Hard Hearts and Empty Heads

When the state has to exercise its monopoly on the instruments of physical violence it is symptomatic of either a breakdown or a weakening of authority. This applies to Little Rock as well as Budapest. Little Rock, of course, is not a Hungarian Revolution, and one of the ways the two differ is that the use of force at Little Rock obscures rather than clarifies the basic issues.

After the Supreme Court decision ordering desegregation President Eisenhower was asked whether he personally approved it. His answers were never to the point; his set response was that as President he was obliged to enforce the decision. The clue to his real opinion is indicated by his repeated statements that “laws cannot soften the hearts of men,&#...