Literary Review of the Unraveling of America by Allen Matusow
The book by Matusow describes the 1960s through different persepectives. The first section details the importance of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his presidency in allowing America to improve despite the existence of socialism. Kennedy's presidency displayed how classical liberalism helped improve the United States by fighting for Civil Rights, using Keynesian economics to get the country out of a recession, created jobs, prioritized schools, wanted to send a man to the moon in the Space Race against the Soviet Union, created the Peace Corps, and fought agaist socialism. Kennedy was a bureaucrats nightmare for choosing to improve the United States through jobs and educations consistent with Christianity, Democracy, and capitalism. (Nixon is described in positive terms at times while he was a crook while Kennedy was criticized concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy was described having a "personal vendetta against Castro" while Castro had nuclear weapons pointed at the US in Cuba. It seems that Kennedy was defending the US against Cuba and there was no vendetta, but actually removal of nuclear threats. Kennedy is described being impressive throughout the book yet at times is criticized unfairly in the book. This is while racist affluent socialists in SDS are described being a part of the Civil Rights Movement.)
The book also significantly contrasts the mid 1960s when the disillusionment from Kennedy's assassination attempted to discourage Americans from being idealistic and courageous (Socialists envied JFK including Hoover, Sullivan and Nixon for being an impressive and innovative leader who practiced empathy and was a real Catholic Christian). The socialists attempted to cause a racial and class war between American citizens because the US had improved under Kennedy who was a classical liberal. The "counter culture" movement was created by socialists to prevent any further improvements by conservatives and classical liberals in the US. The socialists wanted Americans fighting against Americans based on race. (Racist socialists wanted to keep segregation and were oppressing and persecuting the Civil Rights Movement activists. The intention was for racist socialist bureaucrats to radicalize African Americans and minorities into aggression and violence against Caucasian racists so that bureaucrats could propagate further conflict and division so that there was no unity. The Civil Rights Movement kept civility and prevented a race war that was intended by the socialist bureaucrats in the 1960s.) Then the socialists in 1964 and 1965 attempted to foment class war. The bureaucrat socialists denied grants to Civil Rights activists like Farmer for ending segregation on buses, trains, and airplane while they gave grants to socialist "intellectuals". The socialist propaganda promoters gave free paychecks to poor socialists in order to instigate race and class war. Socialist "intellectuals" made propaganda to instigate class and race warfare identifying themselves with the oppressed while being affluent. (While being affluent they also helped themselves to tax payer funds.) The intention was not equality but fomenting division and chaos. Despite all of this, Americans citizens still kept integrity and did not give in to incivility and violence. Idolatry was seen shapeshifting since the 40s from socialist nazism to beats to hippies to materialism to SDS to racism to marxism to rock and roll to the Liberation Party to weatherman to Black Panthers to communism to bureaucracy. Socialism is deception and does not have a stable basis. Despite the different iterations of tempting to disobey the commandments of Moses, socialism fails. We are created to practice empathy and not envy.
Socialism is the Source of the World's Problems
In contrast to the start of the book that describes an impressive United States under classical liberal, JFK, the book also describes how socialism and counterculture attempted to diminish and decrease the United States in the mid 1960s. The book concludes that the existence of socialism in the mid 1960s contributed to the election of Ronald Reagen in the 1980s and clear repudiation of marxism in the US. This does not mean that socialism has disappeared but means that the socialists became covert socialists. The book describes how college affluent students were indoctrinated (and deceived) by socialist agents who may also have been FBI agents such as Black Panthers H. Rap Brown and Carmichael, Mark Rudd, LeRoi Jones, Marcuse, Savio, and Brown. The socialist agents preached hate and racism in order to cause a class and racial war between Americans. Affluent college students also decided to rebel against a quality education preferring to foment division in SDS and also shutting down classes for others. Despite such opposition from marxists against Education, Democracy, capitalism, and genuine empathy, it is stated that only 1 out of 5 students were marxists in 1967. Despite the abrasiveness and foolishness of marxists, only 1 out of 5 college students were socialists. This helps us know that the majority of students in the United States and in the mid 1960s preferred Christianity, Democracy, and capitalism to marxism.
