EdgeLeft: an occasional column by David McReynolds, retired from the staff of War Resisters League, and Socialist Party candidate for President, 1980 and 2000. This may be circulated, in whole or part, without permission.
Dear Jennifer,
I'm deleting all the names and addresses on this exchange between a friend of mine and yourself, but leaving everything else as it is. You had asked that you not get further mail, and aside from this response from me, I assure you that you are not on any of my lists. But I was impressed by your letter, which was a serious attempt at dialogue, on a matter which concerns all of us.
First, as to myself, I am an old radical, just so you'll know where I'm coming from. I worked 39 years for War Resisters League, and am active in the socialist movement. I believe deeply in free speech and a full and respectful exchange of views. I concede that I don't share your enthusiasm for Glenn Beck, but I am sometimes as critical of the material on MSNBC. One of the problems we all face is finding reliable sources of information. Perhaps the best we can do - even though it doesn't satisfy either the left or the right, is NPR, PBS and the BBC material which one can get on line, if the broadcasts aren't carried on your local TV.
Second, I am bitterly opposed to those on the left who seek to prevent conservatives from speaking. It is one thing to engage in the grand old American tradition of heckling - when I ran for office I often faced hecklers. You expect speakers to know how to handle these with good humor. What is different now, and what I've found very disturbing, is the efforts to close down free discussion at the various town meetings taking up health issues.
Third, in my decades of political work I've seen many demonstrations, and have been arrested more than a dozen times for taking part in these protests. But never have I seen these demonstrations "organized" by a network (such as Fox). The media reported on the Vietnam and Iraq protests - but they didn't urge people to attend them. There were no commentators on any channel that urged people to turn up for these actions. This is very different from what we see now, where Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Fox News, serve as sounding boards and organizers for the "tea parties" and for the demonstrations at Congressional hearings.
I have always urged those on "my side" of the political line to meet with members of Congress - as indeed, I've organized and taken part in meetings with the US Ambassadors to the United Nations, serious and dignified efforts at dialogue. But the idea of disrupting these meetings is alien to me, and to the left in general. I find it deeply worrying.
You mention Rashid Khalidi and while I can't comment on every aspect of what you say, many people within the Jewish community in this country are sharply critical of actions of the Israeli government. You refer to the PLO and need to understand that the PLO is a broad organization drawing in almost a full range of Palestinian views, both moderate and radical. (In this sense not so different from the international Zionist organization, which includes both critics of Israeli policy, such as Meretz, and strong supporters of the Israeli government). The late, deeply respected Prof. Edward Said was a member of the PLO, which was something close to a "parliament" of the Palestinians, both in Palestine and abroad.
I have listened to Rev. Jeremiah Wright and while his views are not mine, I do understand his anger and his fury at what Black America has gone through. I disagree with some of what he has said, but I agree with much of it. Let's turn to Bill Ayers. The Weather Underground, of which Ayers was a member, was a sad fragment of the movement against the Vietnam War. I strongly and publicly opposed the Weather Underground. I do know - as I'm sure you do as well - how strongly held beliefs can lead people to violent actions, as is the case with the anti-abortion movement, which recently led to the murder of a doctor - in his church! Surely it would be wrong of me to say that all those who oppose abortion are terrorists and murderers because of the actions of this one man. Ayers' statement that "we should have done more" did not refer to the Weather Underground bombings, but to the general opposition to the Vietnam War - a war which cost the lives of 58,000 Americans, and three million Vietnamese.
Ayers engaged in acts of violence but no one was killed in any of those actions, except, very sadly, the 11th Street bombing here in New York City (across the street from a town house ironically owned by Quaker friends of mine!) in which the house was totally destroyed and several of those in the Weather Undeground died.
I agree with you, Jennifer, that truth is never entirely on one side. I know, also, that all sides have extreme elements. What I find very discouraging is that in this situation the leadership of the Republican Party has been very slow to call the disrupters to account. I have been horrified - genuinely horrified - at the string of paranoid attacks which come from both the left and the right.
