The letter from the Old New Left that was published in the Nation has all the wrong content and tone of the elders lecturing young activists. The statement is signed by many comrades who I love and respect, but it is finally too pompous and pretentious, too in-bed with the Democratic Party establishment, too limited to electoral politics as the only or the primary path to change. Of course it is urgent that Trump be defeated, and I support all principled work in that regard. But our job is movement-building for a radical world that is possible: to strengthen, expand and link the social struggles for well-paid, unionized and meaningful work, the movement for Black Lives and Undocumented and Unafraid, universal health care, an end to the massive US prison complex, borders that recognize the rights and dignity of refugees, queer rights, and shifting the massive US military budget to revitalized work in robust education, dignified housing, the green new deal, and infrastructure. We cherish creative theatre, film, music, humor, and an expansive view of demanding the impossible.
There was apparently a debate about whether my name could or should appear, endorsing the Old New Left letter. I am not an endorser, and it should stay that way.
Bernardine Dohrn
April 17, 2020
Bill Ayers 