From the cover of the Students for a Democratic Society introductory pamphlet circa 1966. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.…
— Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
“…[L]ay your shoulders to the wheel; … Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but “show your faith by your works…”
On April 13, 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote for the presumptive Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden. Writing as founders and veterans of the leading New Left organization of the 1960s, Students for a Democratic Society, we welcome Bernie’s wise choice — but we are gravely concerned that some of his supporters, including the leadership of Democratic Socialists of America, refuse to support Biden, whom they see as a representative of Wall Street capital. Some of us are DSA members, but do not believe their position is consistent with a long-range vision of democracy, justice, and human survival.
Now it is time for all those who yearn for a more equal and just social order to face facts. All of us have charged for years that Trump is the leader of an authoritarian party that aims for absolute power; rejects climate science; embraces racism, sexism, homophobia, and violence; holds the democratic process in contempt; bids to take over the entire federal judiciary; represses voting rights; and violates plain human decency on many fronts. These are the grounds for our solemn determination: A common effort to unseat him is our high moral and political responsibility.
In our time, we fought — for a time successfully — against the sectarian politics of the Cold War. We were mindful then of the cataclysm that befell German democracy when socialists and communists fought each other — to death — as Hitler snuck by and then murdered them all.
Now we fear that some on the left cannot see the difference between a capitalist democrat and a proto-fascist. We hope none of us learn this difference from jail cells.
We have dedicated much of our lives to the fight to extend democracy to more people, more institutions, more places. We continue this work in diverse ways motivated now as then by a spirit of community and solidarity. But now the very existence of American democracy is in jeopardy.
Some of us think “endorsing” Joe Biden is a step too far; but we who now write this open letter all know that we must work hard to elect him. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment.
In 1919, in the midst of the brief German socialist revolution, the great sociologist Max Weber addressed left-wing students about politics. He urged upon them that the best politics must be painfully aware of the consequences of action, not just intentions. Speaking to young men, he prophetically warned them that the cost of ignoring consequences might be their deaths.
We salute Bernie Sanders and our friends and comrades in DSA and in the diverse movements for social justice and environmental sanity that enabled them to rise. We look forward to joining together to build on and defend our accomplishments. And now we plead with all: Get together, beat Trump, and fight for democracy — precious, fragile, worth keeping.
The signers of this letter were founders, officers, and activists in Students for a Democratic Society between 1960 and 1969. Interested persons may contact Robert Ross at rjsross@clarku.edu for further information.
IRA ARLOOK
JANE ADAMS
MICHAEL ANSARA
TED AUERBACH
JUDITH BERNSTEIN-BAKER
STEVEN BLOCK
BARRY BLUESTONE
HEATHER BOOTH
GEORGE BROSI
CONNIE BROWN
DOROTHY BURLAGE
ROBB BURLAGE
SUSAN CHACIN
KEN CLOKE
ANDY COHEN
CARL DAVIDSON
THORNE DREYER
MARK DYEN
NICK EGLESON
JOHN EHRENREICH
ALICE EMBREE
OLIVER FEIN, MD
MARSHALL GANZ
HELEN GARVY
DAVID GELBER
TODD GITLIN
CAROL GLASSMAN
STEVE GOLDSMITH
ANN GORDON
D. GORTON
BOB GUILD
ALAN HABER
BARBARA HABER
ODILE HUGONOT HABER
JILL HAMBERG
BILL HARTZOG
CASEY HAYDEN
DICK HOWARD
HAROLD JACOBS
MICHAEL GAYLORD JAMES
JOAN GOLDSMITH
STEVE JOHNSON
LINDA KABOOLIAN
MARILYN KATZ
PAUL LAUTER
SHARON JEFFREY LEHRER
MIKE LOCKER
KEN MCELDOWNEY
DON MCKELVEY
DICKIE MAGIDOFF
STEVE MAX
PAUL MILLMAN
DANIEL MILLSTONE
SARAH MURPHY
STAN NADEL
ROBERT PARDUN
CHARLOTTE PHILLIPS, MD
ALISON RAPHAEL
MILES RAPOPORT
BETH RIMANOCZY
JENNY ROPER
DON ROSE
ROBERT J.S. ROSS
RICHARD ROTHSTEIN
VIVIAN ROTHSTEIN
MARK RUDD
JAMES W. RUSSELL
BRUCE SCHMIECHEN
DAVID STRAUSS
MARTIN TANDLER
GERRY TENNEY
MARIA VARELA
MONTE WASCH
LEE WEBB
MARILYN WEBB
DOUG WEISKOPF
LENI WILDFLOWER
CATHY WILKERSON
HONEY WILLIAMS
JIM WILLIAMS
BILL ZIMMERMAN
This letter was first published at the Nation on April 16, 2020. Read about the origins of the letter in Robert J. S. Ross’s article “Lessons from the History of the Left” at Public Seminar.
