I am sitting at my computer looking at a photo I took the other day. It is taken from the top of the steps of our local Shinto shrine. Sitting across the street, in the upper right hand corner of the image is one of Japan's infamous black trucks, from which loudspeakers blare right-wing rants against the enemy de jour. This one isn't blaring, however. It is just sitting there. My eyes are drawn to the Japanese characters emblazoned on its side. One line reads *minzoku-dento-shugi* (literally "ethnic-trandition-ism"). Below it is them name of the organization, *gi-shin-juku* (School of Righteousness and Faith). In Japan these trucks are seen as remnants of pre-war militarism and emperor worship and allies of right-wing political parties. Am I, as an anthropologist, committed a priori to treating them with respect? If so, why not the John Birch Society or Bob Jones University? It's a hot, muggy day in Yokohama and my 63rd birthday, a good day, I think, to reconsider assumptions. John McCreery The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN Tel. +81-45-314-9324 http://www.wordworks.jp/ ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html