September 15, 2001

FR: National
Board, Communist Party USA

Dear comrades,

Needless
to say, the shock of Tuesday’s terrible events hasn’t worn off. Everyone
is struggling with how to take it in personally, as well as respond
politically.

This memo
is to update all of you about what we have done in the national center,
and what we are suggesting be done locally.

First,
this week’s People’s Weekly World contains
the Party statement we emailed to you on Wednesday,
as well as a number of other articles. There will be no bundles, however,
due to the delay in the production schedule. Wherever possible, we should
find ways to distribute the statement, including electronically. Already
comrades have reported an excellent response to it and to the fact that
we are out there.

Next week’s
paper will have extensive coverage and analysis of the events. We think
it will be an excellent edition, and are asking that every club and
district make plans for large distributions. Clubs and districts should
also consider special mailings and distributions to opinion makers,
elected officials and our coalition partners in the people’s movements.
From the national office we are planning a mailing to organizations
and activists, which includes a labor list and the members of Congress.

The paper
will also contain an op-ed type piece by Sam, which we plan to send
to local newspapers and to post on as many listservs as possible. All
of the articles will be posted on our web site.

As before,
we urge comrades to participate in whatever humanitarian aid efforts
are going on in your area, including blood drives and collections, and
to attend vigils and services for those who died. Where possible, we
should try to help shape the character of those events, to promote peaceful
solutions and uphold democratic rights. This can be done by suggesting
speakers and broadening the outreach, among other things. Especially
important are efforts to prevent anti-Arab and anti-immigrant attacks
and
rhetoric.

Influencing
public opinion on these terrible events and their meaning is not a simple
matter; it will be a long term and complex process, influenced of course
by day to day developments. However, we shouldn’t feel helpless; there’s
much that we can do to point the discussion in the right direction,
little by little, starting with the most basic steps.

Although
at this moment elected officials are lining up behind the Bush administration,
we should assume that there are differences and that these will become
clearer as days go by. Voices of reason, calls for peaceful, political
solutions, the sentiment that violence will only beget more violence
— all of these are present, although somewhat muted by the circumstances.
We should find any and all ways to help influence our elected officials
and public opinion with those sentiments.

There is
a danger that people feel paralyzed by the scope of the death and destruction,
and by the national mood of sorrow and calls for a military response.
We need to show that there are things that can be done to calm the atmosphere
and promote peace. Although clearly the political situation in our country
has been profoundly affected by Tuesday’s catastrophe, the possibilities
for struggle haven’t been eliminated. As we have said already, we must
have a thoughtful, careful, approach to everything we do and say; to
the timing of events, their scope, etc.

As we said
in our first memo, in addition to conversations
with neighbors and co-workers, we should be talking with those we work
with in the labor and people’s movements. We need to be tuned in to
and part of that discussion, and in a position to help shape practical
steps that are taken, whether in response to the terrorist attacks or
around ongoing struggles and issues which are all affected by this national
emergency.

Many districts
have already planned meetings, and an article on what the Party is calling
for and organizing will be in this week’s paper. We are also setting
up a new page on our website which will include
the suggestions we are making from here, as well as experiences from
the clubs and districts. Please send us reports of what you and others
are doing (email to Elena at emora@cpusa.org).

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