After spending 12 hours driving back to Northern California today, I decided to stop for the night and finish my return trip tomorrow. As my thoughts wandered during today's long drive, I thought about how much I enjoyed my wonderful partner during my visit and how great Thursday's anti-Fourth of July (Fourth of the Lie) program was in New Mexico. I left there feeling refreshed and ready to confront the challenges waiting for me. I also thought about the contradictions of Thursday as a so-called holiday. I thought about the large number of people in this society who would be so offended if they had experienced the U.S. flag burning portion of Thursday's anti-program. I know that many of the people I know and adore wouldn't really understand why we would burn the U.S. flag. Lots of people just see doing that as antagonistic or hurtful. What's amazing about that is how is it that those people can elevate any feelings of remorse for the burning of a worthless flag above them recognizing why the flag is being burned in the first place?
Let's state clearly that we understand that for many people, Thursday isn't, and has never been, about celebrating anything about the U.S. I know many people who just want an opportunity to relax from the rigors of capitalism and a day when most people don't have to report to their wage slave is clearly the best day to have such gatherings. We get that and since we understand how brutal this system is on us daily, we definitely support anything healthy people can do to hang onto their sanity. The thought we pondered the most today was how it is that so many people can freely act like the logic behind protesting the U.S. flag has no validity? I'm talking about people who are generally reasonable in every other area of life, but who defiantly express outrage at burning the flag while ignoring the injustices that facilitate the flag burning in the first place. Its not like anyone can claim in 2019 that they didn't know the reasons. The people who signed the so-called declaration of independence - you know, folks like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, etc., were signing this document, which we are all told represents freedom and democracy, while those same individuals bought and sold Africans, routinely raped African women, and beat and engaged in dehumanizing treatment against the human beings - our ancestors - that they owned. Meanwhile, they carried out a program of systemic genocide against the Indigenous people so that they cannot even properly participate in their own homeland today. This is all common knowledge in 2019. So, the people who arrogantly send out bourgeoisie imperialist support for July 4th can obviously do so if they desire, but they don't get to act like they don't understand why people are protesting those symbols. Yet, they do act like they don't understand and the environment here in this society is so in favor of their blatant ignorance that they can do so without even being challenged in most cases which certainly reinforces their arrogance.
If you understand and acknowledge the reasons why we challenge the symbols of U.S. capitalism, its as if you are a school teacher who has been given a class full of children who firmly believe 1 + 1 = 20. And, since most of them believe they are correct, they are convinced you are the one who is wrong. The question is if you were faced with this type of challenge, what would you do? Would you just say to hell with them and leave the class? Or, would you use your skill and wit to figure out how to convince them of the truth?
What we need today are more people who will work to carry out the latter. Its not to say we have to argue with these self righteous and arrogant people. It is to say that we have to figure out how to create an environment where ignorance is not comfortable like it is today. If we can create that type of environment, the children who are so confident they are correct about 1 + 1 equaling 20 will soon realize their confidence may be misplaced once enough people begin to demand that their thinking be challenged. That's the problem now. No legitimate challenge is being waged against the backward thinking. Instead, the tide is so much in the opposite direction that people are comfortable challenging us for protesting, but this is to be expected. The confused children will initially challenge the one who declares that 1 + 1 = 2 until enough people are saying it. Since the confusion isn't based in material reality, although its foundation appears invincible when most people believe it, once its seriously questioned, that foundation will shatter almost overnight.
I'll be completely honest also. This type of work is organizing work. Revolutionary organizing work at that. We need much more of it which means we need more people who are willing to engage work this way. Our motivation for engaging this work should be because the fact this arrogant ignorance is so comfortable is more a reflection on those of us who are supposed to know better than it is on the people who are confused. When the parents walk into your classroom and all the children are saying 1 + 1 = 20, the parents will rightfully question your commitment to creating a learning environment. We cannot just be satisfied in punching white supremacists. That would be the equivalent of pushing recess as a way to avoid engaging the youth because punching a single white supremacist while this entire system is white supremacist, is just a way to avoid the problem while appearing to be doing something about it.
