> There seems to be an insistence that
>anyone who signs has descended to depths of hell, and permanently allied
>themselves with the forces of evil. Isn't it possible that those who
>sign are simply mistaken, and have not suddenly become tools of U.S.
>imperialism after years of fighting it?
Sure.
>For that matter is it not
>conceivable that in refusing to sign it we are mistaken?
I don't know. It doesn't feel like a mistake.
>Mind you, I
>agree that some of the signers get a bit holy as well. I wish in general
>that we on the left (and I use the term colloquially, because I don't
>don't know a better term for what certain viewpoints have in common)
>would be a little more hesitant to assign bad motive, or to assume that
>certain errors on the part of fellow leftists who disagree are
>irretrievable, the step that finally pushes them far enough down the
>path to hell that they are unlikely to return. Look, life is too short
>to wait for certainty to decide what side to take in these fights; but
>(and I know I'm not particularly good at this myself) isn't it
>worthwhile to try to let the knowledge we might be wrong temper our
>condemnatory self-righteousness just a little?
I'm all against self-righteousness :) But, seriously. I could not bring myself to sign this petition. Those who encouraged me to sign kept referring to all the left icons that had signed. If icons meant something to me, I'd be a Christian or something. One pleasant and interesting surprise, for me, about this whole thing is that lots of folks who are sort of middle of the road (rather than socialist/anarchist radicals) were as put off by it as I was and did not sign.
Joanna