(The following letter from Australian anti-war and Latin American solidarity activist Joan Coxsedge—who is also a former member of the Victoria state parliament--originally appeared in an Australian-Cuban solidarity group’s newsletter)
"June 29, 2015
Dear Comrades,
"Words don’t often fail me,
but I’m lost for words
(almost) to describe my contempt for the travesties of human beings that claim
to represent us in Canberra. Their policies are becoming more overtly
fascistic, terrifying in their range and vindictiveness. The following are
defined as early warning signs: powerful nationalism, disdain for human
rights, identification of scapegoats as a unifying cause, supremacy of the
military, rampant sexism, controlled mass media, obsession with national
security, close links between religion and government, protection of corporate
power, suppression of labour, disdain for intellectuals and the arts, obsession
with crime and punishment and rampant cronyism and corruption.
"Every
time these creeps plummet to new depths, down they go again, even exploiting overseas
terrorist outrages to gain some votes.
Never asking how we got to such a deplorable situation, never
questioning our collusion with Washington in its brutal global role, its
destruction of Iraq, Libya and Syria, its support for repressive regimes around
the world that imprison and torture their own citizens, and the murderous
repression of its own poor.
"And then there’s our pitiful Labor
opposition, run by timid lookalikes. Free speech? Out the window, along with
compassion and equality. The Labor rot started in 1984 when four reactionary
unions (DLP) rejoined the Victorian ALP and helped destroy a once strong and
progressive branch, part of a wider drive to destabilise the entire labour
movement.
"Some of us fought like hell to keep them out, but we were sold down
the river by some of our former comrades along with the media where we were the
baddies and the crooks were the goodies. In a last ditch stand I wrote a
leaflet called Fight the Right about their dodgy US connections and
impact on our hard-won policies. It was
the beginning of Labor’s decline, part of
a deeper malaise.
"James Petras writes about the rise of the ‘non leftist left in
Southern Europe’ in the Information
Clearing House, about the disappearance of traditional leftist parties and
decline of trade unions, replaced by a fragmented ‘middle class
radicalism’ angry at its loss
of status, demanding ‘participatory
democracy’ in the existing
rotten system, when it’s capitalism that
is causing environmental ruin, mass poverty, gross inequality, plutocracy, the
police state and racial disparity and must be replaced.
"Close to the end of his life, Martin Luther
King wrote: ‘the real issue to
be faced’ beyond superficial
matters was the radical reconstruction of society itself…and the United States
will have to adopt a modified form of socialism.’ King’s final radical words have been erased
from our history books, replaced by his much safer ‘I have a dream’ speech.
"Latin American revolutions, especially
in Cuba, have inspired the entire planet, bringing hope to every corner of our
earth. If left alone they would thrive,
but the US Empire is once again on the offensive, getting ready to invade and
destroy.
"Every left-wing government has
been facing bizarre protests and subversive actions, destabilisation tactics
clearly designed in far-away capitals, almost identical to those used against
China, Russia, South Africa and other ‘rebellious
nations’. Their fragility
is obvious, with their elites committing treason and collaborating with the
West against their own people as we have seen in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico,
Honduras, Venezuela, Paraguay and Bolivia, to name just a few. Propaganda, disinformation and the spreading
of confusion have been some of their most potent weapons. One of their dirtiest is the accusation of
corruption made by corrupt pro-western politicians and individuals who misused
hundreds of millions of dollars of the people’s money.
"The world has lost a courageous
activist with the death of Ronnie Gilbert, an original member of the legendary
folk group, the Weavers. While the great Pete Seeger was the most recognisable
member of the group (Fred Hellerman and Lee Hays were the other two) it was
Ronnie Gilbert who gave the Weavers its special style. Who can forget her version of Leadbelly’s Goodnight,
Irene.
"Gilbert was born and raised
in New York City into a working class family and listening to Paul Robeson gave
her the inspiration to become a folk singer. Most who know about the Cold War
and the ‘Red Scare’ is aware of what
happened to the Weavers. Suspected of
being too left-wing, Joseph McCarthy and his merchants of fear smeared them as ‘communists’ and had them
blacklisted. Despite their hit songs
they were banned from appearing on radio or television and their contract with
Decca Records was abruptly cancelled.
"The Weavers went from being one of
America’s most popular
groups to being almost totally ostracised.
They were forced to disband in 1953, but even with her career in ruins,
Ronnie Gilbert went on to become a dedicated socialist activist, travelling to
Cuba in 1961. During a Pete Seeger concert in California which he performed on
a banjo, without any introduction he shouted out to her wishing her ‘good luck’. The audience cheered. How refreshing to see comrades like these
stand up against powerful bullies and march in rallies to promote a cause. Vale Ronnie Gilbert.
"Speaking of gutsy people who stand up
against powerful bullies, Julian Assange is still holed up in the Ecuadoran
embassy in London surrounded by a ridiculous police cordon and living in one
room for the ‘crime’ of telling
unpalatable truths about government lies and the power of vested interests. He
is a refugee under international law and should be given safe passage out of
the UK. The Assange case amplifies many
truths, one of which is the accelerating global totalitarianism of Washington
regardless of who is president."
"Joan Coxsedge"