The Activist and Religious Radical-Saul Alinsky's Principles and the Life andTeachings of the Monk Thomas Merton
On the surface, it might seem to be a counter-intuitive ideological combination of philosophers. How strange to pair the teachings of the holy Trappist monk, the Catholic poet and anti-Vietnam War activist Thomas Merton with the theories of Saul Alinsky, otherwise known as the author of "Thirteen Rules for Radicals"! However, just as Alinsky attempted to delineate a purposeful and practical guide of principles for grassroots activism against the Vietnam War and what he deemed other social atrocities, so did Thomas Merton attempt to create a guide for a practical Christian life, lived humbly, but infused with a spirit of social justice along the lines of the anti-violent and anti-war principles espoused by Alinsky. For example, one of the first radical principles of Alinsky is that grassroots activists should take advantage of the patterns of repeated mistakes and miscalculations that organizations and the leadership of the opposing organization are likely to make. This could be have said to have been applied by Merton to his own soul-in other words, one must learn from one's mistakes and transgressions, rather than waste one's energies in regrets for one's past, however one may have lived. If one was bad in one's past, use t
Alinsky stresses the need, above all for personalization, to pick a single target, target an individual, personalize the attack, polarize and demoralize his/her supporters and to go after people, not institutions. But rather than hurting, harassing, and humiliating individuals, especially leaders, to cause more rapid organizational change, Merton fundamentally sought out new individuals and sources of leadership to personalize the opposition so people would be less apt to strike out against those whom they perceived as different-whether Buddhist, Vietnamese, or simply those deemed 'the enemy.' Thomas Merton led a troubled youthful existence, allegedly fathering an illegitimate child during his early studies at Cambridge University in England. He was rejected from the first monastic order he applied to be a part of. But this troubled adolescence ultimately led the man to take up the Catholic faith with greater resolve and motivated him to pursue a life as a socially active monk. This also goes along Alinsky's principle that, power is not only what you have, but what the target thinks you have-one may have stores of spiritual reserves of power and appeal that one is not aware of at first, and an apparent negative can be deployed as a potential positive, with the correct thinking and mindset. Merton, when campaigning against the Vietnam War, was relentless in inflicting pressure upon the authorities of the American government, and even his own monastery, to be allowed to travel to East Asia. The forms of p
Some common words found in the essay are:
Dalai Llama, Thomas Merton, William Blake, Thomas Merton's, University England, Ultimately Alinsky, East Asia, Vietnam War, , Vietnam Merton, alinsky stresses, thomas merton, change merton, william blake, outside expertise, vietnam war, one's past,
Approximate Word count = 1023
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
