spotlight. Other times they are minor celebrities among a small, passionate group of ideologues within the party (like Ron Paul). They exist in every open Presidential primary in both parties. They often enliven debates and force their more electable, centrist colleagues to take uncomfortable stands on difficult issues, which is generally a good thing for our politics. In previous elections, these fringe candidates have never come close to becoming serious contenders. They run to push the ideological debate further to the right or left and to make a name for themselves in the process. If they are lucky, they end up with some notoriety, a new national fundraising base, and perhaps a show on cable TV. These types of fringe candidates don’t truly prepare for the absurdities and difficulties of a Presidential campaign because in their heart of hearts they never believed they would make it very far.
The price for ridding society of bad is always high: In June of 1945, the following striking letter arrived at the home of 3-year-old Dennis Helms in Washington, written on a sheet of Adolf Hitler's letterhead. It had been penned by his father, Lt. Richard Helms, an intelligence operative with the OSS who, following Germany's surrender the month before, had managed to acquire some of the recently-deceased Nazi leader's stationery from the Reich Chancellery. He then wrote to his son.
Richard Helms later became Director of the CIA. His letter to Dennis now resides in their museum.
Transcript follows. Image courtesy of The Washington Post.
Image: The Washington Post
Transcript
OBERSALZBERG, DEN V-E day
ADOLF HITLER
Dear Dennis,
The man who might have written on this card once controlled Europe - three short years ago when you were born. Today he is dead, his memory despised, his country in ruins. He had a thirst for power, a low opinion of man as an individual, and a fear of intellectual honesty. He was a force for evil in the world. His passing, his defeat - a boon to mankind. But thousands died that it might be so. The price for ridding society of bad is always high.
Love, Daddy
