The Media Lynching of Van Jones

I've been seething over the noble (but misguided) resignation of Van Jones for the past few days. I first heard of Van Jones while on a fellowship with the Environmental Leadership Program. Having been involved as an environmental justice organizer for some time I wanted to know what all the fuss was about over this neophyte. Once I learned about his background as a community activist from Oakland I began to take him seriously. I read some of his articles and was impressed with what I read. When the opportunity to see Van Jones speak at Tufts on Earth Day last year, I jumped at the chance. Anyone who watches Van Jones speak can't help but be impressed.

Now enter Glenn Beck. How anyone could watch or listen to Glenn Beck and think he is anything but an unhinged lunatic is beyond me. His claims of a vast left-wing conspiracy would be laughable if they were not swallowed whole by so many well meaning, frightened members of white-bread middle America. Glenn Beck engaged in a smear campaign that would make Joe McCarthy green with envy. While so much of it has been rebutted already, just a few points need to be made.

First, Van Jones is not a "truther", one of those conspiracy nuts who believe 9/11 was an inside job, all the Jews called in sick that day, the twin-towers were brought down with explosives, etc. . The record is pretty clear on this. Van Jones name appears on a letter in 2002 signed by dozens of activists from the Bay Area demanding answers about the 9/11 attacks, and on a petition from 2004, giving a long list of questions that the group 9/11 truth felt were not sufficiently answered by the Bush administration's 9/11 commission. The rhetoric in both documents is typical activist speak but nowhere does it state that 9/11 was an inside job. Van Jones isn't a member of any organization that was affiliated with the 9/11 truth group nor did he engage in anything beyond signing two petitions. As fringe as the 9/11 group has gotten in recent years, at the time those petitions were signed, the questions they asked were pretty common. I know from my own experience as an activist that when you attend events, "tabling" or speaking you often get inundated by other activits or groups asking for your support with this or that. I signed dozens of petitions, sometimes out of genuine agreement, sometimes out of courtesy, in my years as an activist and I would be hard pressed to remember any of them. These documents were signed 5 and 8 years ago (respectively)long before Van Jones joined the Obama Administration, to use them against Van Jones is absurd.

Second, Van Jones is not a communist, self proclaimed or otherwise. When Van Jones commented that he went from being a "black Nationalist to a Communist", he clearly was talking in a rhetorical sense about the progression of his politics. Van has never been "card carrying", attended meetings, voted communist (yes folks Communists do run for office), or self identified as a communist (other than at I noted previously). I think it;s pretty clear that he isn't a fellow traveler. Van Jones has traveled in some radical circles as most community activists have. Like many in our line of work, exploration and flirtation with radical political ideologies is pretty common. There is little doubt that Van Jones has, for a good number of years now, embraced a very tame progressivism focused on job creation and economic and environmental justice, hardly anything new or radical.

The sad thing here is not just that Van Jones, a good man, exquisitly well qualified for the job that he was given, was forced out of his office; it's that we have created an absurd "patriotic correctness" whereby only people who attend the right church, belong to the right groups, associate with the right people, say the right things in public, and sign the right petitions can be judged as "patriotic Americans" and fit for public office. We have taught a shaefull lesson to our children. As Ariana Huffington eloquently notes:

"If the sliming of Van Jones is an indication of how things are going to be, a lot of 20-somethings posting to their Facebook pages as we speak better start worrying about the digital crumbs they are leaving behind for the future Glenn Becks of the world.

Isn't it time we acknowledge that no human being with any passion and deeply held beliefs ever emerged flawless into the world? And that if every mistake, misstep, boneheaded decision, or error in judgment becomes an automatic disqualifier for public service, then we're going to be left with a political landscape filled with nothing but wrinkle-free, foible-free, passionless automatons who have never made a mistake because they never took the risk of having an original thought.".

This is a dangerous, shameful time in America. We are sharply divided as a people and thanks to talk radio and Fox News (and sadly, a generous helping not so thinly veiled racism), over 1 third of America believe that radical black nationalists and communists are conspiring to destroy America. I have never seen people so ginned up over so much bullshit. What's even more disconcerting is the painfully tepid response in Van's defense. Van's resignations has only emboldened Beck and his supporters. They smell blood in the water. What's needed is for progressives to stand up and fight back. There is a war being waged for the hearts and minds of America, the bad guys are winning folks. It's time to put a stop to this nonsense.