Digby has another
piece today on the legacy of the 60s/early 70s wherein she quotes Tom Hayden of SDS fame on the Port Hurton Statement. This is the part of interest:
"In case you think it was all a big fat failure though, consider this:
"The achievements that came from participatory democratic activism in the years that followed the statement's publication were considerable: the ending of the Vietnam War and the draft, the enfranchisement of Southern blacks and young people, the rise of the feminist movement, the Roe vs. Wade decision, the growth and strengthening of public employee unions and California farmworkers, Richard Nixon's unsurpassed environmental laws (in response to the first Earth Day), the Americans with Disabilities Act (in response to activists in wheelchairs occupying federal buildings), and much more. Former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg remembers carrying her copy of the statement to study groups during the free-speech movement, and Carl Wittman, a Port Huron-era activist who was closeted in 1962, later drew on it for inspiration in writing 'A Gay Manifesto.'"
While I wouldn't call it a complete failure, I think Mr. Hayden has been asleep for a couple of years....
1) End of the Vietnam War/End of the draft--give credit where it's due on the end of the Vietnam War, but the end of the draft has been a mixed bag. I don't think we've fought a war since Vietnam ended, except for perhaps the Afghanistan War (and I have my doubts about that one), that there is any way in hell the American people would have supported knowing their sons/daughters were being sent off to their possible death. The end of the draft made it much easier for Washington to get us engaged in unnecessary wars.
2) Enfranchisement of Southern Blacks/Young People--it's hard to argue with the enfranchisement of Southern Blacks, but it also hurt us electorally--Nixon/Campaign Aides developed the Southern strategy and the only thing that could possibly put those states back in play is the rapid growth of the Hispanic population. Note also that all states get two Senators and not only do we lose electorally, we've lost the chance at Senate seats in the South which makes it even harder to pass legislation. I'm not suggesting it was wrong to enfranchise Southern blacks--just that it came at a great cost to the rest of the causes. Young people are notoriously bad at voting and their enfranchisement has been a mixed bag at best--they support a lot of our ideals, but don't vote regularly and are easily disappointed (not that Obama helped the cause).
3) Rise of the Feminist Movement--again hard to argue with, but we're still fighting battles over fucking birth control and women only make .70 cents on the dollar compared to men and we're still fucking fighting that battle, too. Granted, a lot of other strides, but still...a long way to go.
4) Roe v. Wade--they've been chipping away at this for years and even worse public opinion is manipulated quite easily with the right words. If the Supreme Court can declare a coporation a person, they can overturn this one easily.
5) Strengthen public sector unions/California Farmworkers--public sector jobs have plummeted and their unions are under siege. Anti-immigrant fervor is widespread and I can't imagine too many people trading in their jobs for the life of a California farmworker.
6) Nixon's Environmental Laws--granted, have done a lot of good to clean our air and water, but like the public sector unions are under siege and corporations have too much money and own the media. Not likely to get any better.
7) ADA--after thirty years of working for corporations, I can flat out tell you (like "green" initiatives) corporations love shit that costs little money and makes them look like they give a shit about their customers (they don't--they just like the appearance).
Hayden mentions current events as giving hope, notably the Dream Act (has odds of passing only slightly better than those of winning the lottery), the Occupy Movement (fading fast), and the Wisconsin uprising (it may be Koch money, but the recall effort looks pretty weak--and if it fails, it would be an utter disaster).
The thing that bothers me the most about Hayden patting himself on the back is his complete lack of recognition of the losses suffered economically over the last thirty years. For all the good the Port Huron statement has accomplished, welfare reform was a disaster, union membership has dropped like a shotput in a beer barrel, poverty is at unprecedented levels, McJobs rule the day, and the middle class has eroded. Mr. Hayden mentions those behind the statement being "...bred in at least modest comfort..." and perhaps this explains the lapse, but still....
I'm not trying to be a Donnie Downer--there is an awful lot of good that came out of the movement--but we're kidding ourselves if we think we won't continue to lose ground by patting ourselves on the back for small gains without helping people to put food on their tables, keep a roof over their heads, and clothe and educate their children.
Peace,
emaycee
