Should Texans Be Afraid?
Most webheads join directly from www.cpusa.org. Then they send the info to Texas, then I contact you. If you want to hurry up, send to us and to national both. flittle7@yahoo.com; cpusa@cpusa.org. Dues are $5/month to CPUSA c/o Box 226147 Dallas Tx 75222. If there is a club in your area, I'll advise them. If there isn't one, then it's easy to start!
Texans Hear LeBlanc Talk about Joining CPUSA
Approximately 250 Texans took the opportunity to discuss today’s political situation with a Vice Chair of the Communist Party, USA, Judith LeBlanc, during her Texas tour April 16-25. LeBlanc carried out discussions in Corpus Christi, Austin, San Antonio, Denton, and Dallas. People’s Weekly World supporters in each area arranged meetings on short notice.
LeBlanc’s tour is a part of Communist Party leadership’s plan to travel to every corner of the United States to share observations about today’s political situation. At the national CPUSA convention, every American’s political views will provide the information needed to chart an historical course forward under the new conditions.
At the University of North Texas in Denton, LeBlanc talked with 50 students at a meeting co-sponsored by two campus organizations: the Greens Party and Action/Reaction. She opened with an explanation of the CPUSA pre-convention process and invited everyone to participate. The central thesis of her talk was, "Democracy is worth fighting for."
Most of the two-hour session consisted of questions and answers. Here are some of the questions from the Denton meeting and a meeting in Dallas that evening:
Q. What's the difference between socialism and communism?
A. Nowadays, there are a lot more similarities than differences. We work together on many issues.
Q. Does our tax money go to support corporations? (Corporate welfare)
A. Yes
Q. How can we deal with the radical Christian right on campus?
A. Start from points of agreement with them.
Q. How is CPUSA today different from the days of its connection with Hitler and Stalin?
A. Communists were the first victims of Hitlerism. Stalin’s leadership role came out of their place and time.
Q. Why would socialism work here in U.S. when it failed in Soviet Union?
A. Socialism, USA would not have the American military and economic might against it. Also, Americans have a totally different tradition.
Q. Why cut military spending?
A. A change in U.S. foreign policy would be the main way to change the world situation.
Q. What if Iraq or the Soviet Union attacked us?
A. (from the audience “To begin with, there is no Soviet Union…”) LeBlanc said that change would not happen all at once.
Q. What is religious makeup of CPUSA?
A. Diverse. A lot of non-religious members, but many religious ones. Part of the coming convention will be a Marxist/Christian dialogue.
Q. In regards to militancy. Are you pushing for violent overthrow?
A. We oppose violence. We sometimes support civil disobedience actions, but we don’t believe that’s the only way to change things.
Q. How would a communist government work?
A. It would grow out of the experiences and traditions of Americans.
Q. Why not change name of CPUSA?
A. Because it wouldn’t be honest.
Q. How would you protect Americans from someone like Stalin?
A. Individuals might always try to abuse their power, but building our party in the most democratic way possible is a good safeguard against it. Abuse of power is a lot more likely under capitalism than socialism.
Q. Look, I've earned this money. How can you take it away?
A. It’s just a myth that communist want to take away everybody’s money. Progressive taxation is a good thing. President Bush’s tax cut isn’t.
Q. Is CP more open than it used to be?
A. We’ve survived tough times since 1919. Things are a lot more open today.
Q. What does CP do for immigrants’ rights?
A. Mostly work with the labor coalition to further their new alliance with immigrants’ rights groups.
Q. What key issues do you see?
A. Utility bills, trade issues, racism (and several others).
Q. What is Marxism or Communism? How should we teach it?
A. We probably shouldn’t separate it out as a dry subject. We don’t all have to read Capital. It’s best when what we learn comes out of the struggles that are important to us.
Q. How can we fight globalization?
A. Most existing progressive organizations have a stake in the globalization issue. Many of them have already started. Join in.
Q. Is it better to join or to find other ways to connect with the Party?
A. It’s better to join, but that doesn’t mean you have to get up on the rooftops and yell your political affiliation any more than you would yell your religious ideas. You’ll be more effective as a member of a good collective; and the collective will benefit from your participation.
Q. Are there key issues for coalitioning?
A. Globalization is one that has already brought amazingly diverse groups together.
**//I'll try to answer each point embedded in people's questions:
On Wed, 19 Sep 2001 18:47:10 -0500 “Anonymous” writes:
IF A PERSON JOINS CPUSA, DOES HE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HIS ASSOCIATION WITH THE ORGANIZATION BECOMING PUBLIC?
//I don't know of that happening since the 1950s. But it's a legitimate question. It certainly happened in the 1920s and the 1950s.
DOES HE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE FBI VISITING HIS PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT AND JEOPARDIZING HIS EMPLOYMENT?
//Again, not for decades. I don't know if they might start that again or not.
ARE THERE PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS WHO SURREPTICIOUSLY OBTAIN MEMEBERSHIP
LISTS AND TRY TO HARM MEMBERS?
//I don’t know. If there are such groups, I don't think they ever succeeded in getting a list.
MAYBE I SOUND PARANOID,
//Not at all
BUT I WAS BORN IN TEXAS, AND IN THIS STATE EVEN HAVING LIBERAL TENDENCIES CAN
JEOPARDIZE YOUR JOB.
//Up until September 11, everybody I talked to said it was a "new world" and that the old days of vicious anti-communism were over. But most folks in Texas are cautious like you. Maybe we shouldn't be, I don't know. I still follow the old Party rule in that I never tell people if someone is a member, and I expect my friends to not tell about me. Every person makes up their own mind whom they tell. Lots of people know about me, but very few of them know my employers.
//With the internet, you can check up on us lots of ways without ever telling your name. Go to www.cpusa.org. Check out the newspaper while you're there.
//Read up and think it over. Then subscribe to the newspaper ($20 to 233 W 11th, NY 10011) and check it out for a while.
//The only folks I know of who just join and start telling everybody they joined are retirees or students who aren't that worried about their jobs. The rest of us are usually cautious to one degree or another; but I think a lot of people in the Party wish we weren't so cautious.
//Some really cautious people never join. They just open post office boxes. They subscribe to the People’s Weekly World, they send money, they send encouragement, they even write letters to the paper. We appreciate everything.
In solidarity
Jim Lane, People's Weekly World local correspondent in Dallas
Back to front
Your Feedback