While marxism wanted to eradicate classical liberalism and conservatism, it was actually socialism that declined in the 1960s and later led to the popularity of humble conservatism that was anti-establishment under Carter and Reagen. Despite the oppressiveness and negativity of marxism, moderates were able to persist protecting Democracy and capitalism from racist marxists. Instead classical liberalism and conservatism increased, and marxist counter culture (not actually culture but heathenism) declined. This was described in how racist socialist groups declined in the 1960s including SDS, weatherman, Black Panthers, marxists, and progressive liberal party. SDS declined seen in how students were barricading universities instead of helping others get a quality education. Instead of fighting the source of inequality that is socialism and socialists, affluent college students trashed their universities and cities. Socialists fought against police in order to be allowed to trash schools and universities. Marxists went to schools and staged sit ins to indoctrinate students in socialism. When confronted with the National Guard on different occassions, the coward socialists dispersed. Marxist students only fought against police when they had more numbers and never against marshalls and the National Guard. Matusow described in great detail the cowardice of marxist affluent students who were neither fighting for the working class nor for their own betterment but for disorder and non-sense. Marxist affluent students wanted to end Democracy and capitalism and instead created a rise in moderates and conservatives who saw that marxism is essentially parasitic and deleterious.
Constructive Criticism Concerning How the Civil Rights Movement Had Nothing To Do With Racism and Marxism
At times the book describes that the racist and marxist groups originated from the Civil Rights Movement. This is a lie. The Civil Rights Movement was anti-violence and anti-segregation. The racist groups and marxist groups were pro-violence and pro-segregation. The Civil Rights Movement is mutually exclusive from the racist marxist groups because pacifism has nothing to do with aggression. The book at times makes statements that the marxist groups were with the Civil Rights Movement, helped, or were derived from the Civil Rights Movement. This is a lie. Independent individuals who may have become radicalized and chosen to practice marxism in the times of the 1960s were no longer Civil Rights activists. Yet it may have been that marxists attempted to obfuscate the truth by calling themselves Civil Rights Activists in order to blame the Civil Rights Movement for riots and looting. This was also to make it appear that Democrats were distruptive and chaotic when in fact it was marxists who were rioting and looting. Marxists projected their evil actions onto Classical Liberals and Christians. (The book was written in the 70s or 80s and may have not conflagrated marxists with the Civil Rights Movement and classical Liberals with malicious intent. The book does describe that marxists were disruptive and disobedient and actually the source of conflict and quarreling). However at times it does criticize Civil Rights leaders with intense scrutiny (MLK could have retired early from the Civil Rights Movement in 1964) while easing off on Hoover (lied to JFK about MLK being a communist and Hoover kept bugging MLK until 1966, yet JFK is described as having allowed the espionage. Hoover was responsible for the espionage and also persecuted JFK and MLK), Sullivan, and Nixon (a "reformed" Nixon was a lie because Nixon was always a crook). Civil Rights Activists kept their integrity and values and were never a part of socialism. Although the book does describe marxist groups as the culprit of the instability in the 1960s.
"[Describing 1961] Participatory democracy was SNCC's implicit goal, anarchism its intuitive philosophy."- (page 346)
"How black power evolved out of the civil rights movement and then failed ideological challenge was one of the decade's more melancholy stories."- (page 345)
The author described that in 1961, SNCC's goal was "participatory democracy" when in fact it was desegregation and enfranchising disenfranchised African-Americans. Initially in the early 1960s, SNCC was working by using pacifism and civil disobedience consistent with MLK's beliefs. The goal was not anarchism nor marxism that was called "participatory democracy" by socialists that included rioting, looting, and harassment. The goal of SNCC in 1961 was breaking apart racist segregation laws in public places and educating African-Americans on their voting rights. This could hardly be called anarchism or "participatory democracy" that was used by marxists to call for harassment of liberals and conservatives. The description was not true because anarchism and harassment was used by marxists in 1965 and was described as "participatory democracy". SNCC in 1961 was harassed and reviled by racist socialists for educating disenfranchised African-Americans on their voting rights and helping them learn how to vote. Racist socialists were actually anarchists and used "participatory democracy" against SNCC in 1961 for educating and helping their African American brethen to exercise their right to vote.
