Carl Oglesby near death

[Dawn Meredith]

I learned today -to my great sadness- that one of my dearest friends (since 73) Carl Oglesby is gravely ill. Cancer that has become very far advanced and all over his body. His partner Barbara only learned on Friday. I called but he is too ill to take the phone. We had a wonderful long talk just a few weeks ago and he had no clue he was ill.

He has been like family for decades so I will miss him greatly.

Still in shock.

Dawn

[Magda Hassan]

Very sad Dawn. I hope it is a quick and painless passing for him. My condolences to you and his family.

[Ed Jewett]

'the flower withers, but the seed remains'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJscfHEgOAU


"Tyranny was never a remedy for terror. Tyranny is terror. Tyranny and terror promote and multiply each other so well because each is the other's only possible 'legitimation'... The choice between terror and totalitarianism is a choice that can only be made - can only be identified as a choice - by terrorists and tyrants." from The Yankee and Cowboy War, Ch. 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Oglesby

[Bernice Moore]

Sorry to read of Mr.Oglesby's illness ; I certainly hope his passing will be made comfortable as possible for him...sorry about your friend Dawn...As we loose them, one by one, they can never be replaced as each was a distinct force of their own, but we can make the effort to try to carry on. as a show of appreciation for all they gave us...God Bless him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohIEs9CZjtc

part clips of his interview excerpts....

[Peter Lemkin]

I learned today -to my great sadness- that one of my dearest friends (since 73) Carl Oglesby is gravely ill. Cancer that has become very far advanced and all over his body. His partner Barbara only learned on Friday. I called but he is too ill to take the phone. We had a wonderful long talk just a few weeks ago and he had no clue he was ill.

He has been like family for decades so I will miss him greatly.

Still in shock.

Dawn

Very sad Dawn. I know how close you were to him.... He isn't dead yet and though he wouldn't take the phone, I suggest you pass on to him your thoughts and those of others here, myself included, via Barbara. He did some of the very good early work on the case, and his Yankee and Cowboy War is a classic. He has done more than his share of work. My best to him - and my condolences he is so ill.

[Seamus Coogan]

Yeah I fully credit Carl O his comments and wisdom sent me down the path I travel now. For good or ill. Sorry Dawn and its amazing you knew him for so long. Maybe when you get over this sad time you could do us the service of a run down on how you met and how his ideas evolved and so on. That would be great.

But till then. So long Carl!!!

[Dawn Meredith]

Yeah I fully credit Carl O his comments and wisdom sent me down the path I travel now. For good or ill. Sorry Dawn and its amazing you knew him for so long. Maybe when you get over this side time you could do us the service of a run down on how you met and how his ideas evolved and so on. That would be great.

But till then. So long Carl!!!

I would be happy to Seamus. All three of his kids are with him as of today, being told there was no time to wait. Fortunately I have court and appointments today. Yesterday was very hard. But I am comforted by the fact that he will not suffer long. I have one of his songs running through my head "Suburbs of Eden". I wish my favorite "Lemon Light" was on you tube. We have had a very close intense friendship that will forever treasure.
Dawn

B. Thanks for posting the clips. I posted them on my fb page too.

[Seamus Coogan]

I look forward to it very much. If its at all possible give my regards to his surviving family members and his partner.
Oh yes and cheers for the clips guys excellent digging Bernice and Ed I looked for this stuff ages ago. But gave up cos I couldn't find it.

[Dawn Meredith]

Carl passed on peacefully early this morning. I got the call as I was leaving for court. Bob Katz- one of the members of the- (long disbanded)- Assassination Information Bureau is preparing an obit for the NY Times, Boston Globe and other media. Below is what he has emailed:



Carl Oglesby, one of the most influential figures of the 1960's counter-culture died on Tuesday at home Montclair, N.J after a short illness.


An acclaimed political theorist, orator, playwright, musician, and writer, Oglesby served as president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) from 1965-1966 and played a leading role in the opposition to the Vietnam war. A self-defined "radical centrist" and defense industry technical writer living in suburban Michigan with his wife and children when the war began, he soon became one of its most eloquent foes.


On November 27, 1965, Oglesby gave a speech before tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators in Washington, which became one of the most important documents to come out of the anti-war movement. According to historian Kirkpatrick Sale: "It was a devastating performance: skilled, moderate, learned, and compassionate, but uncompromising, angry, radical, and above all persuasive. It drew the only standing ovation of the afternoon."


Following the demise of SDS, Oglesby taught politics at Antioch, Dartmouth College and M.I.T, and wrote a column for the Boston Phoenix that merged geopolitical theory with his keen interest in the hidden dimensions of the Watergate scandal, the John F. Kennedy assassination, and the C.I.A.


He was the author of several books, including Containment and Change, The Yankee and Cowboy War: Conspiracies from Dallas to Watergate, and most recently the memoir, Ravens in the Storm: A Personal History of the 1960's Antiwar Movement.


He is survived by his children Aron DiBacco, Shay Ogelsby-Smith, and Caleb, and Carl's partner, Barbara Webster.




Also, this excerpt from the end of his most famous DC speech:


"Let me then speak directly to humanist liberals. If my facts are wrong, I will soon be corrected. But if they are right, then you may face a crisis of conscience. Corporatism or humanism: which? For it has come to that. Will you let your dreams be used? Will you be a grudging apologist for the corporate state? Or will you help try to change it - not in the name of this or that blueprint or ism, but in the name of simple human decency and democracy and the vision that wise and brave men saw in the time of our own Revolution?

And if your commitment to human values is unconditional, then disabuse yourselves of the notion that statements will bring change, if only the right statements can be written, or that interviews with the mighty will bring change if only the mighty can be reached, or that marches will bring change if only we can make them massive enough, or that policy proposals will bring change if only we can make them responsible enough.

We are dealing now with a colossus that does not want to be changed. It will not change itself. It will not cooperate with those who want to change it. Those allies of ours in the Government - are they really our allies? If they are, then they don't need advice, they need constituencies; they don't need study groups, they need a movement. And it they are not, then all the more reason for building that movement with the most relentless conviction.

There are people in this country today who are trying to build that movement, who aim at nothing less than a humanist reformation. And the humanist liberals must understand that it is this movement with which their own best hopes are most in tune. We radicals know the same history that you liberals know, and we can understand your occasional cynicism, exasperation, and even distrust. But we ask you to put these aside and help us risk a leap. Help us find enough time for the enormous work that needs doing here. Help us build. Help us shape the future in the name of plain human hope."

[Peter Lemkin]

Thanks for that sad news, Dawn. A great loss. Most of the younger people here wouldn't know much about Carl. I remember him from 'back then' and will remember him after today too.....a real American hero....of which we have all too few. He made a difference and fought to analyze and change things for the better - what more can one do! Sadly, we have lost yet another. I'm sure you'll post the full obit.