Ali will remain an American treasure just like all those opposed the VN and middle east wars.
On Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 8:03:59 AM UTC-5, MJ wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > *Karen DeCoster Campbell: "My Facebook thread is filled with dissing of > Muhammad Ali by, what I can mostly discern, those who are conservatives, > Republicans, and assorted fundamentalists. Each slam is of the same boorish > content; draft dodger, draft dodger, anti-American, yada yada. All I see is > these folks writing about hating Ali while they instead wish to worship and > honor those who went to war under a slave-draft system to kill people they > knew nothing about because their government held a gun to their head, gave > them a draft number, and opened the gate for them and the rest of the > cannon fodder. The "draft dodger" condemnations are being carelessly flung > out and about by the usual idiots. On a correct note, here's Tom Mullen: > "Ali never dodged the draft; he opposed it, accepting the legal > consequences without any attempt to evade them. He didn’t flee to Canada or > enroll in college to obtain a deferment. From the moment he learned of his > induction, Ali stood firmly in the proud tradition of civil disobedience, > saying “just take me to jail.”" So Muhammad Ali is properly described as > being willing to _die for_ peace and freedom. He faced down the government, > held on to principle, spoke his mind, and never sold out a damn thing in > spite of his incarceration. He didn't run - he stayed and fought the > establishment, even as the government tried to destroy him. Then, folks are > bringing up Ali's racial connotations about white people being his enemy, > with him saying (to paraphrase), "I'm not going to go over there and help > somebody get what the negroes don't have," and telling those young, white > kids on college campuses, "You are my opposer when I want freedom, you are > my opposer when I want justice, you won't even stand up for me or my > religion, but you want me to go somewhere and fight somebody who has done > nothing to me." Ali, in his times, was exactly right about all of that, so > what's the problem? This is something that today's fake-i-fied Social > Justice Warriors cannot even comprehend. Ali was indeed a great American." > *June > 4, 2016 > Rare Politics > > *Muhammad Ali was no draft dodger and his stance against Vietnam was > actually libertarian *Tom Mullen > > America awoke today to the sad news > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muhammad-ali-dies-dead_us_56419b06e4b0b24aee4bacb3?g5njwot7dmfgvi> > > that boxing legend Muhammad Ali has passed away. And while the overwhelming > majority of public remembrances will be praiseworthy, there are still those > who have never forgiven Ali for his refusal to comply with the military > draft in the 1960s. Even his archrival, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, resorted to > calling > <http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20160604_The_Greatest_-_Muhammad_Ali_-_dies_at_xx.html> > > Ali a “draft dodger.” > > Ali took some controversial racial positions early in his career, some of > which he regretted > <http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/25/467247668/muhammad-ali-and-malcolm-x-a-broken-friendship-an-enduring-legacy> > > later in life, but the charge of draft dodger is completely unfounded. Ali > never dodged the draft; he opposed it, accepting the legal consequences > without any attempt to evade them. He didn’t flee to Canada or enroll in > college to obtain a deferment. From the moment he learned of his induction, > Ali stood firmly in the proud tradition of civil disobedience, saying > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeFMyrWlZ68> “just take me to jail.” > > And while Ali cited his religion as the chief basis for his objection to > the war, most of his statements > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B6BE6x9MmE>were firmly rooted in the > libertarian principle of non-aggression > <http://www.forbes.com/quotes/9277/>: > > “Why should me and other so-called ‘negroes’ go 10,000 miles away from > home, here in America, to drop bombs and bullets on other innocent brown > people who’s never bothered us and I will say directly: No, I will not go.” > > I’ve long argued <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqPt3Pf2IJk> the > declaration of war power granted to Congress is not the power to start a > war, but to declare that one already exists, based on the founding > libertarian principle > <https://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Principle_of_non-aggression> of > nonaggression. > > Ali’s principled stand cost him quite a bit at the time. He was stripped > of his boxing title and sentenced to five years in prison. While he > eventually won an appeal and avoided the prison sentence, he was indebted > for years and reviled > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muhammad-ali-risked-it-all-when-he-opposed-the-vietnam-war_us_5751e545e4b0c3752dcda4ca> > > by a large portion of the American public. > > Throughout it all, he maintained his stance, reiterating the > non-aggression principle over and over as he toured America speaking > against the war. Certainly, racial inequality was interwoven into his > position and some of what he said > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl5uc88CtnU> was regrettable, including > “my enemy’s the white people, not the Vietcong, the Chinese or the > Japanese.” But while those words were rash, it’s not like he didn’t have a > point. > > More importantly, history has vindicated his principled stand against a > war nearly everyone now considers a mistake. After invading a tiny nation > that had never attacked the United States and losing over 50,000 U.S. > soldiers, the United States left Vietnam to the communists, who quickly > took over the entire country. > > According to proponents of the war at the time, this should have led to a > “domino effect,” wherein the rest of Asia and subsequently the world > succumbed to the communist menace. Instead, communism failed on its own and > the Vietnamese began adopting a market economy a mere twelve years later, > as eventually did virtually every other communist nation. Today, Vietnam is > a trading partner with the U.S. > > A lot of very smart people defended the Vietnam War at the time and for a > long time afterwards. Some of the most hawkish wonks still do. Imagine the > lives and fortunes that could have been saved if they had just listened to > a loudmouthed young boxer with a purported IQ of 78, who wisely articulated > the eternal law of nature > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle> in opposing an > immoral and unnecessary war. > > This column originally appeared at tommullen.net > <http://www.tommullen.net/featured/muhammad-ali-was-no-draft-dodger-his-stance-against-war-was-libertarian/> > . > > > > > http://rare.us/story/muhammad-ali-was-no-draft-dodger-and-his-stance-against-vietnam-was-actually-libertarian/ > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. 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