There was a specific quote that described that nationalism (hating other nationalities or ethnicities) "evolved" from the Civil Rights Movement, yet it actually originated from marxism. The socialist Caucasian racists oppressed pacifist African Americans, Caucasians, and minorities in order to lead to a race war. Racist and idolatrous African Americans and minorities attempted to radicalize individuals to use violence and aggression against racists in order to keep promoting violence and racism. The righteous Civil Rights Activists were not a part of calling for violence and resisted hate. To equate the marxist racists to Civil Rights is to equate unneeded war with pacifism or racism with equality.
MLK preached non-violence and pacifism throughout his protests and activism. He also led others to civil disobedience rejecting rioting and looting that was what H. Rap Brown and Carmichael were calling for while they were infiltrating SNCC leadership since the mid-1960s. Because the Civil Rights Movement had desegregated public spaces in 1964 and was looking to eliminate Jim Crowe voter discrimination laws and housing segregation, Hoover and the FBI probably trained, funded, and supported H. Rap Brown and Carmichael to oppose MLK. SNCC was being infiltrated and led to socialism and racism since they had helped desegregate buses, trains, and airplanes with James Farmer and were looking to educate disenfranchised semi-literate voters on their voting rights teaching them how to read and vote. The socialist racists including H. Rap Brown, Carmichael, Newton, Cleaver, and Seal tried to lead African Americans to a race war while racist Caucasian socialists (Hoover, Sullivan, Nixon, Wallace, and the FBI) were instigating for violence through racism. While H. Rap Brown and Carmichael were calling for violence, there were riots and looting that occured in 1965.
"Martin Luther King was on the streets during the riot, preaching nonviolence."- (page 362)
MLK was in the streets and in the slums during some of the rioting telling African Americans not to riot and loot. The Civil Rights Movement never called for violence and instead called for civil disobedience through peaceful resistance. H. Rap Brown and Carmichael were partly responsible for the rioting and looting along with Caucasian socialist racists who were instigating African Americans, non idolatrous Caucasians, and minorities through intimidation, revilings, and harrassment. Despite the instigation and calls for aggression from jihadi socialists in the Black Panthers, Caucasian socialist terrorists in the Weatherman and FBI racist socialists, the vast majority of African Americans decided to persevere practicing non-violence and civil disobedience. There were also pacifist, anti-socialism, and non-racist Caucasians who fought for the Civil Rights Movement. The FBI attempted to prevent Caucasians and African Americans from working together to end racism and wanted a race war in 1965. (Carmichael told SNCC members that Caucasian members of SNCC should be expelled despite also risking their lives to end racism. Carmichael, prior to Mark Rudd doing the same, told students in a college to oppress the administration and demand for a marxist and socialist education instead of a liberal education causing conflict. )
"They [African American socialists and marxists] looted not in the name of socialism but because looting was one way to acquire the material possessions that they believed, in typical American fashion, would make them happy."- (page 364)
This statement is false since socialism calls for stealing and aggression. To justify looting by blaming capitalism seems a bit dishonest. Capitalism is to be blamed for not dominating and resisting envy and coveting? It is not socialism's fault for the rioting and looting, it is capitalism and Christianity's fault? No! (This is the faulty and disingenous argument being made.) Seems illogical and permissive of sin, consumerism, idol worship, looting, rioting, and socialism or as socialists call it "participatory democracy". Socialists were looting in the name of marxism and communism. Socialist rioters were also receiving free paychecks from OEO offices for community action instructed by Bobby Seale, LeRoi Jones, and Saul Alinsky.