Its time for us to figure these things out. What ideas do you have as to how we can change this environment? This culture? By now, you should have been able to figure out that once we change people's thinking around issues like this we are well on our way to changing this society. That's why I spent so much time thinking of this today because that's what I think about most of the time - how to change this world one conversation to thousands at a time. People have to crawl before they can walk so no one who understands revolution is going to be talking about any weapons right now. The war we are fighting is for people's consciousness. So, what are your thoughts? You don't need to share them with me. Just start practicing them. That would do quite a bit to shake things up for the better. Someone reading this who believes no one listens to them has ideas about this that are probably much better than any of mine. Please bring it to life. Our futures depend upon it.
Let's state clearly that we understand that for many people, Thursday isn't, and has never been, about celebrating anything about the U.S. I know many people who just want an opportunity to relax from the rigors of capitalism and a day when most people don't have to report to their wage slave is clearly the best day to have such gatherings. We get that and since we understand how brutal this system is on us daily, we definitely support anything healthy people can do to hang onto their sanity. The thought we pondered the most today was how it is that so many people can freely act like the logic behind protesting the U.S. flag has no validity? I'm talking about people who are generally reasonable in every other area of life, but who defiantly express outrage at burning the flag while ignoring the injustices that facilitate the flag burning in the first place. Its not like anyone can claim in 2019 that they didn't know the reasons. The people who signed the so-called declaration of independence - you know, folks like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, etc., were signing this document, which we are all told represents freedom and democracy, while those same individuals bought and sold Africans, routinely raped African women, and beat and engaged in dehumanizing treatment against the human beings - our ancestors - that they owned. Meanwhile, they carried out a program of systemic genocide against the Indigenous people so that they cannot even properly participate in their own homeland today. This is all common knowledge in 2019. So, the people who arrogantly send out bourgeoisie imperialist support for July 4th can obviously do so if they desire, but they don't get to act like they don't understand why people are protesting those symbols. Yet, they do act like they don't understand and the environment here in this society is so in favor of their blatant ignorance that they can do so without even being challenged in most cases which certainly reinforces their arrogance.
If you understand and acknowledge the reasons why we challenge the symbols of U.S. capitalism, its as if you are a school teacher who has been given a class full of children who firmly believe 1 + 1 = 20. And, since most of them believe they are correct, they are convinced you are the one who is wrong. The question is if you were faced with this type of challenge, what would you do? Would you just say to hell with them and leave the class? Or, would you use your skill and wit to figure out how to convince them of the truth?
What we need today are more people who will work to carry out the latter. Its not to say we have to argue with these self righteous and arrogant people. It is to say that we have to figure out how to create an environment where ignorance is not comfortable like it is today. If we can create that type of environment, the children who are so confident they are correct about 1 + 1 equaling 20 will soon realize their confidence may be misplaced once enough people begin to demand that their thinking be challenged. That's the problem now. No legitimate challenge is being waged against the backward thinking. Instead, the tide is so much in the opposite direction that people are comfortable challenging us for protesting, but this is to be expected. The confused children will initially challenge the one who declares that 1 + 1 = 2 until enough people are saying it. Since the confusion isn't based in material reality, although its foundation appears invincible when most people believe it, once its seriously questioned, that foundation will shatter almost overnight.
I'll be completely honest also. This type of work is organizing work. Revolutionary organizing work at that. We need much more of it which means we need more people who are willing to engage work this way. Our motivation for engaging this work should be because the fact this arrogant ignorance is so comfortable is more a reflection on those of us who are supposed to know better than it is on the people who are confused. When the parents walk into your classroom and all the children are saying 1 + 1 = 20, the parents will rightfully question your commitment to creating a learning environment. We cannot just be satisfied in punching white supremacists. That would be the equivalent of pushing recess as a way to avoid engaging the youth because punching a single white supremacist while this entire system is white supremacist, is just a way to avoid the problem while appearing to be doing something about it.
Its time for us to figure these things out. What ideas do you have as to how we can change this environment? This culture? By now, you should have been able to figure out that once we change people's thinking around issues like this we are well on our way to changing this society. That's why I spent so much time thinking of this today because that's what I think about most of the time - how to change this world one conversation to thousands at a time. People have to crawl before they can walk so no one who understands revolution is going to be talking about any weapons right now. The war we are fighting is for people's consciousness. So, what are your thoughts? You don't need to share them with me. Just start practicing them. That would do quite a bit to shake things up for the better. Someone reading this who believes no one listens to them has ideas about this that are probably much better than any of mine. Please bring it to life. Our futures depend upon it.
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