[lit-ideas] Re: David Corn exposes ANSWER

  • From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2005 16:30:20 -0400

(In a similar reds-take-control situation, the "Not in My
Name" campaign — which pushes an anti-war statement signed by scores of prominent and celebrity lefties, including Jane Fonda, Martin Luther King III, Marisa Tomei, Kurt Vonnegut and Oliver Stone — has been directed, in part, by C. Clark Kissinger, a longtime Maoist activist and member of the Revolutionary Communist Party.)


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So what's the point of the article: don't join a peace movement because there are lunatic fringe groups behind it?

One could just as easily say don't join a conservative cause because there are lunatic fringe people behind it. How many southern conservatives would support efforts planned by Grover Norquist if they knew his ultimate strategy was to destroy the federal government? Especially after Katrina?

Think of some of the Sixties peace movements: they had lots of leftist extremists involved in that. But ultimately it prevailed, not because of any widespread allegiance to the SDS or Maoism, but because the military draft created common cause among along the boomers who were potential draftees.

What Mr. Camp's article points to--if you remove the partisan motive behind it--is that extremists of all stripes have the zeal (are the Zealots), have the energy and the will, to organize these gatherings. It probably has a lot to do with the psychology of extremism--people who have been deeply wounded, think they have a solution for everyone, and have no other outlets in their life. These are the people who organize peace rallies, bomb abortion clinics, and try to force Lenin or Jesus on people.

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