While it is not in human nature to reach this idea, many communists approached it rather closely.  History records that many communists willingly accepted torture and death as their reward for service.

            The dedication demanded of the communists compares with that preached and practiced by the early Christians.  St. Paul could say, “I die daily,” and “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

            The dedication of its devotees is no criterion of the righteousness of a cause.  History records many cases of sublime heroism in the service of vile individuals and causes.  The rise of Hitler in Germany was aided by the courage and self-sacrifice of many idealistic youthful fanatics.  The courage of the Japanese kamikaze pilots cannot be surpassed.  The dedication of the communists to the Communist Party of Russia made the monstrous crimes of Stalin possible.

            Of recent years the image of a communist has become somewhat tarnished.  A conformist and uninspired bureaucracy has developed in Russia instead of the promised “Socialist Man.”  Mao Tse-tung of China was so concerned about the selfishness of the Chinese Communist youth that he organized the “Great Cultural Revolution” to try to restore revolutionary idealism and dedication.

            The revolutionary warrior, battling against insuperable odds, has much more appeal to the young than the technician and the bureaucrat.  Communism appeared to be losing much of its appeal to the youth of the world.  A new heroic and charismatic figure was needed to inspire them to daring deeds of revolution.

            This role has been filled rather adequately by Che Guevara, the communist guerrilla leader who died in 1967 as he tried to ignite a continental revolt by fighting in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia.  He is the embodiment of the modern revolutionary hero.  He was born in Argentina, graduated as a medical doctor, and joined Fidel Castro in Mexico as he was preparing the revolution in Cuba.  Though suffering from chronic asthma, he proved to be a most successful military technician and soldier.  Following the communist conquest of Cuba, he became director of the Cuban economy but later forsook this role to go to Brazil to begin what he hoped would prove to be a revolution that would engulf all South America.  He died honorably on the field of battle.  He is the leading communist saint of today.

            Idealism, courage and dedication can serve both good and evil.  The evil of a cause is magnified by the courage of its devotees.  Communism aims at violent revolution, class extermination, and minority dictatorship; therefore, it is evil.  Communist dedication is a weapon of destruction.

            Christianity aims at peace, individual fulfillment, freedom, and eternal happiness.  Christian dedication is creative and most desirable.

            Che Guevara delivered a speech on October 2, 1962, to a meeting of communist youth in Cuba entitled, “On Being a Communist Youth.”  It was published in the Guardian, August 29, 1970, and is reprinted here:

Guevara:

            “I want to present to you now, comrades, my opinion, the vision of a national director of the ORI, of what a Young Communist should be.  We shall see whether we are all in agreement.

            “I believe that the first thing that should characterize a Young Communist is the honor he feels because he is a Young Communist: that pride that leads him to show the world he is a Young Communist.  He does not keep his honor secret or reduce it to formulas, but expresses it at all times; it comes from his spirit and he is inspired to demonstrate it because it is the symbol of his pride.

            “Besides this, there should be a great sense of duty toward the society we are building, as human beings, with our neighbors and with all the men of the world.

            “That is something that must characterize the Young Communist.  In addition to this, there should be a great sensitivity to all problems, a great sensitivity to injustice; an independent spirit whenever something arises that is not right, no matter what anyone says about it; to concern himself with all that he does not understand to discuss and ask for clarification of what is not clear; to declare war on formalism, on all types of formalism; to be always open to new experiences, to conform to the great experience of humanity, which for many years has been advancing on the path of socialism; to be aware of the concrete conditions of our country, to the realities that exist in Cuba; and to think—each and every one of us—about how to go about changing reality, how to improve it.

            “The Young Communist ought to decide to be first in everything to fight to be first, and to feel frustrated when he is forced to occupy any other place; to fight to be better, to be first.  Of course not everyone can be first, but one can be among the first, in the vanguard.  He should decide to be a living example, a mirror for those comrades who do not belong to the communist youth organizations; to be an example also to older men and women.  Those who have lost faith in life and a certain youthful enthusiasm always respond to inspiration and good example.  That is still another task for the Young Communist.

            “Together with all this, a great spirit of sacrifice, there ought to be a spirit of sacrifice not reserved for heroic days only, but for every moment.  One ought to sacrifice oneself to help a companion with his little jobs so that he can finish his work, his studies, so that he can improve in any way possible.  One ought always to be attentive to the human mass that surrounds one.

            “This means that every Young Communist must be essentially human, so human that he responds to the best in human beings, brings out the best a man has to offer by  means of work, study, and the exercise of continued solidarity with his people and with all the peoples of the world.  He must develop his sensibility to the maximum, to the point that he feels anguish when a man is assassinated in any corner of the world, and he feels elation when in some corner of the world a new banner of liberty is raised.

