Reply to Jim Strang in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
So What's Wrong with Driving out the Bush Regime?
Just today I learned of an article by Cleveland
Plain Dealer columnist Jim Strang (Monday Oct. 17), attacking the plans
for mass political action on Nov 2, to launch a movement determined to
"Drive Out the Bush Regime". An attack on what basis?...the
"basis" of my involvement, with my revolutionary communist political
views.
Strang's worry seems to be about readers with a
wide variety of political views who might be--and in fact are being-- drawn to
the "Call" to mass political action November 2 in
response to the present situation and the whole disastrous course now being set
by the Bush regime for this country and the world. In fact, Strang quotes that
"Call" (see worldcantwait.org.)--AND NEVER ANSWERS IT!
Strang's column quotes:
"Your government..."
"on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights;"
"is openly torturing people, and justifying it;"
"is moving each day closer to a theocracy, where a narrow and hateful brand of Christian fundamentalism will rule;"
"is moving to deny women here, and all over the world, the right to birth control and abortion;"
"puts people in jail on the merest suspicion, refusing them lawyers, and either holding them indefinitely or deporting them in the dead of night;"
"suppresses the science that doesn't fit its religious, political and economic agenda, forcing present and future generations to pay a terrible price;"
"enforces a
culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance."
Well, Mr. Strang, what about it? Is that the truth
of the situation, or not? And, if so, can you just ignore all that and invoke
"revelations" of "communist involvement" to deflect
people's need, desire and responsibility to act on it? And what IS wrong
with what you sarcastically refer to as, in your words, "The
solution? Drive President George W. Bush out of office."
Strang seems to think that none of what he quotes
requires an answer--that its enough to "warn" people about "the
company they keep."
Well, in fact, the "company kept" in
"World Can't Wait.." includes a wide range of political views about
ultimate goals and solutions, but united in just what its slogan says:
"The World Can't Wait. Drive out the Bush Regime"--and united
in launching a movement of millions to drive out this regime and its reactionary
program along with it. And yes, of course, revolutionary communists would
be passionately and intensely involved in a struggle against such an
oppressive force as this Bush regime, and see that very important, pressing
goal in the light of our larger vision--a vision and a goal we want
people to actually learn something about, think about, and debate as we all
take up the urgently needed massive struggle to reverse the course to the
unacceptable future we are headed to right now. Others involved in
this effort also see this struggle to drive out the Bush regime as vital and
urgent--in light of their OWN larger views about society and the future.
So to people who want to change this disastrous
course, I'd say to seek out, think about, and act on what Mr. Strang
avoids--the truth of what's in the "Call" for mass political action
on November 2. And join others, who, from many perspectives, are right now
taking up the urgent task of driving out this Bush regime, starting that day.
And, as you do that, consider the possibility that
"weapons of mass destruction in Iraq" is not the ONLY lie you've been
told. Do what Mr. Strang also avoids, with his superficial invocation of
standard lies and slanders. Seek out more truth--about what communist revolutions
have been all about, what they have accomplished before they have been reversed
or defeated, and what revolutionary communism today is actually seeking to
bring into being. And, as a starter in that, I've today posted on my website a quiz from Revolution newspaper.
(Tues Oct 18, 2005)