[R-G] The Left

[Hunter Gray]

NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR: December 8 2007

This exchange took place yesterday on the RBB list as a discussional outgrowth of the "Mormon colloquy." I'm passing it along in the interests of thought-stimulation. and hopefully more than that. Mato Ska [Martin Zehr] has a long background in Southwestern Green-related campaigns. [His post follows my response.] I should add that, although a Believer, my relationship with institututional churchdom has never been [mutually] sanguine and I have occasionally made it clear that I am not an especially "churchy person." I think most everyone has, by now, read my account of my quite turbulent relationship with the bureaucracy of the Rochester, New York Catholic Diocese -- but, if not, that Link follows. And I do not feel that the critiques of, say, the LDS church on our lists have been overly strident. But, like many of us, I am concerned that what passes today for an American Left in this country -- and I'm not speaking of a Democratic Party "left" -- appears to be shrinking [despite the outreach efforts of some individuals] into an increasingly isolated monastery existence where much of the discussion, however articulate, is internal and, frequently, acrimonious. And, to add another dimension, it's hardly reassuring to see increasingly tepid organized labor generally pulling back from direct organizing and simply marking time until a Democratic savior appears on the presidential chair to give his/her blessing to pro-union legislation. [Again, don't misunderstand me, good legislation is obviously important. But, as always, I'm convinced that bona fide grassroots organizing is Genesis.] Anyway, I pass this along:  [My immediately preceding post, one of those to which Martin makes reference, "Mormons, Reds, and the Pluralistic Universe," can be found at http://www.hunterbear.org/organizer_16.htm