Another Joe Hill Dream by: slick riddles February 25, 2006 at 19:54:56 America
My first diaries at Dkos, during March of 2005 were a series in which I dreamed I had conversations with Joe Hill the famous labor martyr and songwriter. I had almost forgotten about them when just this week Joe popped into a dream of mine and reminded me why he is known as "the man who never died."
These diaries (as well as others) can be seen here at Slick's DKos Page. Come dream a little dream with me!

The scene is the Central Cafe, across the street from the Railroad station in downtown Gävle, Sweeden. Joe was born here and Slick visited in July 2001. It's also the home of Gevalia coffee, both Slick and Joe's favorite.
Slick Enters.
Slick: Hey Joe! Joe Hill is that you? Joe puts down his newpaper.
Joe: Hey Slick how ya doing?
Slick: Ahh pretty good. Where've you been? I ain't dreamed you in close to a year.
Joe: Well, I got tired of Daily Kos and then I got busy with, you know, "where working folks defend their rights it's there you'll find Joe Hill." That keeps a fella on his toes. But then a couple weeks ago I was checking the blogs and seen that you had done some pieces for MyLeftWing and had gotten front-paged. Congrats!
Slick: Thanks!
Joe: So I thought I would drop into a dream and see what's up. So, what's up?
Slick: Well, if you've been checking the blogs, you know. But I would characterize it as what to do about the Democratic Party, continue to support it, abandon it, use it as a strategic outpost, what? It's not at all clear and a lot of people get very emotional about it.
Joe: Sure they get emotional about it! The USA is in a pretty sorry state and people are discovering just how powerless they are to stop the slide. Now me, I was always a direct action guy. I didn't see how voting was going to emancipate the class. Even in towns where the Socialists were voted in, that just gave you socialist cops and socialist jails. And I was out of the picture by 1917 so I never had to make a decision on Bolshevism. I don't know what I would have done.
Slick: So supporting the Democrats was not an issue?
Joe: No, the Democrats were the enemy. Of course this was before the New Deal, the CIO and the Wagner Act all of which allowed the Democrats to act as "the friend of the working man." In fact, the CIO was like a fruition of the IWW's industrial union strategy. Although the IWW generally didn't care for signing contracts. But the Democratic Party under the "progressive" Wilson wasn't really worker friendly unless the workers were keeping their mouths shut, buying liberty bonds and cooperating with the draft.
Slick: Yeah I've been thinking lately that Wilson's administration is like Bush's in some ways. But what about that "friend of the workingman" stuff, that's not still operative is it?
Joe: Hell no! The New Deal has been gone since Carter's days. I think, ironically, Nixon was the last New Dealer. The economy wouldn't allow Carter to be a New Dealer if he had wanted to. And since then we've seen an anti-New Deal, with declining union memberships, rising poverty, growing inequality in wealth and incomes etc. Yet it remains true that the Democrats are marginally better than Republicans on issues that affect working people.
Slick: I think that's what gets a lot of people. They see a difference between Democrats and Republicans so they want to vote for the Democrats. But then the Democratic politicians feel they have to move to the right, to the center, in order to win elections. This may be true but it makes the lefty voter feel like a chump. For example, Sen. Clinton finds it necessary to co-sponsor an anti-flag-burning ammendment to the Constitution. This is obviously an example of pandering to the right. Now I've never burned a flag in my life and if they passed such an ammendment, and I had a need to burn a flag I'm sure I could get around it. But in some way it just bothers me, probably not enough to change my vote, but still.
Joe: Well, that's part of the whole problem with the game of electoral politics. This whole system is set up to pull things in the direction of conservatism and cut out alternatives to the way things are. The New Deal was an anamoly brought about by the Great Depression. It lasted for about 30 years but it is over now. I sometimes think the Democratic Party exists soley to tie left-wing types into the system. Can you imagine if the Dems disappeared? Lefties would get much more rebellious but the rightwingers would have no target for their rage.
Slick: Hmmm. What would happen? Ya see, I think it's a conundrum. Democrats marginally better but useless if they can't get elected. When they move right they seem more like Republicans ahhhh!
Joe: Yeah that's it. You can elect to sit out elections, you can put your energy into progressive candidates, or you can do what I gather you do, which is vote but not much else as far as electoral politics is concerned.
Slick: Well Joe, you aren't all that much help. But I've got to be doing more.
Joe: I'm no expert on electoral politics that's for sure. But people just have to decide how much and what they are willing to work for.But here have you ever read this. (Joe pulls out a card upon which is written:

Preamble To The IWW ConstitutionThe working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life.
Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class, take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.
We find that the centering of the management of industries into fewer and fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with the ever growing power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in wage wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with their employers.
These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its members in any one industry, or in all industries if necessary, cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any department thereof, thus making an injury to one an injury to all.
Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wage for a fair day's work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, "Abolition of the wage system."
It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not only for everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.
Slick: Hell, that's some pretty strong stuff.
Joe: Sure is. Hey speaking of strong stuff, you had enough coffee? Should we move on?
Slick: Well I feel like I'm about to wake up, so I'll see ya around Mr. Hill
Joe: Alright Mr. Riddles.