Mental Health Problems as a Barrier to Revolution

[¿Que?]

I was wondering. I know a lot of us feel we don't have good support networks, we don't feel loved, we feel lonely, we feel callous, we sometimes don't feel at all when we should etc. etc. This is clearly a barrier to radicalism and revolt. Without being able to forge strong bonds of trust and solidarity in an immediate and salient way, as opposed to in an abstract "solidarity with the <place> <number>," how can we ever hope to achieve the change that this world so desperately needs. Katrina (as well as other "natural" disasters) proved that the proletariat will be and has been the first to feel the brunt of ecological degradation. Yet we are all mulling over feelings and such.

I'm not saying these are not important. But I personally think I have been dwelling too much on personal issues, and not been active enough in the struggle. Furthermore, because I'm on break and I have nothing to do for the next week, I intend to drive 30-45min to another town for the next three days to work with an immigrants' right group, when I could just as easily find something worthwhile to do locally. Why? Because I have worked with this group before when I lived in this other town. Is this really a good reason?

To my credit, I have been trying to build networks of leftist social awareness in my area, however, this is extremely hard and only possible due to the rampant poverty that exists as well as the handful of students who share these political views about capitalism. To be honest, I have not engaged the non-student working class at all, and most of the radicals live in the other town.

None of this is enough, I'm afraid. I'm not happy, but more importantly, no change is occurring. And I fear that time is not on our side on this one. We spend so much time critiquing as if the act in itself was emancipatory. It is not. It must be followed by action, praxis, doing, fighting and struggling. Marx knew this way back when, yet it seems we have yet to learn it, as humans and myself as an individual.

What to do?

[Decolonize The Left]

Time doesn't take sides - it's all we ever have.

You sound depressed. I suggest you take a look at this thread (http://www.revleft.com/vb/feeling-depressedi-look-t143094/index.html) for some help if you wish.

As for your current logistical problems, if you really want to drive the other town, you should. You need to listen to yourself and understand what it is you want to do, then stop at nothing to do it. If you are disheartened by the lack of radical activism in your area, you probably need to find others of similar feelings. It's much harder to trudge up the mountain alone then with company.

- August

[¿Que?]

Well it is partly a bit of "the lonely's" as a short lived friendship partner would say. But it is more than that. I'm trying to connect to the broader context of social justice or what have you, and I'm asking myself if we can make it. We are using up resources faster than we can acquire them, and the world is going to shit ecologically. Furthermore, I am getting old, and am addicted to bad food and cigarettes. I don't know if I can turn my life around and I don't know if humanity can either...

[Decolonize The Left]

Well it is partly a bit of "the lonely's" as a short lived friendship partner would say. But it is more than that. I'm trying to connect to the broader context of social justice or what have you, and I'm asking myself if we can make it. We are using up resources faster than we can acquire them, and the world is going to shit ecologically. Furthermore, I am getting old, and am addicted to bad food and cigarettes. I don't know if I can turn my life around and I don't know if humanity can either...

Well, in the end it doesn't matter. The truth is that there is no truth, only time and space and our perspective on this which we call the unfolding of events. There is no right, no wrong, no in between - there are only our feelings on our ideas of these words.

So take solace in the reality that it's all for naught.

Then again, you are here and suicide isn't an option. So you are forced to make sense of, and deal with, the fact that it's all for naught. You are a human being with a life and a will - you need to confront the fact that whether or not it's all for naught it doesn't matter. All that matters is what you make of yourself and what you call your own.

With this perspective you can rid yourself of these worries about whether or not we're 'gonna make it,' and the anxiety of attempting to shoulder the burden which doesn't exist.

Your will is all you have - strength is found in the execution of this knowledge.

- August

[¿Que?]

So I guess I should just live my life as if it were to happen exactly the same every time until infinity eh? (making a reference to your Nietzsche sig) You're probably right, actually.

[Quail]

Well it is partly a bit of "the lonely's" as a short lived friendship partner would say. But it is more than that. I'm trying to connect to the broader context of social justice or what have you, and I'm asking myself if we can make it. We are using up resources faster than we can acquire them, and the world is going to shit ecologically. Furthermore, I am getting old, and am addicted to bad food and cigarettes. I don't know if I can turn my life around and I don't know if humanity can either...
It can be quite depressing when you can see, for example as you said, "the world going to shit ecologically" and feeling powerless to do anything about it. The same goes for social injustice and other problems with capitalism. We'd all like to see the end of social injustice (and necessarily the end of capitalism) but it can often seem as though it's hopeless, and it's never going to happen.
Working with an immigrants' rights group is a good thing to do, and while it isn't solving all of the world's problems, it's making a difference to the immigrants that need support. All you can really do is try to engage with the struggle as much as possible, spread the word, try and get other people involved. You should try not to let it get you down so much because as an individual, other than being involved in the struggle as much as you have the time and energy for, there's not a lot you can do on your own.

