What Cold War?
The Axiom of Evil By WERTHER The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (revised 1973 edition) defines an axiom as “a proposition that lends itself to general acceptance; a well-established or universally-conceded principle.” One notes, however, that in its use in logic or mathematics, the word does not mean something absolutely and demonstrably true from an objective framework: “a self-evident proposition, not requiring demonstration, but assented to as soon as stated.” To logicians, the axiom possesses the same self-evident correctness, not requiring proof, as the taboo holds for a tribe of Stone Age headhunters. So are not a few of the propositions that most 100-Percent Americanos tacitly bear allegiance to: Babe Ruth called his shot; America won World War II single-handed (with Winston Churchill chipping in a few sonorous epigrams); a rising tide lifts all boats; God is on our side. Long observation has convinced this writer that demolishing untruth is an arduous and hazardous business,
