Comments on: Know Your Enemy: Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals http://westernfrontamerica.com/2009/08/04/know-your-enemy-saul-alinskys-rules-for-radicals/ A Journal of the Conservative Revolution. Commentary, Opinion and Analysis Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:13:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Michael http://westernfrontamerica.com/2009/08/04/know-your-enemy-saul-alinskys-rules-for-radicals/comment-page-1/#comment-2602 Michael Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:32:11 +0000 http://westernfrontamerica.com/?p=7376#comment-2602 "This willingness to arrogantly disregard verifiable truth in service of a greater revolutionary “truth” is a central aspect of Alinsky’s tactics." ... and exactly what the Tea Party activists did with their talk of "death panels" in the healthcare debate. As a progressive, I find it fascinating that the Right is now adopting the "radical" tactics of the left to affect social change, the same way the Left adopted the Right's grassroots organizing techniques to win the last election. Personally, I have a lot of trouble with Alinsky's rather cavalier notion that the "end's justify the means." No matter what your ideology, I don't believe it's okay to misrepresent the truth in order to score political victories. Yet many of his other "rules" about how a disempowered minority can wrest power from the majority work whether you believe you are being oppressed by rich fat cats or latte-sipping liberals. As the Left has given up on activism in favor of trying to work through the administration to achieve its ends (a mistake in my opinion) it's been very interesting to see the Right take up the direct action tactics that liberals have been using since the 1960s to influence political debate. “This willingness to arrogantly disregard verifiable truth in service of a greater revolutionary “truth” is a central aspect of Alinsky’s tactics.”

… and exactly what the Tea Party activists did with their talk of “death panels” in the healthcare debate.

As a progressive, I find it fascinating that the Right is now adopting the “radical” tactics of the left to affect social change, the same way the Left adopted the Right’s grassroots organizing techniques to win the last election.

Personally, I have a lot of trouble with Alinsky’s rather cavalier notion that the “end’s justify the means.” No matter what your ideology, I don’t believe it’s okay to misrepresent the truth in order to score political victories. Yet many of his other “rules” about how a disempowered minority can wrest power from the majority work whether you believe you are being oppressed by rich fat cats or latte-sipping liberals.

As the Left has given up on activism in favor of trying to work through the administration to achieve its ends (a mistake in my opinion) it’s been very interesting to see the Right take up the direct action tactics that liberals have been using since the 1960s to influence political debate.

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