Helping People Live in Today's World.

[RedCeltic]

It has been said to me often on this board that efforts to help people survive are helping capitalism live. That somehow, we should distance ourselves from the worker... stand over him with our hands folded behind our backs and say, "Now dear, all your suffering would go away if you would help fight for socialism."

I suppose this is what happens when socialism is in the hands of scholarly intellectuals with noses buried in texts, held by smooth creamy hands that have never seen a day's labor.

Comrades, if socialism isn't about helping the working class live to the best of their ability by helping them any way we can, than it's a force of idealistic jargon that will never uplift a soul out of the dust and grime of everyday life.

If, by some measure, these ideologues deem me a "sell out" by helping to feed, cloth, and shelter the homeless, than so be it. I will not stand by and watch people starve while intellectuals stand in back rooms and argue revolution.

If, by some measure, I am deemed a "traitor" by supporting Labor Unions, than so be it. I will not sit by and watch worker's rights being trampled upon while so called revolutionaries Talk of revolution.

If by some measure I am deemed "Soft on Capitalism" because I fight for reforms than so be it. While we are fighting to give the people a better world to live, they will still be in their back rooms and libraries talking about revolution.

Talk Talk Talk, let them do their talking. We will continue to be fighting for the people, not long dead men and texts in dusty old books with yellow pages.





(Edited by RedCeltic at 7:34 pm on Sep. 12, 2002)

[timbaly]

I don't see why anyone would call you a traitor you are helping the working class, so what if it's in a capitalist system. It is far better than doing nothing while talking about revolution. Nobody should have a problem with what you're doing. However i'm betting someone will plus they'll probaly have a good argument along with it, so i'll just wait for that

[soilride]

Its one thing to be a socialist, its another to be a revolutionary socialist. Reality determines what you are and so does one's actions in reality.

It means directly struggling with the working class and from the people themselves another world that is possible. And with this comes experience. We learn through experience...and we grow from it.

Anyone can come in here and "talk talk talk" . It looks like most people have lived their whole lives on the net.
People are more caught in the "net" than actually engaging in the world.

RedCeltic-I have no grudge against you...but i must agree with you that this whole site is filled with people who do not think, and even worse who do not act. Whatever your grudge is-it can not be against those who are trying to figure out what is going on. In fact, no one is really in a position to really belittle anyone.

If you want to think of me as "intellectual" with an image of me with a book up my nose...fine. I do love to read by the way...but I am hardly an intellectual. I am not even a student...so much for intellect.

My main point however is that no one seems to care for anybody when they attack others and just sound off and storm off. It is very harmful to any social movement and any revolution, any discussion. i try to refrain from calling anyone anything or cussing in my statements, not because i am trying to be 'moral' or 'philosophical" or "intellectual" but because that is the way I am.

Some have said that I am against the working class because i don't quote marx enough or that I don't know anything of Marxism because I don't speak about communism -yadda yadda yah ... They don't know what i think, and i really hate it when people try to tell others that i am something I know I am not. I dont need to talk about Marxism or Communism to be "Marxist" or to be "Communist" or to fight alongside the working class. All I need to know from Marx is comprehension in what he has to say about nature, society, mankind. I do not need to rewrite-rethink everything he has writtened. yet I must be able to think and reflect on what has been said and then with my own mind to really think for myself what is to be true and what isn't.

Someone very close to me works as a Machinist in a company that makes parts for warplanes and military machines. He knows exactly what he doing, although he may not agree with it. Yet he does have to live. He also understands why this contradiction exists in society. He lives this contradiction yet he has no power to get rid of it.

The real question has yet to be asked: If you against this and that, then what are you *for*? What does one really stand for? And what is really needed in society to solve these problems?

Warmest regards,
soilride

[RedCeltic]

Comrade,

I wasn't talking about you specificly but rather a common trend that I have seen.

I admit that your statment was the one I was thinking of, however it only had reminded me of countless instances where people who consider a "Revolution" to mean taking up arms against the United States, and anything less is a waste of time.

Well, anyway, I think the point I was trying to make was that we need to make a step beyond talking about change, and become activists.