Abraham Lincoln Brigade Fought the Good Fight

This is an edited version of a piece originally appearing in CounterPunch, May 28, 2002.

by Michael Leon
Madison, Wisconsin - Amid the national flag waving as the War on Terrorism continues its bloody toll, it's apropos today to honor the efforts and sacrifices for justice made by 45,000 freedom fighters who during the Spanish civil war fought the fascist military insurrection led by its dictator general, Francisco Franco.

Among the 45,000 were 2,800 men and women from the United States, including some 90 disenfranchised African-Americans, who formed what was later called the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

Surviving Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans like Clarence Kailin, and his comrades still speak out, "publicly addressing the continuous, on-going struggle to establish and maintain full, whole, and complete democracy--of the People, by the People, for the People--at home and abroad," as Kailin spoke at a Memorial Day address a few years back in Madison.

What type of person would travel across the world to fight for democracy and liberty in the face of western rejection back then? Why would someone identify with the victims of the American military right now?

The answer to both questions is the very same type of person--a liberty-loving democrat.

Crystallizing its abandonment of the Spanish Republic during the civil war that lasted from 1936 to 1939 leading to the fascist victory, the United States officially recognized the government of Francisco Franco right after World War II.

Clarence Kailin, age 93 today, is a surviving member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and still tirelessly works for peace and justice.

Following is the text from which Mr. Kailin read as the opening speaker at the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade event, Memorial Day, May 28, 2002:

***
One month ago, on April 28, I was in New York with my daughter, Julie. We attended the annual affair of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade held at New York University. This was in celebration of the 66th anniversary of the Volunteers for Liberty. There were 900 people there, and among others, we heard the San Francisco Mime Troupe who sang many songs from the Spanish Civil War. That was the emotional high point of the day.

However, we were there for more than memories. At this time of international crisis, we find an urgent need to carry on the spirit of struggle in which we, along with the Spanish people, were involved sixty some years ago when fascism was threatening the world, when Spain was the only country to stand up to Hitler, and when the democracies betrayed the Spanish Republic, giving Hitler and Mussolini everything they wanted. This was when the International Brigades were formed. Spain and the Volunteers made that period one of the most unusual and unique in history.

Today, with the United States having become the dominant world power and seeking to extend its empire to every part of the globe, the danger is much greater than at any other time. Almost total control of information by the monopolized news media has made our work that much more difficult.

I want to quote from the latest edition of The Progressive magazine. This is in Matt Rothschild's column. He quotes from Tariq Ali, an editor of the New Left Review. In the prologue of his latest book, The Clash of Fundamentalisms, he (Ali) criticizes our 'increasingly parochial culture that celebrates the virtues of ignorance, promotes a cult of stupidity, and extols the present as a process without an alternative.'

'The virtual outlawing of history by the dominant culture has reduced the process of democracy to farce. The result is a mishmash of cynicism, despair and escapism. This is precisely an environment designed to nurture irrationalisms of every sort. Over the last fifty years, religious revivalism with a political edge has flourished in many different cultures. Nor is the process finished. A major cause is the fact that all other exit routes have been sealed off by the mother of all fundamentalism: American imperialism.'

American capitalism is the common denominator, the main reason why we want to encourage the many single-issue organizations in this area to come together in common cause--but without asking them to giving up their own important work. ... This is the work of lifetime. But I always see the fact that we outnumber them by a thousand to one. So one should never despair. So, again, seeing you here tells me that in the long run the people can win.

(clinched fist in the air) Salud, everyone!