Author
|
Topic: Saul Alinsky and Babbler's attitudes
|
jrootham
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 838
|
posted 24 August 2008 08:01 PM
I just reread "Reveille for Radicals". Here is a quote from the afterword of the 1969 edition. quote: In the world as it is, man moves primarily because of self interest.In the world as it is, the right things are usually done for the wrong reasons, and vice versa. In the world as it is, constructive actions have been reactions to a threat. In the world as it is, a value judgement is rarely, if ever, made on the basis of what is best. ... Decisions are made on the criteria of alternatives. In the world as it is, "compromise" is not an ugly but a noble word. In the world as it is, what you call morality is to a significant degree a rationalization of the position you occupy in the power pattern at a particular time. In the world as it is, one must begin from where one is.
I'd say this is very useful if you actually want to get something done. There seem to be some Babblers who attempt to reject this reality. The other thing he focuses on is the requirement for real democracy. In part this means not dictating solutions to people, and in part it means any effective change organization will have to include middle class members in order to get to a majority position.
From: Toronto | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
remind
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6289
|
posted 24 August 2008 09:14 PM
Thanks for the reminder jrootham, and this is a smippet from a great sermon about Alinsky: quote: ....he dismissed conservatives by saying, "time itself will take care of them." His faith was in the people...Think of your senses, Alinsky taught. If you've got power, then parade it so your enemy can see it. If you've got numbers but no power, think of your ears and make a lot of noise. And if you've got no power and no numbers, the least you can do is make a stink! That this threat was taken seriously is indicative of what Alinsky was capable of, and illustrates several of Alinsky's rules: First, power is what the enemy thinks you have. Second, Never go outside the experience of your people but always go outside the experience of your enemy. Third, a threat is more terrifying than the thing itself. And fourth, A good tactic is one your people enjoy. Alinsky's people couldn't stop laughing for weeks. It was on account of his principle 'never to go outside the experience of the people' that Alinsky never argued morality with religious people. "Christianity and Judeo-Christianity is outside the experience of organized religion," he argued - and he cited the example of a man who gave away his life's savings to emulate St. Francis. "He was arrested by a Christian police officer, driven to Bellevue by a Christian ambulance doctor, and pronounced non compos mentis by a Christian psychiatrist. Christianity is beyond the experience of a Christian-professing-but-not-practicing population." Talk to them instead, he said, about power.
http://www.uubedford.org/sermons/alinsky.htm
From: "watching the tide roll away" | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
jester
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11798
|
posted 30 August 2008 06:30 AM
quote: I'd say this is very useful if you actually want to get something done. There seem to be some Babblers who attempt to reject this reality.
Thanks for the topic. A must read book. Could you expand on your quote above?
From: Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
|