White Light Black Light: An open letter to CINDY SHEEHAN concerning BREAKING with the DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Sunday, September 23, 2007

An open letter to CINDY SHEEHAN concerning BREAKING with the DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Ira Jones 23 Sep 2007 Dear Cindy Sheehan, I feel it is important to comment on the post yesterday (Common Dreams) in which you supported MoveOn.org’s “Petreus/Betray Us” ad in the face of attacks on it by none other than the Imperialist-in-Chief. That Bush would choose to mention, let alone castigate at length, MoveOn.org demonstrates the growing strength of the anti-war movement, which is continuing to mobilize dedicated activists like yourself. However, I’m writing to stress that the movement will stand little chance of effectively thwarting US imperialism’s war plans if the prevailing views concerning the reliance on the Democratic Party are not discredited. The role of the Democrats as the other imperialist party became clear to people in their millions when they gained control on Congress yet continued to do nothing to pull the US out of Iraq. This is an important development in consciousness that needs to be encouraged and deepened. Activists taking matter into their own hands, in the streets, disrupting all aspects of society, are the only force capable of challenging the ever-growing militarism of this dying empire. The Democrats are dead-set against such disruption. In fact, whether politicians understand it or not (Kucinich comes to mind), the key political function of the Democratic Party is to prevent activists from gravitating towards views that lead to such action. Look at FDR’s New Deal or the function of George McGovern on the Vietnam anti-war movement in that light. MoveOn.org is one of a broad array of organizations in the movement that works to shore up confidence in the Democrats, portraying them as a force that, if nudged just a bit to the left, could challenge the neo-cons. In this respect, the politics of such groups as MoveOn.org serves to WEAKEN the movement. I’m in favor of activists, such as those who work with MoveOn.org, of grasping this truth, defecting from such organizations, and building their own organizations that promote militant actions and anti-reformist political views. Cindy, I’m glad that in previous posts you have stressed the need of activists to take to the streets. The action I fantasize about here in Seattle would be 20,000 activists sitting in the streets surrounding the Federal Building downtown on a weekday to shut it down. To achieve that would take a big leap in consciousness. I’m sorry to say, however, that your comments about MoveOn.org serve to build confidence on the fighting ability of what is essentially indistinguishable from the left wing of the Democratic Party. For example, you “…applaud MoveOn for moving a little closer to the true anti-war movement and encourage them to come with us farther”. Again, let me stress that I too am in favor of people active with MoveOn.org to “come with us farther”, but they can only do that by breaking with that organization and its politics and, preferably, forming a new organization that helps clarify the role that such pro-Democratic Party politics plays in weakening the movement. Thanks very much for taking the time to listen to my views. Sincerely, Ira Jones Seattle