Under Bush there was the whole "9.11 truth movement" which accused Bush of organizing the bombing of the World Trade Center (which is just a mile from where I live). That was a left wing conspiracy movement. There were even those on the left who assured us that Obama would never be elected because the Republicans wouldn't allow a fair count of the votes - or might declare marital law and prevent the election. Such rumors were dangerously wrong. Now we see a string of them from the right - the whole set of charges that Obama is a Muslim, the "birthers" movement, and now the well-organized assault on these public hearings.
I've already stated that I'm a socialist - and if we had socialized medicine I'd be happy. But we don't, that isn't on the table. What is happening is that the massively prosperous HMO's and drug industry are afraid (with good reason!) that any fair plan would cut their profits. And they are the organizers, behind the scenes, of much of the current ruckus. The things Americans take for granted today - social security, medicare - were opposed by the Republicans. Yet who would now want to remove them?
I believe health care should not be for profit - anymore than our public safety (police and fire) is "for profit". Our society depends on fire and police protection for all, just as we need public education for all. We need health care for all. A great many doctors have now swung over to support for a single-payer system - but the HMO's and the drug companies are fighting this tooth and nail.
There was a time when the Republican Party had men and women of real stature - even if I didn't agree with them. You had Dwight D. Eisenhower as President (a man who was called a Communist by the John Birch Society!). If you are as old as I am, you will remember the late Senator Robert Taft who helped craft a decent public housing bill. And Barry Goldwater, deeply as I opposed him, not only had a sense of humor, but rebuked the more extreme elements in his party before his own death.
What America needs is serious public dialogue, not panic. I've lived through many periods of public panic – the McCarthy period, the insanity of the"civil defense" program (and that was pushed by John F. Kennedy) - and we have survived. Help us to survive now by civil dialogue, by honest concern that we know who is behind the efforts to disrupt the public hearings. By listening to one another, knowing that none of us has the whole truth.
Peace,
David McReynolds
(David McReynolds retired from the staff of War Resisters League in 1999. He served a term as Chair of the War Resisters International. He is active in affairs in his local community and lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his two cats)
----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2009 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: Glenn Beck
First of all, I want to say that I tend to support and concur with most of Glenn Beck's political views. I do not consider myself a Republican or Democrat and tend to vote simply on the issues.
Before you sent this email out, did you happen to research it's validity? Being a "fan" of Beck, I find it troubling that he would verbatim express this point of view as you mention below in your e-mail. I would not make such a bold statement and call Beck a racist or being a part of a group that "pushes racist propaganda" simply for having a "far right" opinion on politics. Furthermore, Beck does not even classify himself as a Republican or part of the "far left." I watch Beck almost nightly and can't recall a time that he has even made a racial comment.
Perhaps, he is not a racist, but rather questioning some of our Presidents history and personal connections to some very radical and racist people such as:
Rashid Khalidi, "The board of a nonprofit organization on which Sen. Barack Obama served as a paid director alongside a confessed domestic terrorist granted funding to a controversial Arab group that mourns the establishment of Israel as a "catastrophe" and supports intense immigration reform, including providing drivers licenses and education to illegal aliens. " The co-founder of the Arab group in question, Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi, also has held a fundraiser for Obama. Khalidi is a harsh critic of Israel, has made statements supportive of Palestinian terror and reportedly has worked on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization while it was involved in anti-Western terrorism and was labeled by the State Department as a terror group.
Or what about his ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Do you find it troubling that Rev. Wright was Obama's pastor for the last 20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side and has a long history of what even Obama's campaign aides concede is "inflammatory rhetoric," including the assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "terrorism." Rev. Wright has also been quoted as stating "blacks should not sing "God Bless America" but "God damn America."
And we all cannot forget Bill Ayers. Both Obama and Ayers were members of the board of an anti-poverty group, the Woods Fund of Chicago, between 1999 and 2002. In addition, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's re-election fund to the Illinois State Senate in April 2001, as reported. They lived within a few blocks of each other in the trendy Hyde Park section of Chicago, and moved in the same liberal-progressive circles. Ayers was a former member of the Weather Underground Organization that claimed responsibility for a dozen bombings between 1970 and 1974. The former Weatherman, Ayers, now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Although never convicted of any crime, he told the NY Times in September 2001, "I don't regret setting bombs...I feel we didn't do enough."
