In response to the "Open Letter to Kevin Barrett" about his dialogue with Noam Chomsky

To: Petros Evdokas <petros@cyprus-org.net>
From: Kevin Barrett <kbarrett@.......>

Subject: Re: Open Letter to Kevin Barrett
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008

Thanks, Petros.

Sorry for the slow reply. After thinking it over, I decided that you're right. The personal information has now been edited out.

Feel free to continue to offer constructive feedback in the future.
Kevin
________

Kevin Barrett's response reflects an excellent decision and, I'm happy
to observe, a responsiveness and sensitivity that's rare within the
9/11 Truth movement.

The materials documenting Kevin Barrett's recent exchanges with Noam
Chomsky - slightly edited now, to remove some personal information -
are a very good source of study for all of us who are burning with
questions on how to develop better relationships between the radical
and progressive networks of the Left, and the populist, ever-expanding
9/11 Truth movement. Finding unity in that context has proven elusive
so far.

For millions of people Noam Chomsky represents the semi "official"
voice of the Left within the United States. His approach in the recent
dialogue with Kevin shows clearly the irrational and authoritarian
mental~emotional streaks that fuel his (and that of many others on the
Left) almost absolute refusal to open their hearts and minds to
studying, researching, having conversations about the events of
September 11 as an Inside Job.

For Noam Chomsky and for many of our comrades and colleagues on the US
Left, a step like that borders on the unthinkable, the most intolerable
violation of their sensibilities. Please see the tip of that
uncomfortable iceberg surfacing in Kevin's and Chomsky's exchanges here:
"Noam Chomsky Does Not Want You to Read This"
By Dr. Kevin Barrett:
http://www.barrettforcongress.us/chomsky.htm

"Why is any of this important?" you may ask.
Good question!

There are two Fronts of the struggle for liberation in which the role of the US Left is crucial:
- resistance to the "endless war" presently unfolding in the Middle
East with US invasions, occupations and other forms of political,
financial and military domination;
- resistance to the domestic dictatorship enacted within the US with
legalization of torture and widespread surveillance without Court
warrants, unwarranted search and seizure operations, military
tribunals, maintenance of a shadow Government, suspension of crucial
elements of the Constitution, "normalization" of legal, constitutional
and human rights violations, etc.

The events of September 11, carried out by instruments of the ruling class for the interests of that ruling class, are pivotal in the emotional life of the public
in order to gain co-operation with those in power and acceptance for
the war and domestic dictatorship. The US Left, self-blinded and
emotionally paralyzed, can not fulfil its mission as a conscious actor
in the liberation movement unless it is able to shake off the paralysis
and catch up with the more politically advanced sectors of the
population which are active in the progressive and radical wing of the
9/11 Truth movement.

For as long as the so-called "masses" (I hate that term) accept the
official lies about September 11, the Peace, anti-war, anti-imperialist
and internationalist solidarity movement within the US will not be able
to get anything done.

For as long as the so-called "masses" accept the official lies about
September 11, the civil liberties and pro-democracy movement within the
US will not be able to get anything done.

The Left needs to see the need for removing the veil, helping the
people to become freed up from the emotional constraint, the shock and
trauma-induced docility and chauvinism brought on by the 9/11 Big Lie.

Why the Left? - Part One

For all of its clatter and adrenaline, the 9/11 Truth movement on its
own has not been able to do very much either "for itself" (even just
promoting the Truth in simple, dignified ways has proven a difficult
task for many of our people), nor has it been able to do much in the
two Fronts of the struggle for Peace and Freedom mentioned above which
are supposedly the directions in which Truth activism is being
invested. We still need to build up on our ability to mobilize,
organize, communicate and co-operate.

In the meantime, even paralyzed, confused and in denial, the US Left
has mobilized a combination of millions of people against the war in
both symbolic protest and Direct Actions at all levels of society.
There are major rallies and marches taking place in all major cities of
the country, and in every small town and campus there's a section of
the Peace movement that's well integrated with the community.

An excellent example of Direct Action against the war is the MayDay
strike against the Iraq war by West Coast dockworkers that shut down
the ports all over the coast. It was carried out by around 25,000
workers at 29 ports along the western US coastline, organized by the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union. More on that here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/911truthportland/message/220

The action was endorsed by numerous Vets for Peace groups and by every Leftist organization in the country. But
so much more could be accomplished if the Left could see the strategic
importance of The Big Lie about September 11 and the liberating effects
of the Truth.

By contrast, in public actions "on the street" the Truth movement is
able to mobilize tiny numbers of usually obnoxious individuals with
mixed up politics who yell at people through bullhorns intimidating,
scaring and insulting them, or delivering loud and ridiculous speeches
to no one. Here's an excellent sampling of such activities in "street
actions" by people I know personally, documented by themselves on video
and published here (they're proud of it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0oZwp5ZAo

Why the Left? - Part Two

Even paralyzed, confused and in denial, the US Left has mobilized all
of its forces to combat the measures and institutions of the domestic
dictatorship by participating in all aspects of the pro-democracy
movement.

All over the country, progressive and radical lawyers of the American
Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers' Guild and other groups are in Court
every day working to reverse unconstitutional and illegal acts of the
regime. Everywhere in the US, within unions, schools, temples and
churches, in small and large City Halls, there's progressive and
radical activists, socialists, communists, anarchists, liberals,
feminists, greens and autonomists working to restore democracy through
legislative action, strikes, electoral campaigns, demonstrations in the
streets, educational campaigns, and through the many forms of
communications media that the Left produces and operates. But so
much more could be accomplished if the Left could see the strategic
importance of The Big Lie about September 11 and the liberating effects
of the Truth.

By contrast, the public actions of the 9/11 Truth movement are often
precariously balanced between comedy and tragedy (or is it "stradegy"?).
See for example the West Coast Truth Convergence "street action" that
took place in San Francisco this last month - our Truth activists and
colleagues misled by Truth movement "leaders" who squeezed the event
into that really narrow space between the Shameful and the Ridiculous:
http://wtcdemolition.com/blog/node/1148

The dialogue between Kevin Barrett and Noam Chomsky published here
http://www.barrettforcongress.us/chomsky.htm
is instructive about many of the things that are wrong the relationship between the US Left and the 9/11 Truth movement.

Realities, correct and incorrect critiques, misperceptions,
misunderstandings, ideological enigmas and confusion, lack of
familiarity and lack of principles on instances where principled and
compassionate approaches are indispensable, all contribute to the chaos
and make the barrier between our movements wider.

But we need to find both ideological and practical ways to overcome that barrier.

Petros Evdokas
petros@cyprus-org.net
http://petros-evdokas.cyprus-org.net/Another-sort-of-Introduction.html
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