A Week at Yale University
It had been a long time since my last long haul flight and I couldn’t help but be impressed by what was on offer. Good food, excellent service, an extensive choice of films and TV shows to watch, and free drinks! The person sitting next to me seemed to be having the time of their life. I, on the other hand, had hit the books, knowing I needed to be prepared before I got to Yale.
The purpose of my trip was to find as much as I could about Walter Lippmann and his objections to the Vietnam War. The Walter Lippmann Papers at Yale University house all of his diaries, his correspondence, his newspaper articles and the manuscripts for all his books. Hence, with so much to get through, I needed to know what I was looking for before I got there.
Upon arriving in New York I was met by cousin, who has lived there for the past 20 years. He was kind enough to drive me the two hours to New Haven, Connecticut where Yale is based. The hotel I would be staying in for the next six nights was pretty basic, but clean and only a five minute walk to the centre of the University. After unpacking I decided to take a walk and see what New Haven had to offer. My first destination was the Sterling Memorial Library, where the Walter Lippmann papers are kept.
The library is the second biggest in North America and it is awesome. Carved by the entrance are the words: “The Library is the Heart of the University”. Looking at the building it is understandable why they placed it in the centre of the campus. It looks like a cathedral. This was intentional. It was designed to be a “temple of learning and a cathedral of knowledge”. When you walk into the library this theme continues. Decorative sculptures, stained-glass windows and ironwork resemble those of a cathedral, but in place of religious imagery, feature images reflecting the history of knowledge and learning, and the history of Yale and New Haven. Unlike the situation at our Hallward Library, almost anyone is allowed to use the facilities at the Sterling Library. Within half an hour of my arrival I had been provided with a photo ID card, at no cost.
Having spent a couple of hours at the library I continued to explore New Haven. Trying to get to the town centre a number of streets had been closed off. I was curious so asked a local bystander what was happening. Apparently the new Indiana Jones film was being made here. You could see why. The film is set in the 1950s and clearly a lot of the university buildings had been around since that time. Most of them were as impressive as the library I had just seen. The filming would continue for my whole stay in New Haven. In one street all the shop windows were changed so that they looked like they were out of the 1950s. The attention to detail was impressive, with anti-communist posters being put up, as I guess was the case in 1950s America. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to see Harrison Ford or anyone else famous while I was there.
The final, and most interesting, part of an eventful first day was seeing a demonstration take place against the local Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman, who stood as the Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2000 presidential election, has been one of the Senate’s strongest advocates for the continued prosecution of the Iraq War. Recently he has said that he would support an air strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Comments Lieberman had made in the Senate that day about strikes on Iran were the trigger for this demonstration. You could tell it was fairly impromptu as only about 30 people were taking part. However, they seemed to be getting a supportive reaction from cars driving past. That ended a great first day.
The rest of my week at Yale would be spent primarily in the library, photocopying all the stuff I could find on Walter Lippmann and the Vietnam War. With so much to find and copy I didn’t actually get a chance to read that much of it while I was out there. However, a few things became clear straight away and it was interesting to notice how relevant some of Lippmann’s arguments remain today. From as early as the 1940s Lippmann was adamant that the United States could not be a policeman of the world. He held this position for the rest of his career.
As American involvement in the Vietnam War began to escalate Lippmann consistently argued that there are some places in the world, in this case the Asian mainland, where it is not possible for American troops to win a land war. Lippmann also professed that American troops are not built to win guerrilla wars. Finally, Lippmann believed that if America really cared about its security and creating a peaceful world it had to limit its security interests. While it was the most influential country in the world, its influence was not welcome in certain parts of it. Lippmann made these arguments over 40 years ago. It is remarkable how relevant they remain today.
The trip proved a great success. It was interesting, challenging, and, even though most of my time was spent working, extremely enjoyable.