Why is it acceptable or just not spoken about when CNN, ABC news NBC and many other left-wing media networks make similar comments? Why is it acceptable for The NY Times to call the people who have attended the recent town hall meetings on HC "The Town Hall Mob?" Democrats say their outrage isn't genuine. These are ordinary American people who have exercised their use of free speech in a public forum to show our government how displeased they are with the health care proposal coming out of the White House.
I watch National news daily and I am disgusted every day at some of the attacks our media representatives make at anyone who even tries to speak of a "right" agenda.
Look this all boils down to different points of view in politics. No one is right. You can believe what you want and even speak of it publicly. That is your right in this great country and I encourage you to continue to exercise your right. However, I simply ask to be removed from all your emails that seem to be repeated diatribes against Republicans and the "right." We will agree to disagree and in the interim, I kindly request that you no longer include me on these emails. At least until you come to your senses in politics.
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Sun, Aug 9, 2009 3:01 pm
Subject: Fw: Glenn Beck
This just in from Joe Frazier of the Chad Mitchell Trio. Most of you know that Dennis and I met him and the other Trio members on a cruise a couple of years ago. We've been in occasional touch with them and other fans from the cruise.
Friends,
Please consider joining this effort! Peace.
Joe Frazier
CMT
Dear friends,
As you may know, right-wing talk show hosts have been bringing race-based fear mongering into the mainstream, but FOX's Glenn Beck just took it to another level. On Tuesday, Beck said:
This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people... this guy is, I believe, a racist.
It's part of a larger argument Beck has been making: that President Obama wants to serve the needs of Black communities at White people's expense. This kind of talk stirs up fear, hate, and it can lead to violence.
I've joined ColorOfChange.org's effort to stop Glenn Beck. ColorOfChange is already putting calls into Beck's advertisers, asking them if they want to be associated with this kind of racist hate and fear-mongering. When the advertisers see that tens of thousands of us are behind that question, I believe they'll move their advertising dollars elsewhere, and his show and platform will be history.
Will you take a stand and be counted, and invite your friends and family to do the same? It takes just a moment:
http://www.colorofchange.org/beck/?id=2329-963444
Glenn Beck is appealing to the worst in America. Of course, some Americans refuse to accept the fact that our president is Black or the idea that he could truly serve all Americans. But the only way these views fade away is if they're not reinforced by mainstream society. Instead, folks like Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and Rush Limbaugh are exploiting racism and race-based fear to bump their ratings, stirring up racial discord in the process.
The dangers of these tactics are real. We saw the same dynamic during the presidential race: By the end, the McCain/Palin campaign was unable to control the violent energy whipped up by their race-baiting. It resulted in an unprecedented number of threats on Obama's life, a rise in the number of hate groups, and an increase in the number of threats and crimes against immigrants and Black people.
FOX has a horrible track record on pushing racist propaganda, but Glenn Beck appears to be taking the network to an even lower standard. He's trying to divide and distract America when we should be coming together and talking about issues that really matter--like health care and the economy.
The good news is that we have the power to stop this. All major media is funded by advertising. And advertisers care more than anything what consumers think. If we want to change what's happening and put an end to folks like Glenn Beck having a platform, we can do it.
It's up to us, and it can start now. Please join me:
http://www.colorofchange.org/beck/?id=2329-963444
Thanks.
Here are some links to more info:
"Beck: Obama has 'exposed himself as a guy' with 'a deep seated hatred for white people'"
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907280008
"Glenn Beck: Obama agenda driven by 'reparations' and desire to 'settle old racial scores'"
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907230040
"MSNBC's Deutsch encourages viewers to demand advertisers on Beck's show spend money elsewhere"
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907290037
"On Television and Radio, Talk of Obama's Citizenship"