From BARD, a few days ago, I started reading, Dorothy Day: dissenting voice
of the American century DB99301. I was curious about her because she is the
founder of the Catholic Worker movement which still exists today and is, I
believe, still manifested in the form of communal houses located in poverty
stricken neighborhoods where dedicated Catholic socialists live and
contribute to the surrounding community. I'm not sure how much of it is
left. In the 60's the Berrigan brothers, the well known anti-war activists,
came out of that community. And if I remember correctly, Jeremy Scahill,
whom Carl will recognize because he is one of the young reporters in
training at Democracy Now who graduated, but is still permitted back, and he
runs the Intercepted podcast, comes out of the Catholic Worker movement. I
think his parents are, or were, members. But what is so fascinating about
this book is that when Dorothy Day was a young woman, not yet religious,
she was moving in radical circles. There are socialists and communists,
magazine and newspaper editors, and authors, many of whose names are
familiar to us. It was the time when the US joined World War One, and the
years afterward. There is so much about the political ideas and the
movements that seem so similar to what is happening now. The Espionage Act
was passed back then, as a response to the anti-war movement. There was this
fear that Communism would envelop our country because the revolution had
just taken place in Russia. It's an interesting time to read about. The
horror of Dorothy's friends as they saw her becoming religious, is also
interesting.
Miriam
