As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been reading Rules for Radicals by the late Saul Alinsky. Below are quotes from Rules and some comments. This is the first in a continuing series of posts on the book, the ideology, the movement, and the state of things in the country now. Please keep all this in mind as you listen to or read the news. And please share this with friends and family. We need to stand together and we need to know what we’re up against.

Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins—or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom—Lucifer.

[In the front matter after the dedication page. This page isn’t shown in the previews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Wonder why?]

Um…I don’t know about you, but that’s not an auspicious way to begin if the author wants me to accept his views and methods. Nope, don’t tell me that your role-model is Lucifer, who, by the way, was not only the world’s first radical; he was also the world’s first loser. He lost in a big way and he’s been out to share his misery and rebellion with as much of mankind as he can get to follow him instead of God Who is Love and Mercy Itself. My recommendation to you when Lucifer tempts you to listen to him is: Don’t.

Remember: once you organize people around something as commonly agreed upon as pollution, then an organized people is on the move. From there it’s a short and natural step to political pollution, to Pentagon pollution.

[p. xxiii, Prologue]

For everybody who wondered what Van Jones, radical and founder of S.T.O.R.M., was doing as Obama’s Green Jobs czar and what the radical connection was between environmentalism and radicalism, there it is in the handbook: Organize people for any reason and you have an organization of people that can be used…for any reason.

We are talking about a mass power organization which will change the world into a place where all men and women walk erect, in the spirit of that credo of the Spanish Civil War, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” This means revolution.

[p. 3, The Purpose]

Sounds a bit like what Lucifer said too: Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. I would rather serve on earth and in heaven, how about you? Christianity is about service. I was a Buddhist before I was Catholic and Buddhism is about service too. Not just seeking enlightenment for yourself but for the welfare and benefit of all sentient beings. As a Catholic, I pray each and every day for the salvation of everyone. I also work toward that end. I’m not going to list the things I do, and I don’t feel like I do enough. And I’m adding to the list all the time. My point is that I see the whole reason for my existence to be that of service to my Lord and to my fellow man. And as for being on my knees, I find that I pray best when I am kneeling before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. I pray best when I pray kneeling at His feet.

That perennial question, “Does the end justify the means?” is meaningless as it stands; the real and only question regarding th ethics of means and ends is, and always has been, “Does this particular end justify this particular means?”

[p. 24, Of Means and Ends]

This is not true. The question is and always has been and always will be, "Am I willing to do what it takes to do the right thing?" "Am I willing to admit that the end NEVER justifies the means?" As a Christian there are certain acts which are never justified, no matter what the goal is said to be. Murder of an innocent human being is never justified. Never. Direct abortion is murder and is intrinsically evil, is never justified, has never been justified, will never be justified. Period. Before anyone brings up the death penalty, let me say that I do not support the death penalty in most cases. But the death penalty in this country is not aimed at innocent human beings (yet) and is not intrinsically evil, though I do think it is horrible and also unnecessary in most cases. That is also the view of the Church. By Alinsky’s reasoning, both abortion and the death penalty would be left up to expediency, not a good way to settle questions of ethics.

The end is what you want and the means is how you get it…The man of action views the issue of means and ends in pragmatic and strategic terms. He has no other problem; he thinks only of his actual resources and the possibilities of various choices of action. He asks of ends only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; of means, only whether they will work…Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life.

[p. 24, Of Means and Ends]

Expediency, as I said above, is not the way to think about questions of ethics. There are many things I could do to get what I want and I may not do all of them, not if I want to live my life in an ethical and moral manner. And I do. I want to live more and more by a code of ethics that I believe in and that I believe is right. That’s why I study the Catechism of the Catholic Church and books on the natural law too.

The practical revolutionary will understand Goethe’s “conscience is the virtue of observers and not of agents of action”; in action, one does not always enjoy the luxury of a decision that is consistent both with one’s individual conscience and the good of mankind. The choice must always be for the latter. Action is for mass salvation and not for the individual’s personal salvation. He who sacrifices the mass good for his personal conscience has a peculiar conception of “personal salvation”; he doesn’t care enough for people to be “corrupted” for them.

[p. 25, Of Means and Ends]

Oh, where to begin? Goethe may have been a great German poet, but I’m not one of his followers. I’d have to look up what he actually said, too, because I don’t trust Alinsky to quote him accurately. Later on I’ll share with you what he said about Dostoevsky and Gandhi too. Oy ve. But all this is not surprising when you remember who Alinsky looks up to: he who is a liar and the father of lies.

And my personal favorite:

The ego of the organizer is stronger and more monumental than the ego of the leader. The leader is driven by the desire for power, while the organizer is driven by the desire to create. The organizer is in a true sense reaching for the highest level for which man can reach– to create, to be a “great creator,” to play God.

[p. 61, A Word About Words, Ego]

There. He said it. He actually came right out and said it. Well, at least he’s consistent. He wants to follow Lucifer and he wants to play God. Me, I’m just a Catholic. I don’t want to play God. I want to be what I am: an adopted daughter of the Most High on my way to becoming divinized so I can share the Light of Christ with others here on earth. And live with Him eternally in heaven.

I’m going to continue to read Rules for Radicals and to share it with you here. But, as for living my life, I’m sticking to my other rule books: my Bible and my Catechism. And the Living Word of God Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Better to serve on earth and live in heaven than reign on earth and burn in hell. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel an overwhelming desire to go make a Holy Hour of Adoration which I want to spend praying my Rosary on my knees. And I hope it hurts so I can offer my suffering for the conversion of all those who have bought into the lie of Alinsky and his cohorts. May God have mercy on their souls.

To be continued. Stay tuned.

Some other projects are on hold while I read and share this stuff with you. Yes, it’s that important. Stay tuned. As always thank you for reading. Please, share this with your friends and family as we continue to delve into the rulebook so many in our government are using today. And, as always, I welcome discussion, but not argument for argument’s sake.