What Is
To Be Done…
What Is
To Be Done..Today
By John
Johnson
Hell if I know. Back in 1968 that was also the big
question.
After a decade of the civil rights
movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and many Black Panthers,
civil rebellions in Black neighborhoods, an increasingly brutal war in
Southeast Asia, with a massive anti-war, anti-drafts movement, and many of
those involved actively supporting the National Liberation Front of Vietnam,
with a massive counter-cultural movement, the government and a part of the
country was pushing back.
Those of us involved in these issues
struggled with what can we do to move our agenda forward. And there wasn't a
lack of ideas.
Should the counter-culture movements
be an avenue. It at times wasn't
explicitly political but its ideas were moving into many realms of
society. The sex and drug thing was
getting popular (often for the wrong reasons).
Should we continue building a
student movement and that energy to all youths.
How to organize youth outside the school systems did not have a quick workable solution.
Should we move into traditional
political parties and try to move them to a more progressive agenda. After the
crushing of McCarthy in
Should we move more directly into
communities, into working class neighborhoods and workplaces (the avenue I
moved into). But in a few years
convoluted Marxist rhetoric and a dismantling of the industrial base pretty
much destroyed those efforts.
Should we put more efforts in
working with the military which did have effects. After 68 more and more acts of rebellion and
mutinies were taking place.
With the assassinations and
repression continuing to be more brutal, should we build an underground
movement. (there already were a number
of small efforts).
Should we explicitly support and
work with
All these were tried by the early
Seventies. All could not sustain
themselves.
I disagree with David Lindroff in
exactly how positive the Weathermen (Underground) was. But I disagree more with Dan Cassidy. First the members of WU were sincere
dedicated progressives/radicals many who has spent years doing hard core
community organizing. Most left their middle class background far behind
them. They were not trying to build an
IRA armed underground but a self-sustained effort to hopefully be able to back
up above ground radicals who might be attacked by the government. (which was
happening).
They chose a legitimate road to
follow one that many others thought was needed. But without a large upsurge in
other radical activities they soon became isolated and unconnected and issued
some pretty silly proclamations.
So 40 years later, we are faced with
the same problems and similar questions.
What should be done? I have
always been a advocate of practically everything. The more people in more areas of the country,
of the economy, of the arts, of the media, of the educational systems, of the
political movements, active in progressive and radical ideas and projects, the
better. Along with efforts to build strong, local and national democratic
organizations comprised of all sections of the country.
Hispanics, African Americans, Native
Americans, Asians, the poor, working classes, immigrants, women, gays and
lesbians, youth, environmentalist, oldsters, artists, poets, musicians, etc.
etc. that can bring together all efforts and where all groups should be
inviting all other groups to their efforts.
And no matter how this election
turns out we will still have the criminal and corrupt corporate, media and
governmental structures to deal with -- one way or another!
We are heading into a Depression,
the planet is in an environmental crisis, starvation, homelessness and the
resulting diseases are on the rise. All
the while segments of corporate executives, Wall Street speculators, the Oil industry
and of course, friends of Bush are piling up unheard of fortunes.
It's time we drop our minor
differences and build a powerful movement that (while it can still be done
non-violently) can change these conditions to benefit the vast majority of the
world's citizens.