You know why I don't consider myself a radical? In short, because of idiocy like this "defense" of 1960s activism, and how it led to the 1980s:
When the Reagan administration tested the waters for direct US military intervention in El Salvador in 1981 with its "White Paper," opposition to this proposed move was immediate, as activists ranging from college kids to churchgoers to suburban dwellers staged sit-ins, organized street actions, wrote letters to politicians and newspapers, signed public petitions, and essentially raised such a degree of hell that the Reagan gang backed off, preferring to go clandestine instead.Wow. Really impressive guys. You raised such a ruckus when Reagan proposed killing lots of people that Reagan eventually... killed lots of people anyway. But he had to hide it a bit! Victory at last!
And it's people like this that modern activists are supposed to take advice from?
Look, I have pretty low expectations for the Dems -- "sanity" is about all I'm hoping for at the moment. But check it out -- in the middle of a war, "sanity" is of paramount importance. Literally. People are dying, in numbers beyond counting, and if the Dems can even keep the killing from getting worse, than yes, they get my vote.
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Yes, so the point here is? Consider these points:
1) The murderous repression in El Salvador came to a head in 1980, fully supported by the U.S. government. Reagan would not take office until Jan. 1981
2) The Democrats basically agreed with the Reagan administration's objectives in Central America, mostly confining themselves to protesting agaimst its more outlandish aspects
3) The fact that the war had to be "covert" showed a change in public attitudes about U.S. power since the early days of the Viet Nam War- which was almost universally supported at first
4) Unfortunately, the shift was nowhere near enough to counter the Reagain administration's disregard for the law, let alone human rights, and the Democrats' failure to really call the Administration on that (Iran Contra was the closest they came)
The moral: Protest may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.
The other moral: Electoral politics is necessary but not sufficient
Another moral: (in words from a Bob Dylan song) "I'm glad I fought I only wish we'd won."
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