Tribal Turmoil-- Elsewhere

There has been no global bloodletting in the years since World War II, but--almost as if by some law of compensation --internal strife has risen to an extraordinary degree. Old claims and ancient grievances, seemingly long forgotten in modern nation-states, flared up with greater virulence than ever.

Constitutional guarantees of civil rights were suspended in Canada last week after French separatists kidnaped officials to dramatize their claim for sovereignty. The southern tip of Italy barricaded itself against the rest of the country to assert a historical fealty to its traditional capital. Northern Ireland continued to smolder among its centuries-old religious hatreds. These and countless other.'atavistic conflicts are now waged with the newest weapons.

By comparison last week, the U.S. seemed peaceful despite its own recent bitter past of violence. The strife elsewhere was a reminder that America's special gift, and the nation's very meaning, is bound up with an ability to subdue tribal turmoil and to homogenize (if not harmonize) a diverse society.

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