The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-01-18
&4..<
We Miss Being Converted

"A CaAIorLna rea0er, Helen 1. E., 1nScrlbeS q
curious document to us, beginning with an as
Sert1on that mo could be more revolutionary
than she, and ending with an urge that we
adopt the Christian religion"
In between it is set forth that the Communists
Party would profit much from making use Of the
fact that the 'Mammon worshippers violate the
Christian religion more than they do the Con4
stitution:" And the propaganda value Of poinSe
ing to the fact or supported fact, that jesus
drove the money changers from the temple, u
mentioned as q worthy example to sanctiah
presumably, Communist propaganda
With all due regard TO the comrades sinceritA
we must say that she is In need OF some serious
reading before she understands what is the difs
ference between being a revolutionary and being
a radical"
OF course, the capitalists violate their Christian
religion. But would the workers or the political
party OF the workers, get any further by APP
pealing to the capitalists to obey their Christian
code, any more than they would attain anything
by appealing to capitalist law against the cap
italist who break il?
6hau we, for example, try to convince the
pastor of RockefellerS church that he should
orNe John D. from the temple, because Christ
old something like that? AS a practical matter,
we have no special use for temples anyhow. But
would we get any further than if we appealed to
commissioner Mulrooney to obey the law against
police brutality?
No doubt Conlrade Helen intends however.
GhaG we should appeal to the workers not to tho
preachers. But why flee from the present and
lVS realities to the mythical figures of ancient
Judea? Does worker who has had a wage cut
need to DE cited to the uInpty- umpth chapter OF
Genesis or Revelations to convince him that he
could DE sore about it and organize q strike?
Hardly. Do the majority of the starving iobless
require biblical precedent TO inform them that
they are hungry and should have unemploy-
ment insurance? Not likely.
Of course, here and there IN Individual hvn.
Noticed by religious dope, may be won to the
struggle against capitalism By g,lillIul agitator
pointing out, let's Say, the difference between
FaCher Cox OF Pittsburgh and The reouted Nazas
rene carpenter, Leilin said, ana correctly that tt
all depends on whether you are az ,tat.ng workers
already religious to break from its paralvzing
influence and take up class struggle, or whether
you are attempting TO smugge this paralyzins
dope into the already clear-headed movement of
the revolutionary workers under the guise that
1t Is 'revclutionar.r," which il is NOT From
Comrade HelenS letters we mu-t say that she
seems bent upon the latter though with honest
intentions that it would do the Party favor.
But the working-clasS is not child to be
deluded with fairy tales Indeed why deIude q
cmld?) Especially as it is not necessary, since
our appeal to the workers is for them to act in
their own clear and obvious interest and not
Tor another class, as was the case when, in the
early bourgeois revolutions the bourgeoise APP
pealed to the proletariat to help the bourgeosie
against the feuoalists. AND We, unlike the bour-
geoisie, have no for deceitful generalities
such as the 1889 slogan: Liberty equality and
fraternity"
fario
own precedents and does not rely upon borrowed
symbols. 1t has nothing to gain from Chris
tlanlty, which any pulpit FOUNDER can interpret
III as many ways there are preachers 1t has
a lar better, really scientific base for itself a
base which Christianity does not have in dia-
letical materalism which Conrade Helen and
others Of like mind should study before going
further
In closing, we must quote the following bit
OF Karl Marx Grom his Eighteenth Brumaire OF
Louis Bonaparte") who as his translators, Eden
and Cedar Paul, point out, looked forward to
the working class revolution which will not, like
the English revolution in the days OF the Par
liamentary Wars deck itself in Old Testament
Crappings nor like the French revolution don
the toga and pirate Of BrutuS and Gracious"
Marx said:
"The social revolution . cannot draw its
figurative embellishments from the past; it
must create them anew out of the future 1t
cannot begin its work until it has rid itself
Of all the ancient superstitions. Earlier re-
volutionS had need of the "reminiscences of his
toric pageantry, for thus only could they be-
muse themselves to their own significance
In those earlier revolutions there was
more phrase than substance; in the revolution
that is to come, there will be more substance
than phrase"
Why, in short, cite the obvious failure Of
Christ driving the money changers from the
temple, when we have the real victory OF the
Russian workers in driving capitalism out of one
sixth Of the earth?
THE WEEKS PRIZE STUPIDITY: Berlin,
Jan. 9-Chancellor Bruenings emergency decree
practically suspended temporarily the capital
list system in Germany" - From the American
Federation OF Labors Weekly News Service, Of
Jan. 9.