The June 1997 plenary meeting of the Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community built upon the first meeting of December, 1996 by focusing on the impacts of market and state forces on the dynamics and content of public culture.

Our keynote speaker was Kevin Phillips, editor and publisher of The American Political Report, columnist for the L.A. Times, and author of The Politics of Rich and Poor, The Emerging Republican Majority, and most recently, Arrogant Capital: Washington, Wall Street, and the Frustration of American Politics.

The commission examined three "hot-button" issues (affirmative action, campaign reform, and immigration) that exemplify the impact of these forces on three areas of concern that emerged most clearly from the December meeting: the Culture of Intolerance, the Failure of Leadership, and the Fragmentation of Communities.

These sessions were led by

• Christopher Edley, Jr., of the Harvard Law School and author, most recently, of Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action and American Values, who led the Clinton administration's review of affirmative action.

• Paul Taylor, who left his editorship at the Washington Post during the 1996 campaign to create the campaign reform organization Free Time for Straight Talk.

• Richard Rodriguez, the noted author of Hunger of Memory and Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father and commentator for The News Hour on PBS, Harpers, the L.A. Times, and U.S. News.

These presentations and subsequent plenary discussions set the stage for the initial meetings of three Commission working groups in the areas of behavior, leadership, and community.

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