Education FIRST, then...REVOLUTION!

[R_P_A_S]

Recently my older brother found about about my "social awakening" And he wrote me a very long letter that not only made me understand him better. But It has really open up dialogue between us. two brothers that never really got along. Again I stress how much this new way of thinking and this ideogolies have completely changed me and made me a better person. and look! it has open doors between my brother and I!

His letter was in spanish so I will do my best to translate the key points that made sense to me.

he wrote:

Knowing of the atrocities that everyday people live day by day carries within itself great responsibility! As it’s an irresponsibility. To criticize any who don’t agree with your ideologies.

It’s essential to study and comprehend the situation of our people and their struggles before you react, or get hot headed and spit wild opinions instead of talking clearly!

Being a father of a 7 year old boy
Do you think that it’s convenient for me to leave my sons future in the hands of some so call “revolutionaries” who want to take up arms and for a revolution and march around shouting. “down with imperialism”?

Do you think I’ll give my sons future to people who with all due respect posess no order, neither have clear objectives or discipline to accomplish what they want? Aside from that they just hate the rest of the world who does not think like they think. The times have changed.
But that’s something you are going to have to realize on your own. By reading and embarking on a quest of knowledge.

This theme is obviously way more extensive and complicated. But you’ll be surprised I’m more radical than what I may appear. Of course I live an ordinary life, work,raise my child, concise, effective not to say nihilist

with this i leave you with some article I wrote for the leftist newspaper, here in my city...


That's the the key points of the letter. the rest of it was just things we all know here about the world and imperialism. So i didn't feel the need to put that. ANYWAYS! I might not of done a great job translating the end of it. the last paragraph so Im sorry.

I do believe that the best way to go about a real chance, a real shot for change. is education.
though i believe in a violent overthrow of the goverment in a revolution style of way. I also believe more in knowledge is power.

we need knowledge and we need to teach. show and lead the way in that form. Not scream and shout and praise violent attacks in the name of "freedom"

we need to undertand that most people have been brainwashed by the media and the text books that were written for them by the bourgeois. So there for they wont see things like we see them.

they won't understand our cause. I hope I'm making sense. and in no way am I a reformist or saying we should not fight back gun fire with gun fire. I support whatever we need to do by any means necessary. BUT! the path to gain power is knowledge! first things first nah???

on a last note. what attracted me to socialism and communism was the high level of knowledge that this people have. they are smart and intellectual. and what it stresses is TRUE! it makes perfect sense! It's not just some loose canon talking shit and hate! It's the honest truth!

I believe the left needs to move away from that image, the one that we are just "violent radicals, with no direction and just wild canon preaching hate!" Because I know thats not what we are and what we want to stand for and be know for. We are all truely for the peopel and have one thing in comon. we believe in humanity and that we have the power to break our chains and live free!

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!!!

[R_P_A_S]

so no comment on all this?

[Enragé]

ofcourse
the road to revolution is the spread of class consciousness, of revolutionary consciousness (so yes, education, we cant have a revolution if people know not the goals, the basic ideas behind it etc). If all goes well, the revolution wont be bloody at all, in the perfect circumstances the police and army will massively join is.
The only problem is that those circumstances are unlikely, still it doesnt have to be blood pouring down the streets at all.

Tell this to your brother;
one day of unbridled capitalism is infinitely more bloody than a whole week of "violent" revolution.

i mean, look at how the world is, "capitalist order" means poverty, oppression, slow death by malnutrition or a "quick" one by starvation, the club of a police man, the bullet of a soldier, whether a soldier from "your" nation, or one from another's.
Anything to disturb that "order", creating "chaos" in that system, saves lives every single second it lasts.
And..imposing a new, good order to make sure the old one never returns, does away with it forever...and that..is exactly our goal

[R_P_A_S]

and by educating I don't mean harassing and hating people who don't agree with us. that will only leave an other bad taste in peoples mouths. an other reason to hate us and no understand us.

[Dominicana_1965]

Well mi pana i agree with your brother.
Just like Che said "Thats why first i was reading...to do later"

Which is of course what im doing right now. Im accumulating all this knowledge im gaining to turn into 1 major database.

And so should all our fellow comrades.

