Now that we have an active discussion going regarding Rush Limbaugh, what about the oft-referred to Saul Alinsky from the far left liberal side of things?

A few here refer to Alinsky as if he were the second coming of some of the worst and fearsome people in the world. Although I'm from Chicago and knew that Alinsky was an activist who worked to better the lot of the immigrants who worked in the Chicago stockyards back in the 1930's, I didn't know much about him. So I did a little biographical research.

• He attended the University fo Chicago where he majored in Sociology.
• Alinsky came up with the idea of power analysis, which looks at relationships built on the self-interest of corporations, banks and utilities.
• In the 1930s, he organized the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago for the purpose of correcting the horrific working conditions in the Union Stock Yards.
• Alinsky is most well-known for authoring the book, Rules For Radicals. His book was published in the 1960's and proposed strategies for working within our democratic system for those who want to change our society and economy from what it is to what they believe it should be. Alinsky was decidedly anti-militant during a period when violence and militancy was prospering.
• Alinsky taught that to bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, attempting to activate both the lower and middle classes of society to correct the excesses which they suffer that are brought on by the wealthy upper classes, corporate America and political leaders.
• His book contains a list of Rules For Radicals that outlines a set of tactics that organizers of the lower and middle classes can use to more effectively change their relationship with the upper class and corporations. Nowhere in Alinsky's rules is any use of violence or illegal behavior suggested.
• Alinsky's "rules" are best described as a set of tactics likely to be effective for the lower classes to be more effective in negotiating with the upper classes and corporations. They are based substantially on the psychology and knowledge of corporate behavior and the democratic system.
• If one takes the time to read Alinsky's rules, every one of his twelve rules were consistently used by both political parties use during political campaigns. The way almost all candidates and political parties embrace Alinsky's rules is quite amazing. Read the rules at http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/8925/alinsky.htm
• Alinsky is often credited with laying the foundation for the non-violent grassroots political organizing that dominated the 1960s. Later in his life he encouraged stockholders in public corporations to lend their votes to "proxies", who would vote at annual stockholders meetings. His call to stockholders only began to take hold in U.S. progressive circles in the 1990s, when shareholder actions were organized against American corporations, principally for socially liberal objectives.

So, this guy who is frequently referred to in threads here as someone whose theories and rules are to be feared and disdained doesn't seem to be such a bad guy at all. A very smart guy, but not a bad guy...unless one is a member of the upper class, high corporate management or a sitting politician. He's feared because he was so effective in postulating ideas for the lower and middle classes to more effectively improve their lives in a non-violent way, working legally and effectively within the democratic and corporate systems.

I wondered why some continually ridicule Alinsky or any who have associated with him? Then I realized that ridicule is fundamental to Alinsky's rule number six in his rules. It says, "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating".

Now I understand better that many of those that disagree with one side or another politically, or candidates for public office, use Alinsky's Rules For Radicals as a basis for their arguments, negative advertising and campaigning.