            “The Young Communist cannot be limited by the frontiers of a territory; he must practice proletarian internationalism and feel it as something of his own.  He must remember, as we all must remember—all those who aspire to be Communists here in Cuba—that he is a real and inspiring example for our whole America.  Even more than for America, he is an example for other countries of the world who fight on other continents for liberty against colonialism, against neocolonialism, against imperialism, against all the forms of oppression by unjust systems.  He ought to remember always that we are a lighted torch, that we are the same mirror that each of us is individually for the people of Cuba.  We are that mirror in order that all the peoples of America may see themselves, all the people of the oppressed world who are fighting for their liberty.  And we must be worthy of setting that example.  Every hour, every minute, we must be worthy.

            “This is what we believe a Young Communist ought to be.  And if we are told impossibilities, that one cannot find an almost archetypal human being among the masses of a people, we have to answer a thousand times that we can.  Yes, we can.  We know for a fact that a people can continue advancing, doing away with human pettiness, as we have been doing in Cuba during these four years of Revolution.  A people can perfect itself as we have all been perfecting ourselves, day by day, settling accounts intransigently with all those who lag behind and are not capable of marching to the rhythm of the Cuban Revolution.  It should be this way, it has to be this way, and it will be this way, comrades.  It will be this way because you are Youth Communists, creators of the perfect society, human beings destined to live in a world from which everything old and decadent, everything that represents a society whose foundations have just been destroyed, will have disappeared forever.

            “In order to achieve this, we all must work every day, work in the direction of inner improvement, of augmenting our knowledge and increasing our comprehension of the world around us.  We need to inquire and learn and become well acquainted with the why of things; to feel as one’s own the great problems of humanity.

            “Then, at a given moment on an ordinary day sometimes years from now—after making many sacrifices, yes, after perhaps having found ourselves often at the edge of destruction—having seen, perhaps, the demolition of our factories and having reconstructed them anew; after having witnessed the assassination, the murder of many of us and having rebuilt what may have been destroyed; after all of this—some fine day, almost without realizing it, we shall have created, together with the other peoples of the world, the communist society, our ideal.

            “Comrades, to speak to youth is a very great task.  One feels the desire to transmit many things youth already comprehends.  There are many things that I would like to say about all our endeavors and desires; about how, unfortunately, many of them are shattered when confronted with everyday reality and how we have to begin all over again; about the moments of weakness and about how contact with the people—with the ideals and the purity of the people—infuses in us renewed revolutionary fervor.

            “There are many things we could talk about.  But we must also fulfill our duties.  And I avail myself of this opportunity to explain, with completely malicious intention if you like, why I am leaving you.  I am leaving you because I am going to carry out my duty as a voluntary worker in a textile factory.  We are competing with groups in two other textile factories.

            “I want to tell you honestly, that the Ministry of Industry is last in competition, that we have to make a greater effort, constantly, to be able to progress, to be able to keep our promise to ourselves to be the best.  We aspire to be first because it is painful to be last in socialist competition.”  Page 11.

THE DRAGON SEEDS

            The Black Panthers are treating Jonathan Jackson, James McLain, and William Christmas as martyrs to the cause of communist liberation and are hoping that their example will inspire many to similar acts.

            These are the young men who died on August 7, when an attempt was made to free a San Quentin prisoner—defendant James McLain who was on trial in a San Marin courtroom in connection with the assaulting of a San Quentin prison guard with a knife in 1969.

            The attempt resulted in the death of the judge, Harold Haley, and the wounding of the deputy district attorney and a witness.

            Events proceeded as follows:  Jonathon Jackson, 17, stood up in the back of the courtroom about 11:00 a.m. on August 7, and called out, “This is it!  Everybody line up.”

            He tossed a pistol to defendant James McLain, 37, and McLain forced the deputies to remove the shackles from himself and Ruchell Magee, one of the witnesses.  Magee freed William Christman, 27.

            A sawed-off shotgun was taped to the neck of Judge Harold Haley, and he, District Attorney Gary Thomas, and three jurors were herded as hostages out of the court and into a small waiting delivery van.

            As the van pulled out of the parking lot, some 100 police, prison guards and deputies blocked the van and opened fire.  The final outcome was four dead and two wounded.

            The weapons used in the case were registered to Angela Davis, the communist who served as Professor of Philosophy at U.C.L.A.  Jonathan Jackson, who brought the weapons into the court, had been her bodyguard.  Angela Davis has been indicted for murder and at the time of writing is in flight to avoid prosecution.  The F.B.I. has placed her on its “10 most wanted” criminal list and warns that she may be armed and dangerous.

