Norman Podhoretz and Jack Kerouac

In response to the bourgeoisie diatribe of Norman Podhoretz (Editorial Pages, Jan. 8), “Spare Us a Revival of Kerouac and the Pied Pipers of Despair,” I can only conclude that his comments are a result of muddled thinking and lazy homework.

We find Podhoretz lauding the virtues of “normalcy and decency” (terms that can be defined in numerous ways) while ignoring the fact that so-called “normal and decent” people have been slaughtering each other in astronomical numbers throughout history. And that so-called “normal and decent” people around the world are either fueling or leading an insane nuclear arms race that can only result in the self-destruction of this planet.

Podhoretz also pits Kerouac and poet Allen Ginsberg against George Orwell. In my youth, during the ‘60s, I regularly carried both a Kerouac book and Orwell’s “1984” on me while engaging in my own “on the road” adventures. I saw no contradiction then, and none now. I’m much more concerned about civilization’s steady movement toward an Orwellian “1984” type of society than about free-wheeling, free-thinking counterculturists and various other outsiders.

Orthodox and non-orthodox life styles are locked into a symbiotic relationship and both will always be with us. But, the essential question is whether people have locked their minds and spirits in a vault, or whether individuals are attempting to expand their horizons, their understanding and are seeking new experiences.

As for the absurd notion of dedicating a memorial in Lowell, Mass., to Jack Kerouac, I hope his ghost is having a good horse laugh. Kerouac needs only one memorial: his body of writings, like them or lump it. And if some dreary memorial is built and dedicated, I’m sure Jack (in his saner moments) would have taken a bulldozer to it.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS

Los Angeles