When my sister was about 11 or 12, she'd read a book--I forget the name of it now--that demonized the Vietnamese Communists, and was truly horrified. She went to the county fair--she was in 4-H at the time--and came upon a booth there with pictures of atrocities committed in Vietnam.
"Oh, those terrible Communists!" She said, "I know all about them!"
No, the Quakers who were staffing the booth, patiently explained to her, "These atrocities are being done by OUR government."
Of course, my sister couldn't believe them. But they were patient with her. And they gave her more literature to read. So she sat down right there and read everything they gave her.
When my parents came to pick her up, she was out in front of the fairgrounds, handing out literature to everyone she could get her hands on.
Now, I happen to know that my sister is a very remarkable person. But I also know that she can be very stubborn (had to be in our family). If she had run into some of the attitudes we've seen on this list, she'd have gone out and joined YAF.
There's much in the world to make us angry or bitter. But if we direct that anger and bitterness toward everyone who doesn't yet see it clearly enough, then we are only increasing anger and bitterness in the world, and driving away those with whom we could otherwise DO SOMETHING to change the world for the better.
I came of age during the Vietnam War, and Phil Ochs' "Love Me I'm A Liberal" was one of my favorite songs. But beyond that bloody episode, the shameful ambivilence on Civil RIghts, etc, the deep tragedy of Cold War Liberalism is that it dishonored, even perverted some really good and decent ideas. The notion of tolerance is one key example. The Free Speech Movement succeded on the basis of that simple idea. It's what unified all the other dispirate groups around them. OF COURSE it opens us up to all kinds of abuse. But it also opens us up to the possibility of truly fundamental change. If we truly have the courage of our convictions, then we should not fear to embrace it.
-- Paul Rosenberg Reason and Democracy rad at gte.net
"Let's put the information BACK into the information age!"