“The evils of capitalism are as real as the evils of militarism and evils of racism.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
For anyone whose heart is broken daily, as mine is, by the horrors of the world in which we live, I would recommend this book. Dellinger somehow maintained an indefatigable spirit of resistance to the evils of American society despite the abuses he suffered as a result of his work.
Dellinger was many things: draft resister during WWII, a target of the FBI, a comrade of AJ Muste, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jerry Rubin, Bayard Rustin, and others. More than anything, though, he was consistent in his belief that non-violent resistance is the only effective way to win lasting peace and justice.
The book, published in 1993, seems to have been written in an entirely different world than our post-GWOT, post-pandemic reality. Maybe it was. But the failure of the uprisings of the summer of 2020 to bring about substantive change highlights the two most dangerous enemies of any movement for justice: violence and electoral politics.
Many of us on the left know now, as Dellinger learned long ago, that moderation is the enemy of peace and justice. The Democratic Party is only too happy to absorb and deaden the energy of radical movements for peace and justice. We cannot rely on the moderate who tells us to “take things slow” just as we cannot rely on the incendiary who tells us to take up violence: both might as well be FBI plants regardless of whether they truly are or not. The effect is the same.
Dellinger recognized that the true spiritual identity of America cannot be found in militarism but in resistance to militarism, capitalism, and racism. An active and intransigent love for our fellow human beings is our only hope for survival in the era of climate catastrophe and American imperial rot.
The psychic damage of unending warfare is visible all across the United States. The blood of school children murdered in Sandy Hook and Uvalde is the communion wine of our twisted civic religion which places property rights above human rights and makes an idol of the soldier.
Dellinger tells his story plainly and with deep candor and humility. He eschews hero worship both of himself and of those with whom he marched. He does not shy away from the very human failings of Dr. King and is rightly critical of the milquetoast legacy that has been attached to the Civil Rights leader.
The book is, of course, no longer in print. But we will never lack for opportunities to take radical action in this country. If we guard ourselves both against violence and the temptation to become politically “legitimate” then we can be better prepared for the next spark.
Until this country truly lives up to its lofty promises, sparks will always be in our midst just waiting for fuel. It’s up to us to learn how to fan the flames.
*cover photo by Julio Cortez, AP, May 2020
An Unhappy Consciousness 