THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 12, 1980 93
'American Dreams': Composite of Merit
Generations have a nor-
mal way of changing. Social
and political aspects affect
the ways of life of individu-
als and certainly of nations.
The America of today is
not the America of yester-
day because the people vary
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PAULINE & HELEN
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in their thinking and in
their heritage.
The era of migrations
from Eastern Europe in the
early part of this century is
a matter of the past. There
are new migrants and new
concepts that have become
factors in this country.
Yet there are memories
that have left their mark
on this land. New founda-
tions were created by
those who pioneered in
many functions in the
first eight decades of this
century.
In "American Dreams:
Lost and Found" (Pantheon
Books), Studs Terkel traces
the past, reconstructs and
applies the experiences of
the decades to the present.
He tells the stories of a
hundred Americans, people
of many backgrounds who
have found their way into
this land from many
environs. They emerge as a
cross section of America and
a composite picture of
Americans.
Typical in his researched
collective image is the life
story of Dora Rosenzweig.
Her European background,
her Jewish legacies, her
travels to America and the
struggles overcoming an
immigrant's difficulties —
these are part of an emerg-
ing Americanism that was
so well known a generation
ago and which now has an
indelible mark on the
Jewish American.
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New Year
THE COOPERS
Jerry, Lorry, Brad, Jason & Jennifer
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New Year
MR. and MRS. LOU FREEMAN
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very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
THE LEFKOFSKYS
Bill, Sandy, Jodi, Steve & Eric
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New Year
DENNIS and NANCY LIEFER
Scott & Michael
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very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
MR. and MRS. GERALD TAUBER & FAMILY
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very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
DR. and MRS. BERNARD L. TOFT & FAMILY
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
MR. and MRS. WILLIAM ZIMMERMAN
Here is how she completes
her story as told to Terkel:
"I span almost a cen-
tury. When I look back
upon it, the worst thing
was sanitation. Babies
died the second year of
their lives, usually from
poisoned milk. They
called it summer com-
plaint. There was
smallpox, there was
diptheria, there was
typhoid. These diseases
have been wiped out. Al-
though we eat poisoned
food, we breathe bad air,
we live longer than we
did. Children don't die as
frequently.
"Life at that time was
hard, hard, hard. Now it's
much easier. When my
mother found a washboard,
she didn't know what to do
with it. Now I have a wash-
ing machine.
"We are enjoying crea-
ture comforts. Don't forget, I
remember candlelight.
When we first got gas, it was
for special occasions. And
the flickering flame didn't
do as good as the kerosene
lamp. Electricity didn't
come in my time until we
came to Montana. The
phonograph came in my
time.
"When I came to my father
and asked for a penny be-
cause 'there's a man on the
corner who puts earphones
on you and you hear music,'
I got a nice little slap: How
can a box play music? I lived
from that to TV to the man
on the moon.
"I have a childish
theory about the lifeless-
ness of the moon. Don't
laugh. I think there were
people on the moon who
became so sophisticated
that they began to do
what we're doing. First, it
was the gun. Then it was
the bomb. Instead of kil-
lin piecemeal, it kills
thousands. Hiroshima.
Now they have the
H-bomb, and they're talk-
ing about a neutron
bomb.
"I believe the people on
the moon found the ultra-
ultraweapon to destory life,
and it became a burnt-out
planet. A childish -thought,
maybe, but if we keep going
like this . . . I don't worry
about it. I won't be here.
(Laughs.)
"The American Dream is
the same the whole world
over. Some live for living,
some live for eating. If
you're interested, you're
alive.
"They tell me I have
young ideas, that I look
young. It's because I'm in-
terested in life, in current
events, in people. I've had a
circle of dear friends that I
kept for years, until they
died. I made new friends,
new interests. I widened my
horizons. I still want to
know things.
"I used to wonder: What
are we here for? How did we
come here? What must we
do? I'm an old woman, and I
have quite a few dis-
abilities. But I'm very
thankful that my marbles
are still working. And my
sense of humor."
-
As a conglomerate, it is
interesting that Terkel
deals with the story of the
Lebanese former U.S.
Senator, James
Abourezk.
Notably, he devotes a
chapter to Detroit's Mayor
Coleman Young. The rise of
a black American, defying
Jim Crow regulations, ris-
ing to the top; this, too, is a
major part of America.
Terkel's impressive
achievement is best de-
scribed in his own words, in
this portion of his introduc-
tion:
"There are signs, unmis-
takable, of an astonishing
increase in the airing of
grievances: of private
wrongs and public rights.
The heralds are from all
sorts of precincts: a family
farmer, a blue-collar wife, a
whistle-blowing executive.
In unexpected quarters, th-
ose, hitherto quiescent, are
finding voice. A long-buried
American tradition may be
springing back to life.
"In a society and time
with changes so stunning
and landscapes so suddenly
estranged, the last com-
muniques are not yet in.
The eighties may differ
from the seventies by a
quantum jump.
"The capacity for
change is beyond the
measure of any statisti-
cian or pollster. Among
those I've encountered in
the making of this book
are:• an ex-Klan leader
who won his state's
human relations award;
the toughest girl on the
block who became an ex-
traordinary social
worker; the uneducated
Appalachian woman
who became the poetic
voice of her community;
the blue-collar housewife
who, after mothering
nine, says: don't like the
word 'dream.' I don't
even want to specify it as
American.'
"There are nascent stir-
rings in the neighborhood
and in the field, articulated
by non-celebrated people
who bespeak the dreams of
their fellows. It may be
catching. Unfortunately, it
is not covered on the six
o'clock news.
"In 'The Uses of the Past,'
Herbert Muller writes: 'In
the incessant din of the
mediocre, mean and fraudu-
lent activities of a commer-
cial mass society, we are apt
to forget the genuine
idealism of democracy, of
the long painful struggle for
liberty and equality . . . the
modern world is as revolu-
tionary as everybody says it
is.
" 'Because the paradoxes
of our age are so violent,
men have been violently
oversimplifying them. If we
want to save our world, we
might better try to keep and
use our heads.'
"In this book are a
hundred American voices,
captured by hunch, circum-
stance, and a rough idea.
There is no pretense at
statistical 'truth,' nor cbn-
It fF
sensus. There is, in the
manner of a jazz work, and
attempt, of theme and im-
provisation, to recount
dreams, lost and found, and
a recognition of possibility."
Studs Terkel's "American
Dreams: Lost and Found" is
a literary achievement.
It can't miss a long run as
a best seller.
—P.S.
1/f1./a1
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