Ask Auntie Pinko
May 17, 2001

Dear Auntie Pinko,

What can Dems and other liberals do to fight right-wing tactics? (Incessant attacks, having so much money and "power" and influence, barreling over all other viewpoints, etc.) Turning the other cheek is not the answer in my opinion! And all the discussion on the Internet does not reach the masses through the conservative media. (I just can't believe how some major U.S. cities have only ONE major newspaper!) What are we to do?

Barbara
The Hague

Dear Barbara,

The first thing to do is refrain from attributing more power to the right wing than they really have. If we make them into all-powerful boogeymen, too many of us will be discouraged from taking positive action.

Remember - they may have money, but we have numbers. They may scream loudest, but we talk smartest. They may have brute force, but we have the moral power of our convictions.

Social change has never begun in the "mainstream" press. Ben Franklin had to start his own newspaper to get out the truth about how the British government was treating its Colonies. Pioneering journalists like Upton Sinclair and Jessica Mitford were labeled muckrakers, outcasts, yellow journalists in their time. The radical journalists who began social movements like democratic government, the abolition of slavery, trade unionism, public education, etc., were published in "fringe" newspapers and magazines long before their crusades were embraced by the "mainstream" press.

While the liberal "reach" on the Internet doesn't equal the conservatives' yet, I look for it to explode in the next four years, especially as Mr. Bush and his cronies continue to give us such plump, juicy targets. And remember that some of our main Democratic constituencies, like ethnic minorities and inner-city dwellers, have a long experience with "getting the word around" in spite of unresponsive mainstream media.

So, the most effective thing Auntie Pinko can suggest to "fight right wing tactics" is for the left wing to organize. Make contact with other lefties. Young people can look for Young Democrat chapters at nearby colleges, working folks can join unions, suburban liberals can join their local Democratic Committee. Participate with left-wing groups and bring them together to share agendas wherever you can!

And we must communicate amongst ourselves. We'll never all agree on everything (heavens, what a notion!) but we can practice the art of accommodating each other in order to build a unified network of people committed to liberal ideals. This will also help us fight that "alone in a right-wing wilderness" feeling that so many of us are experiencing right now.

We have great potential power, and we mustn't let the right wing discourage us before we even start. Remember, the "mainstream press," the money and influence, the power plays-those are their tools. But they can't stop a really determined and well-organized left wing that uses our tools: numbers, intelligence, and the moral power of our convictions.

Chin up, Barbara, and thank you for writing to Auntie Pinko!