The Early Days of the John Birch Society: Fascist Templars of the Corporate State By Alex Constantine Part 6: Prelude to The Order "The reactionaries are in possession of force, in not only the army and police, but in the press and schools." ‹ John Dewey The rabble rousing of Welch, Manion, Smoot and other Birch Society celebrities was understandably disturbing to some of the political targets of the abuse. President John Kennedy responded to the noisy extremists of the Birch Society in an address delivered at a fund-raising dinner hosted by the Democratic Party at the Hollywood Paladium on November 18, 1961. "In recent months," Kennedy said, "I have spoken many times about how difficult and dangerous a period it is through which we move. I would like to take this opportunity to say a word about the American spirit in this time of trial. In the most critical periods of out nation's history, there have been those on the fringes of out society who have sought to escape their own responsibility by finding a simple solution, an appealing slogan or a convenient scapegoat." Political extremists, he said, sought the easy explanation for every national crisis and ignored political complexities. A downturn in the econmy "could be explained by the presence of too many immigrants." Wars are orchestrated by "international bankers." China ended trade relations with the world not as a result of internal conflicts, but due to "treason in high places." With their rhetoric, "these fanatics have achieved a temporary success among those who lack the will or the vision to face unpleasant facts or unresolved problems." The Cold War was oppressive, Kennedy acknowledged, and "the discordant voices of extremism are heard once again in the land. Men who are unwilling to face up to the danger from without are convinced that the real danger comes from within. They look suspiciously at their neighbors and their leaders. They call for 'a man on horseback' because they do not trust the people." The extreme right equated the Democratic Party with "the welfare state," said Kennedy. They object, "quite rightly, to politics intruding on the military ‹ but they are anxious for the military to engage in politics." He urged his supporters, "Let us not heed these counsels of fear and suspicion.... Let out patriotism be reflected in the creation of confidence rather than crusades of suspicion" (Entire speech published verbatim in William A. Rusher, The Rise of the Right, William Morrow, 1984, pp. 121-123). In 1965, a Republican leader told the Arizona Republic that eighty percent of all Birch Society members were "dedicated, patriotic and frightened Americans. More than 19 percent are nuts who brains and judgment are warped. And the remaining people frighten me to death." Many conservative Americans found the "crusade of suspicion" irresistible. Most Birch Society members, about 60,000 all told, lived in cozy suburbs in the south and southwest (Rusher, p, 118). The Phoenix chapter of the Society was founded in 1960, and six more were conceived within two years. By 1965, there were 100 chapters in the state and some 2,000 members. Most of them lived in the suburbs around Phoenix. They came in all ages. One of the youngest and most receptive to the call was young Robbie Jay Matthews of Phoenix, Arizona, a prototypical middle-class American kid who, as an adult, went on to muster a group he called The Order, the neo-nazi cell that murdered radio talk show host Alan Berg in 1984. Twnety years before, on October 25, 1964, Una Matthews, his mother, drew Robbie's attention to a tabloid insert in the Arizona Republic entitled, The John Birch Society: A Report. In The Silent Brotherhood (Signet, 1989), reporters Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt describe the momentous day that Robbie Matthews, age 12, became a fascist: "Una flipped through the magazine's pages, each marked 'advertisement' at the top."... The article described how the society was composed of local chapters with ten to twenty members, usually formed by someone in the neighborhood who was concerned about communism. A full-time coordinator gave assistance and direction to the chapters." "This group really wants to do something about it," Una Matthews told her son, who took the magazine to his room and studied it thoroughly. "He didn't understand everything, but he understood enough to become increasingly alarmed. These people he'd been hearing about, these Russian communists, wanted to take over the world." Young Matthews thought of the implications. He feared for his family. Reading: "How are we reacting to the realities of out world? What do we think of the steady gain of communism ‹ of the millions killed, tortured and enslaved by this criminal conspiracy? De we still laugh at Kruschev's claim that our children will live under communism? Do we shrug off Cuba? Will we shrug off Mexico? Do we watch with curiosity? Do we pull down the curtains on these disturbing thoughts? Do we draw the warm covers of apathy around our necks?" Robbie Matthews, a future "man on horseback," clipped the coupon and sent the Birch Society $5.00 for a copy of Robert Welch's Blue Book, the group's manifesto. "No more," Flynn and Gerhardt write, "would the world be just what he could see up and down West Lawrence Lane" (p. 29-30).
