"Coming In On Cats' Feet"

coordinates a million dollar direct mail, network which funnels donations into election campaigns for politicians such as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). A powerful organization that is well funded, the New Right plans to remake the politics of this country with considerable grassroots support and participation.

Although the size of the crowd at the Ohio convention seems to validate the idea of grassroots support, witnessed little evidence of grassroots participation. People were generally divided into what I would call a "followership" and a "leadership". The followers. are new to the RTL political movement, unused to attending workshops, articulating their values in public, or relating to a sophisticated organization. Al Friedl, a professor at Kent State University and chairman of the Ohio RTL Political Action Committee, described the activities with which followers are most comfortable, such as holding bake sales, writing personal letters to newspapers, and working at information booths at county fairs. "Political action," Fried points out, "has been a dirty word. You've been above all that. We have to get involved because they are taking over. Not many judges care whether we do these little things. We have not been talking their language. We have to get out the vote and elect men and women who do." In most of the workshops I attended the followers sat quietly and listened.

The way in which leadership handles questions or criticisms seems to reinforce that silence. At one point a long-haired Jesus-person, well known in Cleveland for his solitary counter-demonstrations at Pro-Choice pickets, asked why the RTL forces did

not link up, their push for the Human Life Amend-, ment with support of the ERA. Philosophically, he reasoned, each speaks to the moral issue of equal rights for human beings. After the snickering subsided, one of the leaders, Ann Higgins, a public, rela tions director of Americans for Constitutional Convention, smiled mildly and retorted, "There's no sense in having equal rights if you're,not born. We've got to get that settled first.” Another young man in a different workshop asked the Cuyahoga County Chairman of the Elect-Reagan Campaign why one should vote for Reagan. If the RTL people are truly in favor of the principle of the value of human life, shouldn't they also oppose the draft, capital punishment and nuclear power? There's a "problem of inconsistency," he suggested, and wanted to know why he hadn't heard very much about these issues. The moderator replicd that she would call on someone "who had something to say". In other sessions 1 attended, the scenarios were similar-grassroots participation was snuffed out.

The leaders are highly authoritarian. They present themselves as intense, articulate, and aggressive. Some are brought in from Washington, D.C. They are mostly male, white, professional, and very slick. The younger men who do not speak as forcefully are quickly interrupted. Overall competition for "speaking time" is fierce. The women who occupy leadership positions share similar qualities. Yet their attitude is less jaded and cynical. They smile a lot, not at people around them, but rather at the open space ahead as they careen down the halls or rise to address an audience.

The leadership has lifted much of their language

Ways to Propose a Constitutional Amendment

There are two ways to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution:

(1) through Congress, where 2/3 of the House and 2/3 of the Senate members vote to pass the amendment, and 2/3 of the states ratify it; or

(2) through a constitutional convention (Con-Con) called for by 34 state legislatures.

Right-to-Life believes it has, for example, 34 to 36 solid anti-choice votes in the Senate, but needs a total of 66 Senators. RTL thinks it has a majority of votes in the House. Some RTL leaders predict that the Human Life Amendment will be passed in Congress within 2 to 6 years. Others insist it will take longer to make headway in the Senate by unseating pro-choice Senators during elections. This faction has initiated the Con-Con movement within the state legislatures. So far, 19 states have called for Con-Con: Arkansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Louisiana, New Jersey, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Utah, Rhode Island, Delaware, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama and Idaho. In Ohio, a proposal calling for Con-Con has been stalled in subcommittee. Ohio RTL will re-introduce a more broadly defined proposal in January 1981. One of the most important actions you can take is to vote for pro-choice candidates on state and fedu.al levels. If you need information on pro-choice stands, call CARAL at 522-0169. If you don't vote but want to get involved, you can volunteer time at EFCO (Sat. 11-3). Call Sue at 621-8224.

