[lbo-talk] RE: Terrain of Struggle was O'Reilly vs Churchill

[Chuck Grimes]

``...The lessons of Witch Hunts is that it is crucial not to start
cutting off your political colleagues one by one, no matter how much
it seems politically expedient to do so.  Making clear your own views
and disagreements with others is one thing, but if we let the
political right determine the boundaries of our movement, we are
cutting holes in our own liferaft...'' Chip Berlet

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All that is well and good, and of course I agree. But I would advocate
a more pro-active pursuit. Exactly how pro-active and in what
direction depends on the particulars.

Let's go back and look at some recent rightwing Kulturmacht cases that
I am familiar with: Bernal, Strauss, and now Churchill. These all have
a common underlying theme of multiculturalism and racism, but from
different perspectives. The Bernal case involved a denial of the roots
of western history in ancient Egypt and Africa. Strauss as
philosopher-hero, involves a different form of attack on multicultural
roots mainly through Allen Bloom and the necons in power. And now the
attack on Churchill---something I am just now thinking about.

What I've found in each of these cases is that further reading and
interest in whatever the person or topic, carried out with a very
jaundiced eye for Rightwing claims of truth, falsehood and
`scholarship', has usually resulted in making a stronger case of
support for the view attacked or in the case of Strauss, and even
worse indictment of some presumed `good ideas'.

Sometimes it is a matter of ``concocting analyses far more thorough
and accurate than mainstream'', getting the details straight and
sometimes it means looking at the issue differently. It depends on the
case. 

Usually the Right goes after an individual they think is vulnerable to
smear the more general idea or liberal consensus on a subject. Or in
Strauss's case they support some hero they think is beyond reproach in
order to promote some heinous ideology. Whatever.

I say, fine, let's go after the motherfuckers and find out. 

They want to claim Africa and Egypt made no significant contribution
to western civilization? They want to claim a hierarchical
authoritarian state is our idea of democracy?  They want to claim
systematic extermination of Native Americans didn't happen? They want
to claim 9/11 wasn't blow-back on Empire?

Come on people. These guys are fools. Let's trust our own thoughts and
judgments better than that. 

We can do more than just defend some individual under attack (with or
without their warts). We can win these battles hands down and
discredit the Right in the process.

History and culture is our terrain and we know it better than they do.

CG