            When the Black Panthers and white radicals advocate violence and killing, this is often passed off as mere “rhetoric” which is protected by “freedom of speech.”  It is becoming increasingly clear that violent words lead to violent deeds.  This is no recent revelation.  The Bibles teaches, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”  I Cor. 15:33

            Prevention is better than cure.  Surely it is preferable to prevent the violence than to wait for it to happen and then attempt to punish the culprits.  It is then far too late to protect the victims.

            The advocacy of violence and killing should be made a crime punishable by law.  In this way the freedom of speech of many individuals would be preserved.

            A funeral for Jonathan Jackson and William Christmas was held in Oakland.  The eulogy was delivered by Huey P. Newton, founder and leader of the Black Panthers.  There was nothing but praise for the actions of the deceased and no word of sympathy for their victims.  Karen Wald of the Liberation News Service describes the funeral as follows:

            “Outside the old wooden church in Oakland’s black ghetto, 2000 black, brown, and white faces filled the sidewalks and streets.  They had been gathering there for hours, waiting in the hot sun.  Two lines of Black Panthers in black jackets and berets were all that kept the crowd in check.  But people were unusually quiet.

            “Two hearses pulled up in front of the church and the crowd in the streets moved back to make way for it.  A brown mahogany casket, followed by a grey one, was lifted out.  ‘Panthers, salute!’ a voice shattered the relative quiet.  Clenched black fists shot up into the air and fists from the crowd were raised in response.

            “Inside the church, Black Panther party chief of staff David Hilliard began the service quoting Che Guevara: ‘Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, reach some receptive ear and another hand reach out to wield our weapon and other men come forth to intone our funeral dirge with the staccato singing of machine guns and new battle cries of war and victory.’

            “Father Earl Neil, spiritual advisor to the Black Panther party, spoke of Jonathan Jackson, 17, who ‘offered his life for our liberation on Aug. 7, 1970.’  And of William Christmas, 27, the revolutionary prisoner who tried to escape with him.  James McClain, 37, the third, was given a separate Panther funeral in Los Angeles.  The three were slain when Jackson sought to free the two San Quentin prisoners in a courtroom confrontation that resulted in the death of a white judge as well as their own deaths.  Former UCLA philosophy instructor, Angela Davis, is being sought as the owner of the guns Jackson brought into the court.

An Example

            “Neil read three of many letters and telegrams received by the Jackson family.  One, a fiery moving statement from a Berkeley mother and another from the Berkeley National Committee to Combat Fascism, which affirmed: ‘Your son set an example for every revolutionary to follow. . .  You know, as all black mothers know, that youth will make the revolution.’

            “And then, Panther party minister of defense Huey P. Newton came forward to deliver the eulogy.  He began with a letter from George Jackson, Jonathan’s brother, a prisoner in Soledad prison, where he is on trial for his life.  Prison officials are charging George Jackson and two other blacks for the death of a white prison guard, killed two days after prison guards opened fire on prisoners, killing three blacks.  The letter will be the dedication to George’s forthcoming book:

            “To the manchild, tall, evil, graceful,

            bright eyes, black, manchild Jonathan Peter Jackson

            who died on August 7, 1970.

            Courage in one hand, the assault rifle in the other,

            My brother, comrade, friend

            the true revolutionary, the black communist guerrilla

            in the highest form of development.

            He died on the trigger, scourge of the unrighteous

            soldier of the people.

            To this terrible manchild and his wonderful mother,

Georgia B.,

            to Angela Y. Davis, my tender experience

            I dedicate this collection of letters

            To the destruction of their enemies

            I dedicate

            my life.

            “Newton then read a letter from a group of black prisoners in Soledad maximum security ‘O’ wing.  Fully aware of the possible repercussions, they asked that their names be read at the funeral ‘as being present in full ceremonial revolutionary dress: in mind, body and spirit.

New breed

            “‘And that these few words be said in our behalf; as coming from every black man in prison in the State of California who may not know brother Jonathan, but know well his brother George: Right on!. . .  To the first of a new breed of freedom fighters to ever tread on American soil in the history of the United States.  We bury the body but embrace the ongoing spirit of Jonathan Peter Jackson!’

            “Newton then told the people gathered in the church and those listening to the loudspeakers outside, that it was not Jonathan Jackson and William Christmas for whom we should weep.  ‘They have achieved freedom, and we remain slaves.  If we must weep, let it be for those of us that remain in bondage.’

            “He pledged that the Black Panther party would follow the example ‘set forth by these courageous revolutionaries’ and the accomplishment of their goals.

            “‘If the penalty for the quest of freedom is death,’ he asserted, ‘then by death we escape to freedom.’

