Sun Journal Letter to the Editor: Rules for Radicals by CCTA Chairman, Nancy Murdoch

February 8, 2012

One would expect local Democrats to defend President Obama in our local paper, but Saul Alinsky? For readers not familiar with Alinsky, he was a radical of the ’60s and ’70s known for his community organizing to achieve his far left agenda. His book, “Rules for Radicals” (originally called “Rules for Revolution”) was dedicated to the first radical, Lucifer. Alinsky based his strategies on those of Neo-Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Communist. Gramsci believed that the revolutionary plan of Lenin and Stalin wouldn’t work in the West; instead he favored an assault on Biblical absolutes and Christian values that would allow the new face of Communism to flourish.

Many people have read Alinsky to discover how to effectively engage with those using “Rules” and to render them ineffective. After all, one of Sun-Tzu’s Rules of War is to know your enemy. The primary premise of “Rules” is the means justify the ends, and the lowest, vilest tactics may be used to weaken or destroy ones’ adversaries. Most Conservatives are too decent and principled to actually use these tactics, but feel it necessary to be aware of what kind of tactics the left will employ and be able to recognize them for what they are. Radicals prefer destroying to building; whether it is people or a system of government with which they disagree. Alinsky may not have been a Marxist or Communists, but he knew quite a few, had dealings with them, as well as other radical types like the Black Panthers. His beliefs were not important; only the tactics.

An apt description of Alinsky would be master manipulator. His goal was to figure out what people wanted to hear and then give it to them, disguising the true goal, achieving as much power as possible. He rejected the unkempt hippies of the ’60s, and favored a bath, haircut, and a nice suit in order to infiltrate the system from within.

Many of the academic elite, the main stream media, and a number of politicians were students of Alinsky. Hillary Clinton wrote her doctoral thesis on Alinsky, and President Obama taught the “Rules” principles in his community organizing days. Democrats can deny the relationship between the left and Alinsky, but the facts indicate otherwise. When a candidate speaks of “fundamentally transforming the United States of America”, prudent Americans would be wise to listen.

Nancy Murdoch, Havelock, NC

http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/alinsky-104194-local-familiar.html