A LONG TIME COMING

In an earlier post I mentioned that, while in college, I became more aware of political issues and even signed up for a minor in Political Science.  My parents were Republicans.  I found myself, for the most part, agreeing with their outlook on politics as I was growing up.  But, as most college age kids do, I began getting more curious about my world and whether there was only one correct side to every issue.  As a freshman in the late sixties, I began to venture out of my safe zone and spend many evenings attending rallies.  I wasn't choosy. If there was an issue to be discussed, I wanted to go and see what it was all about. On one of those ventures, I went to see Paul Newman stand up in the back of a convertable and proclaim that "What we have here is a failure to communicate".  I also had a brush with history after watching Bobby Kennedy give a campaign speech and, waiting to shake his hand, the crowd was shocked to find out that Martin Luther King was just shot in Memphis. I actually heard the news at the same moment Kennedy did.

I mention all this to explain the context of why I decided to go to a rally for something I had never heard of until I read it in our college newspaper.  It was a new group called Students For a Democratic Society. The name conjured up thoughts of people like myself who were  becoming more driven toward getting involved in helping to make things better in our country. So off I went to the rally.

The gathering was in a lecture hall that probably seated about 100 students. There were only about 30 of us which I liked because I thought I might be able to get more involved in the discussion. Two men and a woman, all looking to be in their 30's and very well dressed, were milling around talking to some students before they began the meeting. I nosed my way down to the front to listen in. They seemed very intelligent, poised and professional.  That was unusual.  Most of the anti-war rallies were tie-dye and cut-off style gatherings. So when it was time to listen, I was all ears.

They handed out their literature first.  It was a lot of info so I put it aside.  I cannot remember the people's names but I do remember they were from Chicago. I admit I was full of anticipation to hear what they had to say.  But the whole set-up seemed a little creepy.

They began by explaining that they were well aware that "we", todays college students, were fed up with our current form of government but that we were going about trying to change things in all the wrong ways. OK - that sounded reasonable. So, this is what their plan was. (now please understand that I could have never remembered precisely what they said that night nor do I still have their hand-outs. However, through the miracle of Google, I have re-established myself with their talking points in order to share a few with you.) In fact, it's been over 45 years since I attended this rally and, while reading about them again, it still gives me chills.

They began by harping on the idiocy of the federal government and the careless way that our old "rulers" were too authoritarian and must be stopped.  They continually repeated that our Constitution was out-dated and it was time to fundamentally change America.

Here are a few steps explaining how this change would be accomplished:

 - In the beginning, do not force anything on the people.  Slowly get them to think that the changes being made are a normal part of the evolution of society and for the better in the long run.

- Take as much power as possible away from the state and local governments.  There shall be one, central government that will regulate all human activity.

- Discredit you enemies.  Attack them through irrelevant arguments.

- Break down the civility of our system of government.

- The ends justify the means. Break all of the Ten Commandments if need be to exact control on the enemies of the "New State".

. . . and so on.

Well, that was it for me. I remember walking back to my dorm with a guy I had met at the rally. We were both joking about how ridiculous those people were. Did they actually think they were going to find anyone who would go along with that nonsense?  He told me that night that they were Communists.  I didn't tell him then but I was pretty sure he didn't know what he was talking about.

The SDS  faded away over the next few years but the concept took root and continued to fester.  We are now facing a point in time where those rules (Rules For Radicals) have nearly all been adopted in one form or another by the executive branch of the federal government and radical politicians throughout the country.

This time, I have no suggestions, no attempt at words of wisdom or even a catchy closing phrase.  I only have this short story about my little brush with an event in history that started a sad chapter in our wonderful country when a sickness infested our political psyche and has now nearly killed the patient.