            “He spoke of black people’s refusal to suffer any longer—the oppression they had endured for centuries, the determination to take up arms against the oppressor.  ‘They are not alone,’ he declared.  ‘We have allies everywhere.  We find our comrades wherever in the world we hear the oppressors whip.  People all over the world are rising up.  The high tide of revolution is about to sweep he shores of America—sweeping away the evil gentry and corrupt officials.’

A revolutionary lesson

            “Of Jackson and Christmas, he said: ‘They have taught us all a revolutionary lesson.  They have intensified the struggle and placed it on a higher level.’

            “But Newton did not end with the prepared eulogy.  After talking of the ultimate sacrifice made by Jackson and Christmas, he reaffirmed: ‘The people will not be intimidated.’  He warned that the government had better start following the Geneva agreements concerning the treatment of Prisoners of War.  And the first rule is that Prisoners of War always have the right to try to escape.  ‘We refuse to suffer any longer.  We refuse to gradually be killed through humiliation, degradation and the slow destruction of our humanity.’  Of the murder of Jackson, Huey declared, ‘They have struck down the best that humanity has produced. . . and for this they will pay the price.  These brothers didn’t have murder on their minds,’ Huey said, ‘they had freedom.’  Then, ending with the words intoed by James McClain in the courtroom before they escaped, one hand placed upon his gun instead of the Bible, Newton concluded:  ‘We have been enslaved for too many years.  The chains must be removed.  We must be free—so held us God.’  A chorus of ‘Right on!’ greeted his words and then silence as Father Neil, four Panther sisters and 12 brothers dressed in black led the two coffins out of the church.  The music of Elaine Brown singing ‘Seize the Time!’ was the only sound.  And as the family filed out, there were looks of sadness, but no tears.

            “The throng outside the church raised fists, shouted, ‘All power to the people!  All power to the revolutionary heroes!’ as the hearses pulled away.”  Guardian, August 29, 1970, Page 4.

THE BENEFICIARY OF THE RADICAL REVOLUTION

            Evidence accumulates that the ultimate beneficiary of the rise of the radical revolutionary movement will be the Communist Party.

            The contrast between the present financial condition of the independent radical newsweekly, The Guardian, and the West Coast Communist weekly, The People’s World, illustrates this.

            The Guardian tries to represent the broad spectrum of radical revolutionary doctrines and organizations which make up the so-called “Movement.”  It is a much better newspaper than the communist People’s World.  It is rent with internal discussion and faces a financial famine.  In its issue of August 22, it takes one whole page to plead for financial help to avoid being forced to cease publication.  Large headlines proclaim:

            “For Sale: one newspaper, independent, radical.”

            Below is the text:

            “We’re not actually taking bids yet.  Rather not take them at all.  If the Guardian was sold it would be to a second-hand office equipment dealer.  The paper itself, the idea, would be finished.

            “We’ve tried to be casual about our financial plight in the past.  Soft-sell approach.  As we begin our annual late summer-fall fund raising campaign it would be ridiculous to underplay our financial crisis.  Rising costs due to inflation, scarcity of money because of funds necessarily being spent by the left to fight repression, the costs of trying to recover from the attempted destruction of the paper a few months ago and the contradictions at play in the left today—all have trapped us in a situation where we must raise $25,000 above our usual income in the next two months to continue publishing.  Much of it must be raised in the next few weeks.  If we reach our goal, we’ll be secure for the next year.  If not, we face collapse.

            “Sometimes scare headlines describe scare stories.  This is a scare story.  Please contribute today.”  Guardian, August 22, 1970, Page 3.

            On the other hand the People’s World is in a record financial position.  In the issue of August 22, 1970, it states:

            “At the beginning of the year 1971 a major change will be made in The People’s World.  Operating from new facilities we will begin producing the paper with some of the latest modern equipment.  The change will be made possible through our relationship with a new printing operation being established in the Bay Area to serve the entire West Coast.

            “In making these changes we are acting with a new measure of confidence in the future, a belief that the continued growth of the democratic movements in this region and the increasing revitalization of the labor movement will make the need for the Left press even more critical and will serve as a base for its support.

            “During the next four months we will be expending much effort in the direction of improving and acquiring the skills necessary to do the job we have set for us.  One staff member will be in the East as part of an effort to expand and improve our coverage of the black liberation movement, another staff member is already in Europe, has already sent reports from the scene in Ireland and will wind up her stay at the Afro-Asian Film Festival in Tashkent, USSR.  Another reporter will be available for on the spot coverage of developments in Latin America.  We think these activities will contribute to the production of a greatly improved paper soon.

            “The readers and supporters of the People’s World are to be commended and thanked for the effort that went into supporting the paper so far this year.  They have laid the basis for the expansion upon which we are embarking.  Venceremos.”  Page 8.

            Don’t be diverted from the central communist threat!