It's Good to Be Dangerous Again

A UCI historian is one of the most terrifying professors in America

Comments (0) By MARK LEVINE Thursday, Mar 2 2006

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As for being utopian? Guilty as charged. I have two young children and would like to see them grow up in a country, and the world at large, that lives up to the high ideals upon which the United States was founded. And unlike Horowitz and his generation of disgruntled ex-leftists, I still believe it's possible for America to live up to its founding promises, to be a force for good in the world rather than just naked self-interest, greed and the benefit of corporations with ties to red-state Republicans.

Does that make me dangerous? I wish it did, but I fear Mr. Horowitz is giving me and the American people more credit than is our due. As far as I can tell, the American empire is safe and secure, despite my best efforts to topple it. But it's nice to feel that my work hasn't been completely in vain, and I promise you, members of the Academy, that I will work tirelessly in the coming year to live up to the great honor bestowed upon me. I just bought a Protools music program for my Mac and have been furiously practicing my guitar. I even wrote a new song, "The Devil Went Down to Irvine." It's in the form of a chicken-scratch guitar dual à la that song from the movie Deliverance. I'll play the guitar, and you, David, can be the "savant" banjo player like the kid in the movie. Then we'll get to see who's really more dangerous.