The Hindu religion has a goddess named Kali. Kali is known as the all powerful destroyer. She is usually depicted as black (the eternal night), open-mouthed with the tongue hanging out, four armed, holding weapons and a bloodied, severed head (quite the image).
Recently, I watched a video discussion between Pat Caddell, longtime Democratic Party strategist, and David Horowitz, former 60’s radical and current conservative commentator and writer. I’ve posted the two-part video below.
(As a former member of sds, I can testify that Horowitz has the credentials to know what he is talking about when it comes to the 60’s radicals. He was one of the editors of Ramparts magazine and we, in “the movement”, all read Ramparts).
As the Caddell/Horowitz discussion progressed I came to see some things that hadn’t quite been clear before. The 60’s radicals, many of whom are now directly or indirectly a part of the Obama administration, specialize in destruction. They specialize in tearing things down. They are modern day Kalis.
Let me clarify some misconceptions that many conservative commentators have about sds. First, we believed in participatory democracy, not communism or socialism. Those of us who were part of the working class and attended state universities in the Midwest came from lower and working class families that were primarily voting Democrats.
People like David Horowitz came from educated middle class families and their parents were communists or communist sympathizers. They ultimately destroyed sds and the more violent became part of the Weather Underground.
Ok, they came to sds to destroy it. So, what happened after the destruction and the Weather Underground proceeded to start blowing things up?
The working class kids, the first generation of their families to ever go to college, dropped out of politics and went back to the land. Yes, that was the beginning of the back to the land movement, the settling in of the counter culture in small towns and rural counties, the forming of community, the organic gardening movement, home schooling, and on and on. We became important contributing members of our towns and communities.
The point I’m getting to is that these very same people who destroyed sds are now in the process of destroying the organizational structure of our government and, hard as this is to believe, something really good is going to come out of it.
A friend recently sent me a book that is part of series called The Ringing Cedars Series. The books are Russian in origin and tell the purportedly true story of a wonderfully evolved woman named Anastasia, who lives somewhere in Siberia.
Anastasia was born in the forest, raised without clothes, food cultivation or man-made shelter. She lives close to nature. Without going into the details of this story, which is written down in nine books by a man named Vladimir Megres, the result has been the development of eco-villages, gardening, alternative education, and, well, everything we did in the 60’s when we went back to the land only it is happening in Russia today.
I have been predicting for months now that this year will be a pivotal year for our country. I believe there will be a “peasant revolt” manifesting in the USA. I really think the “revolt” will come in many forms, from Tea Party protests to yet again a group of people deciding to drop out and go back to the land.
So, I can see the value of having Obama Kali as president, along with all of his anti-capitalist side kicks, running around taking down the existing structures. Because I don’t think it is going to turn out the way they think; I don’t think the USA is going to go the path of communism or all-out socialism; I think, instead there is going to be a flowering of small businesses, small farms, small gardens, small schools, and I think it will be beautiful. Just hang on to your hats, because it’s going to be quite the ride.
Below are the videos for the Caddell/Horowitz discussion.
Thank you for this post. I see these 60s radicals exactly the way you describe here in the context of a manifestation of the principle of destruction, and sometimes feel intense distress at the implications. Your voice of experience and your positive vision for the future is very, very helpful and encouraging.
To see the manifesters of destruction revealed has been a shocking awakening. I'm a child of the 70s, so much of their earlier 'work' was before my time or beyond my ken. As an adult I assumed they were relegated to a past era.
This is my first visit here and am glad to have found your blog. I love your posting on meditation, prayer and spiritual topics.
Posted by: perries | February 10, 2010 at 09:18 AM