It was refreshing to read someone who would not pussyfoot around. All the more so when my fellow Americans all but unanimously employ the circumlocution “I feel” when they should say “I think.” This is a weasel way of hiding behind a feeling rather than taking responsibility for the workings of one’s mind.

Along the same lines, I heard Edward Teller say that he was not the sort of man who thinks he had to preface what he says with the word “perhaps.” He well knew the instincts of some to flee at the first sign of opposition, or to hedge their bets should opposition appear.

Given this nearly national commitment to deniability (or a sloppy inattentiveness to the distinction between emotion and thought), I wonder how many Americans could appreciate Oriana’s clarity and force. The Europeans, of course, to a man, are ardently committed to the avoidance of clarity.

God bless that great soul.

[Great letter; thanks]