-Caveat Lector-
Stealth tactics, Moonies and the art of cynicism
By Carla Binion
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>From Bob Dylan's "Man of Peace"
"Look out your window, baby./There's a scene you'll like to catch.
A band is playin' Dixie./A man's got his hand outstretched.
Could be the fuhrer,/Could be the local priest.
Sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace."
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You do not need to subscribe to any orthodox religion or believe in "Satan"
other than symbolically in order to appreciate the Dylan lyrics and see how
they might apply to the political scene today. Effective activists have
always advised the American people not to settle for peace at any price if
they want improved social conditions, but to instead do as African-American
activist Frederick Douglass once suggested and "agitate, agitate, agitate."
Today, as George W. Bush reaches out to woo church groups and senate
Democrats and put them into a virtual trance of peace and bipartisan harmony,
it seems that maybe he picked up a tip from his dad's longtime supporter,
Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Moonies practice a technique they call "love bombing."
One former Moonie (Barbara Underwood, "Hostage to Heaven," Clarkson N.
Potter, 1979) defines love bombing as a "persistent psychological effort to
disarm a skeptical recruit by showering him with excessive attention and
love" in order to win him over.
We have all heard the old aphorisms, "kill your opponent with kindness," and
"keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Bush now takes political
schmoozing to unprecedented heights, but for what ultimate purpose?
Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is
reaching out to churches to encourage church-based social service programs, a
move reporter Bruce Shapiro (Salon, 2/1/01) describes as building a political
"patronage machine." G. W. is also reaching out to Democrats, and has
invited members of the Kennedy family to the White House to watch a movie
about the Cuban missile crisis.
Today, Friday 2/2/01, Bush visited the opening of a Senate Democratic
retreat, telling the senators, "Some may think I'm naive to rid the system of
rancor, but that's my intent." Naive is not the description that leaps to
mind. The term "opportunistic stealth tactic" seems more appropriate.
What will be the next Bush co-opting gesture? A little back rub to go with
that movie popcorn? Singing inspirational agape-style love songs on the
Senate floor?
The halls of government have been used for more worthwhile purposes in the
past. For example, when a scandal broke in 1976 involving Sun Myung Moon, an
eventual political backer of President George H. W. Bush, then-U. S. Rep.
Donald Fraser (D-MN) headed the congressional committee investigating the
scandal.
Frasier noted that among Moonies any objection to Moon, who repeatedly refers
to himself as "the Messiah," and his clandestine political activity in the
U.S. was considered "infidelity to Master and was like being disobedient to
God." (Fraser Report, p. 320.) George H. W. Bush was Director of the CIA at
the time the Koreagate scandal broke.
According to Robert Boettcher, staff director of the Fraser committee,
(Boettcher, "Gifts of Deceit: Sun Myung Moon, Tongsun Park and the Korean
Scandal," Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1980), Koreagate involved a congressional
investigation into the following:
(1) Moonies allegedly acting as unregistered agents of a foreign intelligence
service, the Korean CIA.
(2) Moon's alleged violation of laws on taxes, banking, charity fraud, and
arms export control.
(3) Moon's allegedly being secretly paid by the Korean CIA to disrupt an
official visit of the Prime Minister of Japan.
(4) Moon's allegedly smuggling large amounts of money into the U. S. and
allegedly smuggling in hundreds of aliens under the guise of his "students"
in order to put them to work in his businesses.
(5) Moon's allegedly negotiating, as an unregistered agent of the Korean
government, for the manufacture and export of M-16 rifles.
6) Moon's allegedly infiltrating offices of Senators and Congressmen with
covert agents who reported details of personal lives for Moon's card file.
(7) Moon's allegedly at one time refusing to answer questions about the above
activities before a subcommitte of Congress.
(8) Moon's minion, Bo Hi Pak's allegedly collecting $1 million from
Americans under the guise of a "Children's Relief Fund," and then using 93
percent of the money to pay public relations people ... and a wide variety of
other charges.
