Dreamer...
19th January 2012, 23:47
Hello RevLeft forum,
I'll get straight to the point. I am here because I strongly believe that left-wing policies are simply the best possible path for humanity. Away from private gain, backstabbing and profit and toward an appreciation of our unique position on earth as human beings. Away from fear and reactionary attitudes and toward progression of ourselves rather than progression of our "stuff".
I suppose I was born to be left wing. Growing up my family were on benefits and the social support system, the welfare state, is something I would truly hate to see disappear. It is because of these services that I grew up in safe area, went to a good primary school and don't speak like a typical Brummie.
:p
I'm also an idealist, I can't help it. I believe that humanity can do so much better than what we have. The rampant consumerism, the fact that I can't avoid being bombarded with advertisements, brain-rotting junk permeating every aspect of life and the sameness of every place I have visited bring me to the point of despair. The "sameness" I refer to coming from the same shops, the same bars, the same businesses appearing everywhere I go. I believe that can only be due to the monopoly on certain sectors of production and it is making different places lose their uniqueness and character. It makes me sad, and it's getting worse.
That brings me to my next point, I don't know what can be done. I am not particularly politically active and drift between feelings of righteous indignation and utter hopelessness. I don't know who is in control of these things, let alone how to change the situation. The system feels too big and powerful that I could do anything to make a positive change.
I haven't had an incredibly tough childhood. I was saved the experience of growing up in a poor, rough and anger-inspiring neighbourhood by social housing...who knows what I would be like now had that not happened? I was not wealthy and still am not but I didn't have to live in abject poverty, I grew up with a smokescreen that did not allow me to see the real situation because I was the only one in it and my parents did the best they could to not highlight the fact that my brother and I did not really belong in the area we lived in.
So I am at a crossroads. In my heart I am surely working-class but growing up poor around the rich, but not really knowing it, and then going to secondary school sounding posher than those around me in a working-class area. I'm in a kind of grey area when it comes to my own class, I suppose.
I first heard about ideas of Marxism and Communism from my A-Level History teacher who was clearly a proponent of the ideas; he had the entire works of Trotsky in his office. I read The ABC of Communism by Nikolai Bukharin and, though I knew it was propaganda, it did make sense.
I'm not big into theoretical Marxism. I'm not one of these people who can spout off theory or really consider myself aligned to any particular branch of Marxism. I like the principles but feel as though Marx is certainly a four-letter-word in society today.
Anyway, I've gone on for long enough. I don't think I've ever written an introductory post as long as this before but I hope it shows that I am serious about this. I am very concerned about benefits and services being cut in the UK. It's real, it's happening, and the next generation will potentially not receive the same opportunities. These services really are a lifeline for some people and they have to remain and hopefully grow.
Most of all, I'm here to learn from others and get some new insight into an issue which is to me, very real. This is, I feel, a significant time in human history. It feels like a turning point.
Thanks
Dreamer.
P.S. See you around the boards! :)
x
I'll get straight to the point. I am here because I strongly believe that left-wing policies are simply the best possible path for humanity. Away from private gain, backstabbing and profit and toward an appreciation of our unique position on earth as human beings. Away from fear and reactionary attitudes and toward progression of ourselves rather than progression of our "stuff".
I suppose I was born to be left wing. Growing up my family were on benefits and the social support system, the welfare state, is something I would truly hate to see disappear. It is because of these services that I grew up in safe area, went to a good primary school and don't speak like a typical Brummie.
:p
I'm also an idealist, I can't help it. I believe that humanity can do so much better than what we have. The rampant consumerism, the fact that I can't avoid being bombarded with advertisements, brain-rotting junk permeating every aspect of life and the sameness of every place I have visited bring me to the point of despair. The "sameness" I refer to coming from the same shops, the same bars, the same businesses appearing everywhere I go. I believe that can only be due to the monopoly on certain sectors of production and it is making different places lose their uniqueness and character. It makes me sad, and it's getting worse.
That brings me to my next point, I don't know what can be done. I am not particularly politically active and drift between feelings of righteous indignation and utter hopelessness. I don't know who is in control of these things, let alone how to change the situation. The system feels too big and powerful that I could do anything to make a positive change.
I haven't had an incredibly tough childhood. I was saved the experience of growing up in a poor, rough and anger-inspiring neighbourhood by social housing...who knows what I would be like now had that not happened? I was not wealthy and still am not but I didn't have to live in abject poverty, I grew up with a smokescreen that did not allow me to see the real situation because I was the only one in it and my parents did the best they could to not highlight the fact that my brother and I did not really belong in the area we lived in.
So I am at a crossroads. In my heart I am surely working-class but growing up poor around the rich, but not really knowing it, and then going to secondary school sounding posher than those around me in a working-class area. I'm in a kind of grey area when it comes to my own class, I suppose.
I first heard about ideas of Marxism and Communism from my A-Level History teacher who was clearly a proponent of the ideas; he had the entire works of Trotsky in his office. I read The ABC of Communism by Nikolai Bukharin and, though I knew it was propaganda, it did make sense.
I'm not big into theoretical Marxism. I'm not one of these people who can spout off theory or really consider myself aligned to any particular branch of Marxism. I like the principles but feel as though Marx is certainly a four-letter-word in society today.
Anyway, I've gone on for long enough. I don't think I've ever written an introductory post as long as this before but I hope it shows that I am serious about this. I am very concerned about benefits and services being cut in the UK. It's real, it's happening, and the next generation will potentially not receive the same opportunities. These services really are a lifeline for some people and they have to remain and hopefully grow.
Most of all, I'm here to learn from others and get some new insight into an issue which is to me, very real. This is, I feel, a significant time in human history. It feels like a turning point.
Thanks
Dreamer.
P.S. See you around the boards! :)
x