LEFTIES ARE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS LEFTIES ARE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS Part One By Beth K. Lamont April 2009 And A Re-Introduction to Corliss Lamont’s You Might Like Socialism First Published in 1939 HALF-MOON FOUNDATION, INC. The Half-Moon Foundation was formed to promote enduring inter- national peace, support for the United Nations, the conservation of our country’s natural environment, and to safeguard and extend civil liberties as guaranteed under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Lefties Are In Their Right Minds Copyright © 2009 by Beth K. Lamont All rights reserved. Published by Half-Moon Foundation, Inc. ISBN 978-0-578-00782-3 You Might Like Socialism: A Way of Life for Modern Man Copyright © 1939 by Corliss Lamont Originally published by Modern Age Books, Inc. New York, NY Visit the Corliss Lamont Web site http://www.corliss-lamont.org/ Printed in the United States of America Preface Actually, there’s no need for you to read this book at all! The title sums up its whole thesis. When I say Lefties Are In Their Right Minds, I’m trying to give a whimsical approach to a very serious subject. The Righties of this world, who still believe that their might makes them right, have been wrong for too long. That’s why I’m urging: Lefties, it’s you who are right! Check-out a true Leftie-Life-Line: Pacifica Radio, especially its New York Station, @ FM 99.5 WBAI! We're gathering strength! We need to Unite! And what perfect timing. Unbridled Capitalism is in disgrace; I picture rowdy, irresponsible teenagers behaving badly and Big Daddy having to bail them out of jail. Ethical control in behalf of the best interests of Society should be the first commandment of a Democracy if it is to flourish, let alone prevail. Might does not make right! Those of you who object to this vision, and actually identify instead with the Righties, might just as well close these pages immediately. Reading any of these words is a total and complete waste of your time! Especially, if you believe that the Government of the United States of America, in its flaunting of military and economic power, deserves exceptional status, exempt from the laws of human decency, and deserves your own unquestioning obedience. Or worse, if you are convinced that this world is locked into some cataclysmic count-down in a battle between good and evil, then just don’t bother reading any further. My contribution to these pages constitutes one long Granny-rant, an extension of my blog. Simply write me off as another Peacenik, a wimp, a bleeding heart, a tree- hugger, an impractical idealist, completely out-of-touch with the “real dangers” that you believe we face. But if you believe as I do, that there’s hope for humankind, and that, with courage, compassion and creativity, and most of all respect, I repeat, respect, working together, we might interrupt and dismantle all mercenary “empire-building.” And that together, we will make the necessary changes that will produce a more humane and Humanistic Culture of Peace. People of the world are crying out for peace and justice! If you can envision a world that will allow us each to follow our dreams, and what’s even more important, to live our lives, unmolested,..... then please, Dear Reader, read on. Beth K. Lamont, 2008 Beth’s Blog: On this historical date of November 5th 2008 In my long lifetime there have been many moments of complete and ecstatic joy like the birth of my children. The election of Barack Obama, that brings tears of joy to my eyes, is right up there as an unforgettable event of my lifetime. Someone mentioned that this Man and his beautiful Family will occupy the White House that was built by slaves. As a Humanist who celebrates the natural world and sees no need for any supernatural entity, I actually wish, at this time, that there really were a magical protector we could invoke in behalf of our President Elect. He will be surrounded with adversity, especially attempting to divert him from his stated wish to make changes. Always, those who benefit from the status quo will resist change. And those of us who are screaming for change, long overdue, will be impatient and see compromise as, instead, capitulation. This Man has a "hard row to hoe!" He needs all the help and support that we can give him. His e-mail team is right on the ball, inviting our input, just as efficiently as it had invited our contributions. This is such a positive sign because accessibility is going to be essential. We have a cumulative history of being disrespected, discarded and rebuffed. We are invited to go to: http://www.change.gov/. I hope that, besides providing information, this Web site will become an official two-way interactive site, and will be inundated with good suggestions from The People! I’ve already made a few suggestions on some of the multitude of problems that we face as a nation. Have you? Your perspective, gleaned from your own experience and your wisdom is needed. This is actually a nation OF, FOR, and BY THE PEOPLE! We are a majority of ethical, hard-working and generous Americans. We will have a real democracy, and we must not allow our best interests to be thwarted, ever again! ~ ~ ~ My Son, Tim, just sent a message that astounded me. I see no mention of it in Corliss's works. He surely would have quoted it had he learned of it. In 1802, one hundred years before Corliss was born, Thomas Jefferson made this prophetic statement: "I believe that the banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." In 1939 Corliss Lamont wrote a book entitled, You Might Like Socialism ~ Well, . .sorry, Corliss; they didn’t like it then, and they don’t like it now! But, here are three provocative questions: Who the hell are the “theys?” How did we ever get Socialized Capitalism? and What are we going to do about it? ~ ~ ~ This book is dedicated with love to the memory of Corliss Lamont Lefties Are In Their Right Minds! A Re-Introduction to Corliss Lamont’s 1939 book: YOU MIGHT LIKE SOCIALISM Introduction/update by Beth K. Lamont, wife, widow of Philosopher, Corliss Lamont About Lefties: We know that the left side of the human body is controlled by the right side of the brain. Therefore, I declare for all the world to recognize, that Lefties are in their Right Minds! And who, in their right mind, could dispute this anatomical, scientific fact? But it is the symbolism that I appreciate. Lefties of the world are still scorned and maligned by the powerful for their Socialistic concepts, but they are the ones who champion the rights of the workers, the minorities, the indigenous, the persecuted, and the exploited. They dream of and demand true equality and a real Democratic society. The analogy is even further symbolic in that the left is where the heart is. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, speaking at the United Nations recently, reminded us of this fact, that on the left is the location of the heart. Even the valentine, a caricature of the human heart, is a symbol of love and caring, expressing compassion and nurturance. These expressions are the essence of family, the heartfelt concern for those we love. This heartfelt concern can extend also to the whole human family. Some humans are already thoroughly immersed and actively involved in this recognition of Universal Human Rights. If some of the family is in pain, we are all in pain. In this present stage of human societal evolution, with its tantalizing potential for using universal peace-making mechanisms that might eventually render old fears and hatreds obsolete, and in this age of instant world-wide personal communications, the ultimate recognition that all Earthlings are of equal value and that all life itself is precious, is inevitable. That is, if we don’t blow ourselves into oblivion first! Corliss Lamont fervently believed that we could make changes Corliss Lamont had been so inspired by the actual Ten Days That Shook The World, the actual Revolution by the People, the ideals of which appealed to the masses, that he made it a subject of his research. In 1939 he published what he hoped would be a reasonable and appealing explanation of a planned economy with full employment and other features of this new People’s Movement that had the potential of sweeping the world. Thinking to offset the onslaught of propaganda that was pronouncing Socialism to be a frightening specter, and wishing instead to create a popular appeal, idealist and perennial optimist that he was, Corliss decided to entitled his book You Might Like Socialism. I’m prompted to repeat that “they didn’t like it then, and they don’t like it now! But, the ideals of a Democratic Socialized Society are needed urgently now more than ever before. If you describe each feature, one by one, and how it will benefit the people, there will be applause! These benefits have their own appeal and might be consistent with the freedom and equality to which we Americans aspire; but once you label them with the dreaded S-word or the despised C-word, you scare the pie out of the brainwashed average person on the street.