[FreeFocus]

Things won't be this way forever. Things might suck today, and tomorrow, but nothing lasts forever. I always remember that and use that to stay positive about things. I know that one day, imperialism will die, hunger will cease to exist, etc. I want to contribute to this in my lifetime, even if I don't live to see the final stands of these ills. Revolutionaries can be discouraged, but revolutionaries should also never quit.

[¿Que?]

there's not a lot you can do on your own.
I agree with this. But I've been thinking that there are certain things I can do. At the very least I could try to initiate some sort of collective movement. I know that sounds a bit egoist, but an individual or small group can grow to something bigger.


Things won't be this way forever. Things might suck today, and tomorrow, but nothing lasts forever.
What worries me is what it will take to bring down imperialism. A worldwide catastrophe of some sort? Nuclear war? Do we know that after imperialism things will be better. There is no rule by which we can say things get better. Things could get worse.


Revolutionaries can be discouraged, but revolutionaries should also never quit.
Agreed, basically for the reasons stated above. The role of revolutionaries is to ensure that when imperialism falls, it is replaced by a better system and at minimal cost to the general populace.

[Amphictyonis]

Well it is partly a bit of "the lonely's" as a short lived friendship partner would say. But it is more than that. I'm trying to connect to the broader context of social justice or what have you, and I'm asking myself if we can make it. We are using up resources faster than we can acquire them, and the world is going to shit ecologically. Furthermore, I am getting old, and am addicted to bad food and cigarettes. I don't know if I can turn my life around and I don't know if humanity can either...

Short periods of apathy are healthy in order to stay sane. Just don't get stuck in a sort of perpetual nihilistic apathy. It's an uphill battle but human progress has been an uphill battle all along. Sometimes it happens very quickly but usually it's a slow evolving process. In both cases progress wouldn't happen unless people made it happen. I feel, these days, we're lacking the numbers necessary to push human progress to the next level. Part of the reason is capitalist culture itself. Everyone is emerged in it. Saturated by it. Inoculated.

[¿Que?]

Short periods of apathy are healthy in order to stay sane. Just don't get stuck in a sort of perpetual nihilistic apathy. It's an uphill battle but human progress has been an uphill battle all along. Sometimes it happens very quickly but usually it's a slow evolving process. In both cases progress wouldn't happen unless people made it happen. I feel, these days, we're lacking the numbers necessary to push human progress to the next level. Part of the reason is capitalist culture itself. Everyone is emerged in it. Saturated by it. Inoculated.
I think you are getting to one of the contradictions Marx exploded. That is that while "culture" is epiphenomenal to capitalism (as an economic system), we also have to deal with hegemony in a Gramscian sense, that is, as something more than coercion through violence. That is essentially the problem. Is the answer an authoritative structure that will make sure everyone gets with the program, though? Or is authority itself the problem?

[Amphictyonis]

I think you are getting to one of the contradictions Marx exploded. That is that while "culture" is epiphenomenal to capitalism (as an economic system), we also have to deal with hegemony in a Gramscian sense, that is, as something more than coercion through violence. That is essentially the problem. Is the answer an authoritative structure that will make sure everyone gets with the program, though? Or is authority itself the problem?

A have no concrete answers, only opinions. What i do know for sure is capitalists and their various states are hard at work to keep us all 'content' in their system. My opinion is we'll see more supporters of socialism when material conditions worsen in the advanced capitalist nations but this won't happen all by itself- we need to make it happen. Worsening material conditions will happen with no effort from us but spreading proper class awareness when the people are most open to it is our job.

If anything, right now during this crisis, you should feel a sense of urgency to spread class awareness during the attacks on social programs, unemployment benefits, school funding etc. I find it hard though because most people are so confused by the main stream media and the Democrat/Republican game they don't even have the ability or willingness to broaden their vision to see the whole picture.

We're up against capitalist governments who have trillions of dollars at their disposal, private corporations/capitalists who are also spending billions to keep this system afloat and a media system owned by capitalists so it's no surprise most people are brainwashed into supporting capitalism. I think our beast weapon is going to be the worsening present and future crisis's.

[¿Que?]

Yes, but then people vote for Democrats, and the capitalist thinking hardens as right libertarianism on account of the fact that the uneducated associate the worsening condition with the real left rather than a lame, neutered, conciliatory, version of it.