[Rhodes22-list] Transformation of the left

[Rik Sandberg]

This is a section of the article I linked. I can't say it a lot better than
this. Just who the hell is the bad guy here??? I have been waiting for a
while now for a pacifist to give me a reasonable alternative to taking Saddam
Hussein out. Doing nothing, in my mind is not a reasonable alternative. I
have yet to hear any, other than we just can't start a war, it isn't right. I
think it's about time somebody had balls enough to start a war. I just wish
they'd have gotten the job done 12 years ago. They were already there, they
could have just as well finished.

"I read these stories of intimidation, humiliation, murder and systematic
subjugation, and I come away puzzled. Many of us on the left are preoccupied
with cataloging the mendacity of the White House, or lamenting the
ineffectuality of the Democrats; we spend hours researching how Republican
officials or their cronies did deals with Saddam or how the impending war is
a cynical ploy for taking Iraq's rich oil fields. Of course it is essential
to document these failures and misdeeds and to work relentlessly to hold
these people accountable. Still, none of that addresses the issues raised by
the red cell. None of these address the fact that Saddam, by some counts, is
blamed for a million deaths.

 What are we doing to make sure that not another woman is raped or beheaded
as a form of political terror? What are we doing to make sure that not
another man is humiliated and rendered mute and powerless as the ex-general
was? What are we doing to shut down the headquarters of General Intelligence?
In the community of human rights monitors, work toward these goals is heroic
and often dangerous. These would seem also to be urgent goals for all who
consider themselves progressive. But for the most part, in all the angry
debate over the war, the left rarely discusses these issues. We acknowledge
Saddam as a ruthless dictator and lament his human rights abuses, but we
focus our rage on Bush. "

Rik

On Tuesday 25 March 2003 10:02 pm, you wrote:
> Rid -
>
> I took the day pass to Salon, but couldn't find the rest of the article.
> The first page was, as you said, quite interesting.
>
> FWIW, or not, My personal take on Lempinens' thesis, taken from personal
> experience (i.e. my arguments with my pacifist wife after 9/11), are the
> following.
>
> The lefts position goes all the way to pacifism wit hthe theory that
> violence only begets violence.  One mans liberation, is another mans
> repression, and the one he is newly repressed probably has the power and
> will to see krevenge, and also the smarts to foment even more violence.
> Maybe, at its most extreme,this becomes a justification for appeasement.
>
> The whole thing becomes further complicated in this country by our arguably
> lousy job at picking our allies among a number of repressive regimes, and
> seems to many like a huge self serving hypocrisy when we get all righteous
> about turning yesterdays ally into todays enemy.  Both hare true with the
> Taliban and Hussein.  In Husseins case, we were more than happy to turn a
> blind eye to his atrocities when we wanted him to let Bechtel (sp?) build
> an oil pipeline through Iraq to Jordan (he ultimately didn't let the
> project happen), or when he was fighting Iran.
>
> It gets even more complicated by our having no clear plan on what we may
> replace Saddam with, and if the reality of the outcome will be a stable
> society that promotes democracy in the Middle East (apologies to Thomas
> Friedman, but very pie in the sky), or a plunge into chaos and factional
> fighting among ethnic groups and tribes, not to mention Turkey.
>
> I don't think any liberal or lefty would say that Saddam shouldn't go, but
> their issue is the manner in which we are making it happen, and the likely
> result of our actions.
>
> But, as Dennis Miller says, blah, blah, blah.
>
>
>
> Bill Berner
> 191 South Broadway
> Hastings on Hudson, NY  10706
>
> v 914 478 2896
> f 914 478 3856
> e BBerner@optonline.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces@rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces@rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Rik Sandberg
> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 8:18 PM
> To: Rhodes 22 List
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Transformation of the left
>
> All the group,
>
> Being Bill wants to throw out a cheap shot or two, perhaps I'll counter
> with
>
> something a little more meaningful.
>
>
> Here's something, I found quite interesting, that I sent  to Alex last
> night.
>
>
> Alex,
>
> I read an article last night that I thought was very well written, about
> the
>
> recent transformations of the "left" Here's a link. You don't have to
> subscribe to this thing. Just scroll down and you'll see how you can get a
> free day pass. You'll have to page through a commercial for the free visit.
> It's short and easy though. I think you'll find it worth while. I know I
> did.
>
> http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/03/19/left
>
> If this doesn't get you to thinking, you've already been dead awhile.
>
> Rik
> _________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list