ABSTRACT
The National Association of Scholars (th\ «nash\n\l \«so¤se¤«a¤sh\n \v «skal\(r)z) The National Association of Scholars gathered again in December 1997 to reward the faithful, lick its proud new wounds in public, and excoriate “the enemy within.” I was attending its annual conference by invitation as its token lefty for 1997. Reflecting on why I was there, I could well remember the advice one of my undergraduate teachers gave us years ago: “If you really want people to bond with one another at a party, be sure to invite one person they all hate.” So I was wary at best, but I would in fact be treated with consistent courtesy over the weekend. It was the best way to write an entry about the association-by seeing what it was like on its home ground, gaining a better sense of its motivations, and learning what we have to expect from it in the future.
