Forwarded from Anthony (reply to Walter)

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Reply to Walter Lippman [Re: Forwarded from Anthony (NYT)From: "Walter
Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 08:16:30 -0800]

Walter didn't seem to understand what disturbed me about his post re the
NYTs. He wrote, "Anthony doesn't explain, specifically, what disturbs him
about MY remarks on the NYT."

Simply put, what bothered me was that you welcomed the Times tactical
advice for the movement. And the Time's tactical advice is to censor the
movement, eliminate internal democracy in the movement, and limit it first
to the issue of the war, and second to the issue of how the war is being
conducted.

Walter's most reason post is alarming for another reason, he equates the
patriotism of oppressed nations, with the patriotism of imperialist countries.

"Those who object to such displays of a proud and unashamed patriotism
might wonder about the Cuban Revolution and just why the July 26th movement
adopted a patriotic, revolutionary and democratic, but consciously NOT
Marxist or Leninist kind of approach."

Patriotism is at its heart support for, and the product of a three century
drive for expansion, which along the way has resulted in genocide of native
Americans, invasion of many countries, conquest of half the territory of
Mexico, etc.

Patriotism in the United States is tied to its history of aggression
against Cuba: the occupation of Cuba after the Spanish American war, and
later the Bay of Pigs, and currently the sanctions against Cuba, etc.

Clearly, imperialist patriotism and the patriotism of people in Cuba or
Iraq are two very different sets of politcial consciousness.

The fact that there are many patriotic people in the United States who do
not fully understand this, or do not understand it at all, should of course
be taken into account by revolutionaries organizing and mobilizing those
people.

Revolutionaries should not try to ban them, or their American flags, from
demonstrations. On the contrary, we want those people demonstrating with
us, its the best way for them to start learning.

Walter's post tries to paint my remarks as 'ultra-left- but in fact I was
advocating that revolutionaries protect democracy in the movement, and
fight against censorship in the movement. The very NYT which Walter
defends, is advocating censorship of the movement, and the construction of
an antidemocratic movement dominated by the people with money and major
daily newspapers.

Walter seems to think that the slogans of the movement are totally
unimportant, indeed that the leadership of the movement is totally
unimportant. He wrote,

"No one can guarantee the purity of slogans in a genuinely mass movement,
which is what is occurring against this war. Thus it's silly to view these
matters as if they were matters of absolute class principle, such as this..

"Does anyone think that someone marching to protest this war today is
likely tomorrow to turn around and support the war? Of course not, the very
notion is absurd."

Unfortunately, the notion is not at all absurd. If chemical weapons are
found in Iraq tomorrow, the NYTimes will turn on a dime to support the war,
and so will many, many, many of the marchers.

To the extent that the Times, and the Democratic Party, gain control over
the slogans and organization of the movement, they will be better able to
demoralize and demobilize the movement when they opportunity comes.

And it is very likely to come sooner rather than later.

Chemical weapons will most likely be found in Iraq, even if US intelligence
operatives have to plant them.

Have you forgotten the history of all previous US wars of aggression? Bush
blew it this time because he didn't have a Pearl Harbor or Tonkin Gulf
before he invaded, (9/11 only really worked for Afghanistan)

But don't you think he will try to manufacture one now, after the fact?

The timing of the 'chemical weapons' discovery is no doubt already in the
timetable of the infallible war plan.

Anthony


Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org