Yes; I've noticed the Alinsky-style tactics too, CynicalBear — e.g., as directed against spirited irish and Kevmo.
IMHO, Saul Alinsky was one of the greatest intellectual swindlers of all time.
The Amazon entry for Rules for Radicals goes like this:
First published in 1971, Rules for Radicals is Saul Alinsky's impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know “the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one.” Written in the midst of radical political developments whose direction Alinsky was one of the first to question [???], this volume exhibits his style at its best. Like Thomas Paine before him, Alinsky was able to combine, both in his person and his writing, the intensity of political engagement with an absolute insistence on rational political discourse and adherence to the American democratic tradition. [???] [emphasis added]Got some great PR going for him right there.
Here is Alinsky's "Dedication" of that book:
“Lest we forget at least an over the shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”Here is a "radical community organizer," widely considered [by sociocultural zombies and radical progressives] a passionate champion of human social betterment, of "constructive social change." And yet he dedicates his magnum opus to Satan. And then misleads us by saying that Lucifer/Satan — the first radical — "won his own kingdom." Suggesting he had wrested it away from God, taking God's property "for himself," and keeping it.
But Lucifer/Satan did not take God's property, nor could he: That is entirely beyond possibility, even for an archangel. In no way does his Fall diminish God in any respect. Rather, God accommodated Lucifer's desire for "his own kingdom" by creating Hell — which is a "place" that has been entirely abandoned by God.... It has no Light; no Grace; no Love; no Truth; no Justice; no Salvation.
Bottom-line, Alinsky is an anarchist and a nihilist. He wants to take a wrecking ball to the American system, but not so much to raze the ground for some new more perfect development. Alinsky is not a stupid man. He knows that utopian schemes never work. He's not a "builder"; he is simply a wrecker, a perfect example of Satanic spite.
Well, just some thoughts re: a very Great Myth, FWIW.
Dear CynicalBear, you wrote: "It seems to me that truth is truth no matter where it is spoken. Falsehoods need to be exposed no matter the forum."
I so agree!!!
On that point, let me close with an observation from Eric Voegelin:
"The spiritual disorder of our time, the civilizational crisis of which everyone so readily speaks, does not by any means have to be borne as an inevitable fate; [but], on the contrary, everyone possesses the means of overcoming it in his own life.... No one is obliged to take part in the spiritual crisis of a society; on the contrary, everyone is obliged to avoid this folly and live his life in order."Thank you so much for writing!
Isn’t it amazing how understanding what scripture says helps us understand what is happening around us in this world.
And yet Kevmo's charge of "God Damned Heretic" and spirited irish's application of "Damnable Heresy" to opinions expressed by yours truly, BroJoeK -- those are not Alinsky tactics??
Ms boop, what's wrong with this picture?