Robert Boettcher interviewed a number of ex-Moonies and reported to the
Fraser committee. He said in "Gifts of Deceit" that the Moon organization
frequently lied to people in order to recruit them and allegedly held some
people against their will.
Boettcher said, "Some former members recall Nazi films on organizing Hitler
Youth were shown as examples to [church] leaders. Nothing was more important
than developing a cadre of strong leaders totally subservient to his will."
Years after the Fraser committee hearings, the Hitler Youth fan and alleged
perpetrator of widespread fraud, Rev. Moon, was busy courting his willing
love bomb target-of-choice, George H. W. Bush. Moon's American Freedom
Coalition held pro-Gulf-war rallies to show support for Bush's "Desert
Storm," including one rally of 400 Moonies at the Statue of Liberty.
("Pro-War Rally Near Lady Liberty: 'Let Freedom Ring' 400 Activists Told,"
Bergen County Record, February 10, 1991.)
How bad does a bad guy have to be before a politician such as George H. W.
Bush will shun him? Is Moon, the megalomaniacal alleged perpetrator of
fraud, target of a congressional investigation, and subscriber to Hitler's
coercive techniques, not sufficiently unsavory that Bush would decline his
financial contributions, speaking engagement invitations, and fake-grassroots
support at political rallies?
Do some of our politicians unconsciously fear that they and all of their
colleagues are six degrees of Beelzebub anyway, therefore no evil is evil
enough to bother shunning?
Again, you would not have to go along with orthodox religion in order to
raise questions about, and differentiate between, good and evil and the
shades of grey in between, when it comes to Moon's alleged crimes and Bush's
embrace of Moon. Non-religious philosophers have pondered those questions
throughtout the world's history, and that kind of philosophical inquiry
cannot always be simplistically written off as "demonizing" a political
opponent.
The criticism of Moon is not about his religious views, but is instead about
his alleged criminal activity. Are tax evasion and fraud good, evil, or
somewhere in between? Is recruiting for any organization (religious or
otherwise) by using Nazi films about Hitler Youth good, evil or in between?
Is collecting $1 million from Americans under false "charitable" pretenses
and then funneling the money toward advertising good, evil or in between? Is
holding people against their will good, evil or in between? A society that
can't be bothered to ask questions such as these, and think clearly enough to
distinguish between simple discretion and mindless demonizing, has clearly
lost its way.
Frederick Clarkson notes that in 1995, George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush
spoke at a series of rallies hosted by Rev. Moon's wife's organization,
Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP.) The New York Times ran reports on
the Bush speeches (Andrew Pollack, "Bush Host in Japan Tied to Rev. Moon,"
September 4, 1995; Pollack, "Bushes Speak at Tokyo Rally of Group Linked to
Moon Church, The New York Times, September 15, 1995), as did the Washington
Post.
Despite the fact that George H. W. Bush was CIA Director during the
congressional investigation of Moon and during that period handled sensitive
government matters related to the U. S. and Korea, Bush denied knowing there
was any connection between the WFWP and Moon's Unification Church. The
Washington Post reported that Bush's fee for speaking at one Moon rally was
to remain secret. (Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan "Moon Group Paying Bush
for Speeches," The Washington Post, September 6, 1995.)
The problem with these secret fees and other clandestine activities, is that
when it comes to the Bush family, what you see is not always what you get.
The public front is one of calm good will, but the public record reveals that
what happens behind the scenes is often another matter.
For example, George W. Bush campaign adviser Ralph Reed, once defended his
Christian Coalition colleagues for fronting "stealth candidates" -- meaning,
politicians running on secular issues but hiding their religious-right
agendas.
Reed told the Los Angeles Times (March 22, 1992,) that when it comes to
stealth tactics: "It's like guerilla warfare. If you reveal your location,
all it does is allow your opponent to improve his artillery bearings. It's
better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night."
