the what-is-to-be-done problem may or may not hit us and

Daniel A. Foss (U17043@UICVM.BITNET)
Sat, 9 Mar 1996 13:44:57 CST

tion, seemingly of exiguous probability at this time. The probability of actual
military or other Rightist subversion is however not necessarily negligible
under all circumstances. Those who might have acted to prevent such an outcome
commit a moral violation to the extent that they may have in objective reality
possessed the means (weapons, political strings, making concessions, refusal
to make concessions) to have prevented the Rightist takeover. Those who, howev-
er, act violently in defense of the existing regime in the belief that they
thereby preclude the violent Rightist takeover *which is not going to happen*
also commit a moral violation, in that they have perpetrated violent acts
against defenders of due process of law, disrupt the regular rhythm of elector-
al politics, and will almost certainly find themselves obliged to lie as to
the magnitude of the Rightist threat they took action against. Having started
out avowed defenders of electoral democracy, the premature anti-rightists would
have abolished electoral democracy, in the sequellae of disfranchisement of
targeted subversives, infliction of disabilities or imposition of illegalities
upon political parties, organizations, agencies, and other entities harbouring
a Rightist ambience.

I went through screaming horrors (though never etically screamed) last night
laying bestlaidplans over and over and overagain, without coming up with an
airtight method for mobilization in advance of the anticipated coup which did
no good, or mobilization too slow to have done any better in that the insurgent
Right gets the jump on the pro-democracy elements.

Much, I figure, will depend on evolving and unstable relations between the
occupational hierarchy, the uniformed services including the police, the rates
of political participation, and degree of party differentiation. (A real mess,
in other words.)

In the memorable words of My Mother, "May God strike me dead if I ever went
through a night like this!"

O let us pray to whatsoever nonexistent deity we please, that we lie there
or jump, we go offside or keep our involvement in the game to a minimum, but
whatsoever we do do, we get away with it tout entiere.

daf