Self-Righteous Quotes from "Right-to-Life”

"With regard to rape, we are speaking of a comparatively rare situation....it can be seen that the incidence of pregnancy resulting from rape is but a small fraction of 1 percent....From the standpoint of a basis for legislation, the percentage is not sufficiently significant to justify a substantial alteration of legislative policy for fact situations which are more often than not incapable of corroborative proof." "If, in fact, a child is conceived as a result of rape, let us not forget that that child is no less human because of the circumstances....This fact can best be realized by considering the life of Ethel Waters...black star of stage, screen, recording and television...conceived as a result of a rape of her mother when her mother was 12 years old....In today's mentality, Ethel Waters would have been aborted and the world would have lost a woman whose contribution to mankind could not have been matched by any other person....That child is every bit as likely to be a great citizen of the world as any child of a planned pregnancy."

"With regard to incest...the facts which give rise to the alleged exception would be highly difficult to corroborate. And furthermore, the definition of incest varies from state to state.... [In addition, the Scripture] depicts the geneaology of Jesus Christ as flowing from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter.... (Gen. 19:36-37-Lot's older daughter, pregnant by her father, gives birth to Moab. Ruth 4:13-22-Ruth, a Moabite, marries Boaz and gives birth to Obed, grandfather of King David. Matthew 1:1-16-Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of the Messiah, is a direct descendant of the union of Boaz and Ruth.)"

from the progressive movement. Reminding followers that the "genesis of our political action" began when the RTL presidential candidate, Ellen McCormack, won 36,000 votes in 1976, onc leader urged the followers to become "militant activists” andpraised the "protestors who sit in at abortion clinics and demonstrate the kind of willingness to give their life and their future" to the movement. Followers are encouraged to follow suit.

The leadership uses what they call “consciousnessraising" to reach new constituencies. The Reagan inan laid out the facts of political life: “If you're sutecessful and win by electing Reagan, the issue wins, too, even with less than a 1 percent margin of the votes." If Reagan becomes President, in other words, an emotional climate has been created that suggests that the anti-abortion issue has won as well. People who are "fence-sitters" begin to believe that the majority of Americans have changed their minds, i.e., they oppose abortion. The drift toward conservatism appears real, applying subtle pressure on the majority to conform to the new value system.

In a recently published book, Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America, Bertram Gross describes the kind of manipulation of mass consciousness which can slowly overwhelm the mind. It apppears that people are "freely" choosing a solution to present social ills. In his review of Gross' book, Philip Brener (In These Times, Sept. 17-23, 1980) explains how this change occurs:

Friendly fascism could differ from the 30's variant [the rise of Hitler] in the way it cmerges-not through violent usurpation but "rather through the gradual and silent encroachments that would accustom the American people to the destruction of their freedoms." Coming in on cat's feet would not make fascism any less ugly than before, only less heralded.

As the pressure to conform becomes a psychological necessity during this change, it is rationalized and no longer perceived as such.

I stopped by the Pro-Family Forum table to ask a woman about her organization's position on sex education in the school system. She showed me pamphlets on the evils of "humanism" and "atheism". "What exactly," I asked, "don't you like about sex education?" "Well," she said, "we're not against teaching students about reproductive physiology. You know, that there's an egg and the sperm, and so on. But these teachers tell kids about the stages of intercourse, and just about tell them how to do it. They use values clarification and encourage students to come up with their own values without giving them any moral teaching. That just pressures the quiet ones to try it for themselves." "Have you ever witnessed one of these groups?" "No," she said, "but my son tells me about them." "Well, then, when do you think a woman should learn about her sexuality?" The woman's eyes grew bright as she giggled, "When...when she gets married, of course. And anyway, what do you have to know about it to begin with? I had three children without ever knowing a thing!"

The "leap of faith" mentality is no longer confined to the religious experience; it is fused with the political. It puts doubt aside with "now or never" fervor. It puts faith in the hands of its leaders. The RTL leadership openly acknowledges its concern with the sheer acquisition of power as its most immediate goal. Their contempt for people, not as smart or quick as they, frightens me. It is difficult to say to what degree the followers will identify with them.

The Reagan man closed his workshop with a touch of friendly advice for the followers: "Don't waste your time trying to convert the pro-choice activists. No matter how much that means to your ego, we are going after the 'swing voter,' the person without firm convictions." My own advice to fence-sitters: Look before you leap. And for those on our side, get moving and get involved. There's a storm brewing.

October, 1980/What Sne Wants/Page 3