Reed continued, "You've got two choices: You can wear cammies [camouflage]
and shimmy along on your belly, or you can put on a red coat and stand up for
everyone to see." Reed spoke about stealth tactics in an earlier interview
with the Virginian-Pilot, 9/9/91, saying, "I want to be invisible. I paint
my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body
bag. You don't know until election night."
According to Frederick Clarkson, the Federal Election Commission filed a
lawsuit in 1996, charging that the Christian Coalition illegally assisted the
campaigns of George H. W. Bush, Jesse Helms, Newt Gingrich and Oliver North.
The FEC cited a Ralph Reed speech suggesting the Montana Christian Coalition
heed the advice of Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher and author of the
classic, "The Art of War."
Reed said, "The first strategy and in many ways the most important strategy
for evangelicals is secrecy. Sun Tzu says that's what you have to do to be
effective at war and that's essentially what we're involved in, we're
involved in a war. It's not a war fought with bullets, it's a war fought
with ballots." (Clarkson's source: Joseph L. Conn, "Judgement Day," Church
and State, September, 1996
Does it not concern the congresspeople cozying up to George W. that he chose
the stealthy Ralph Reed as a campaign adviser? Do stealth tactics and Bush's
claim he is making a "naive" attempt to "rid the system of rancor" go
hand-in-hand?
Is it any wonder some of these same congress folk have never opened another
congressional investigation similar to that of the Fraser committee's, only
this time focusing on Rev. Moon's inordinate political support of George H.
W. Bush? If members of congress are easily mesmerized into "peace" by George
W's tummy rubs, free popcorn, and talk of naivete, how likely are they to
shine a light on any Bush family scandal -- no matter how dark it may be, and
no matter how much bringing it to light might serve the general public?
Members of congress have not always been so easy to lull into compliance.
Frederick Clarkson reports that in 1983, Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), then chair of
the moderate Republican Ripon Society, spoke about the political alliance
between Rev. Moon and party conservatives. Leach said, "A political movement
basing its appeal on old fashioned patriotism and family values simply cannot
justify an alliance with a cult that preys on the disintegration of the
American family and advocates allegiance to an international social order
operating with cell-like secrecy." (Ripon Forum, January, 1983.)
However, today when faced with being love bombed into an ethical stupor, and
possibly having one's political policies snuggled to death by Ralph Reed
style stealth tactics, what is a congressperson to do?
Dear congressfolk and church members being schmoozed by Bush, here are some
ideas worth thinking about. There is nothing wrong with Sun Tzu's Art of
War. In fact, Democrats might benefit from studying and applying it.
It should also be noted there is a chance Bush might have good intentions.
However, even a cursory examination of his outward behavior, including his
choice of stealth campaign adviser Reed, and his family's history of CIA-type
secrecy and general friendliness to a tyrant such as Moon would seem to belie
that idea.
It might also be useful to brush up on the art of cynicism. Cynicism has
acquired a bad name among the folks who get a boost from keeping the public
passive, naive and easy to manipulate; but it is not a bad quality to have
when we are faced with corrupt political leaders. Here are some closing
thoughts on the subject:
(1) Comedian Lily Tomlin has said, "I worry no matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up."
(How do you perfect the art of cynicism? -- The same way the old adage says
you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice.)
(2) Social critic, author and educator Noam Chomsky has said, "It's very hard
to get to the point where you can even discuss alternatives [to a corrupt
political system] until you first peel away layer after layer of myth and
illusion."
(3) In the movie "Broadcast News," comedian Albert Brooks's character told
Holly Hunter, tongue-in-cheek, that William Hurt's character, a glib,
no-nothing newscaster, was in fact Satan. Brooks said that if Satan came
around (symbolically, of course), he would not come in an obvious way,
wearing horns, a red cape and a fierce scowl, but would instead present
himself as a charming guy willing to slowly lower society's standards.
Again, symbolically, here is something else Bob Dylan said about his
proverbial Man of Peace:
"He's got a good gift of gab./He's got a harmonious tongue./He knows every
song of love that ever has been sung./But intentions can be evil./Both hands
can be full of grease./Sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace."
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