[Enragé]

Originally posted by [email protected] 13, 2006 08:17 pm
and by educating I don't mean harassing and hating people who don't agree with us. that will only leave an other bad taste in peoples mouths. an other reason to hate us and no understand us.
ofcourse, goes without saying

[Pawn Power]

I would agree that knowledge is key, particularly at this time when there is massive corporate control of all major media outlets and state control and influence in schools. This propaganda does great job a covering up the truth. Bringing the truth to the surface is an important step in revolutionary struggle, not even regarding 'theory' or such but just getting things known that are hidden by the media and popular outlets of information.

That is; information on the war in Iraq, the occupation of Lebanon, disproportionate percentages of minorities in prisons, the distribution of wealth, and other ills of capitalism. And then an understanding of why and how these things arise, i.e. their roots in capitalism. From that a programs for change can be made by the masses of people themselves. From there we should always push for the more radical programs and intuitions.


But you’ll be surprised I’m more radical than what I may appear. Of course I live an ordinary life, work,raise my child, concise, effective

I am skeptical about this comment. Radicalism, at least in the sense of politics, is characterized by action not simply words and ideas. He could be revolutionary in ideology but if he does not act upon it what is the use?

[R_P_A_S]

an other thing that really made it "click" for me is when he said "what about my sons future".
As facinating and great the revolution idea and what comes after sounds. And how we get excited when we see others around the world fighting police and resisting. I had to think about my nephew that I love dearly. and I wonder if ANY OF YOU here actually have kids.

there are some people on this forum and outside of it, obviously who's idea of communist is completely fucked. and it's scary to think they believe they have the answer and can lead "us" to "victory" Its then when the whole thing about my nephew and if i had kids comes into picture. I too wouldn't want people lile that "leading the way" all we worked and sacrifices we made to get our kids everything, just so some "revolutionary" nut jobs can take it away.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Never forget that a revolution is the biggest learning process of all.

[Enragé]

we fight for a better future, a brighter day for those who come after us, whether it is my son/daughter, nephew etc or yours, for them we fight.

And yes, there are those waving the red flag while being in essence counter-revolutionary, and thats exactly why everyone should have a clear idea of what we're fighting for, exactly why we should not place leaders above us, exactly why we must organise, so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

Imagine the world in the future, if we do not stop all this madness, would you wish that for your nephew? For him to be exploited like so many generations before him, for him to know neither freedom nor dignity?


Never forget that a revolution is the biggest learning process of all.

yup
the development of class consciousness causes [open] class war, in the end revolution, and class war & revolution causes the development of class consciousness

[R_P_A_S]

Originally posted by [email protected] 13, 2006 10:32 pm
we fight for a better future, a brighter day for those who come after us, whether it is my son/daughter, nephew etc or yours, for them we fight.

And yes, there are those waving the red flag while being in essence counter-revolutionary, and thats exactly why everyone should have a clear idea of what we're fighting for, exactly why we should not place leaders above us, exactly why we must organise, so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

Imagine the world in the future, if we do not stop all this madness, would you wish that for your nephew? For him to be exploited like so many generations before him, for him to know neither freedom nor dignity?


Never forget that a revolution is the biggest learning process of all.

yup
the development of class consciousness causes [open] class war, in the end revolution, and class war & revolution causes the development of class consciousness
i feel you on all that. and I understand. But I mean now you PUT your self in my brothers shoes and he has been working very hard and managed to get two degrees while raising a child.

So i can understand him being uncertain and maybe even dissapointed about some of these peoples who vow they are "revolutionary" and are far from it and not only that probably angry ignorant people. because YES they do exist!

And this make him fear that these people will rob his son of his sovereignty. and with the bad reputation "revolutionaries" have (the fucked up ones) I guess he feels is not worth it to leave his sons future at the hands of some of this "comrades" and I can understand that.

[Enragé]

thats why we should organise against those "revolutionaries", ensure that the future of his son is in his own hands.
Thats also why we should build from below, on a community, or workplace level, so that revolutionary thought and practice always remains firmly rooted in the material circumstances of the worker.

[blueeyedboy]

I am a firm believer of knowledge being power. The problem is, is that the schools teach children that communism is wrong and all that crap. I think if there was a complete overhaul of the school system, and children were taught about everything, not just pro-cappie stuff, then there would be more of us out there. Don't get me wrong, if an individual realises that what they are being told is heavily regulated and there is more to it like us on here, then I look forward to the future ahead of us and more members of this great site.

Unless the schools are different, unfortunately I think there will always be more of them than us out there. I live in England, so my views are on British schools. I'm wondering if people think the same on here about regulated learning and topics associated with that.