Truth…in Preparation for Revolution!

Immigration rights march on May 1st, 2006.
[Photo: Li Onesto/Revolution]

At a moment when much of humanity finds itself in a living hell, when the horror of the U.S. occupation of Iraq threatens to escalate into a war against Iran, and when the future of the planet itself is threatened, Revolution newspaper must be out there much more boldly and much more broadly—exposing what is going on, revealing why, and pointing to a revolutionary solution in the interests of the vast majority of humanity.

Millions are outraged about starvation in Africa, but how many understand how the workings of the vaunted market economy create acute, widespread global hunger? In a world where science itself is under attack, why is the president of the United States an “evolution denier,” and what does that have to do with fundamental changes in global economics and politics? Why, when the immoral and unjust Iraq war is opposed by a majority of people, are all the major presidential candidates in agreement that “all options are on the table” for a U.S. war on Iran, including nuclear attacks? Why are the rights of women to abortion and even birth control coming under relentless attack—with no established voice raising serious opposition? Why are Black people still facing the betrayal symbolized by Katrina—140 years after the Civil War and 35 years after the high tide of the Black Liberation struggle? What were the great accomplishments of previous socialist societies in Russia and China, how were they defeated, and how can people do better in the next wave of revolution?

In the pages of Revolution newspaper, readers find answers to these and other burning questions of the times, answers that proceed from a ruthless search for truth, and from a commitment to bringing a much better world into being. Revolution brings you the voices of the modern-day proletariat, those on the bottom of society with nothing to lose but their chains. You hear from the workers in the factories and fields, the prisoners, the immigrants, the youth, the parents of people shot down by police and more. Revolution also brings you interviews with and opinions from people in the spheres of the arts, sciences and social and political movements. Revolution is a great newspaper, and getting better. Week in, week out, Revolution challenges readers with passionate, searing exposés, and revolutionary insights into burning issues of philosophy, politics, science, art, sports, and more—what the Utne Reader calls “a rousing read.”

Even beyond this, Revolution aims to enable its readers to make a scientific assessment and analysis of all events in society and the world—to strip away “official story” and reveal the underlying reality. To put events in context, and to show how major events are fundamentally driven, in complex ways, by this system. Revolution shows readers how different strata in society respond to the events of the day, and how the proletariat can lead a revolution that embraces all those who protest and rebel. And Revolution is committed to being a living link between the struggle against injustice, and the exposure and analysis we do now, and the goal of a communist world.

Critical to this newspaper's mission are the contributions of Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Bob Avakian's revival of, and re-envisioning of communism, as well as his penetrating analyses of U.S. society, his insights into the process of understanding the world, as well as his practical guidance for struggle, are essential reading for everyone serious about understanding the situation we’re in and how to change it. (See "Revolution: Connecting People with Bob Avakian" )

Revolution brings truth, and a revolutionary perspective, to a uniquely diverse audience that includes prisoners, students, professors, youth in the housing projects, artists, immigrant workers, anti-war activists and scientists and others. Yet, there is a potential for far, far more people to read this paper.

Revolution is launching a six month expansion drive, accompanied by a fund drive to raise $500,000

This $500,000 will be a first step to realize the potential and rise to the challenge.

This newspaper must be a voice that cannot be ignored on any campus, helping to radically transform the atmosphere in high schools and universities. It must reach into the communities of scientists, artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, and everyone who cares about the fate of humanity.

And imagine the societal impact of a revolutionary movement, with this newspaper at the center, based among those who society has enslaved, cast off, or locked up— the proletariat. Imagine such a paper giving them a sweeping view of all the other forces who protest and rebel against the things this system does, and enabling these modern-day slaves to take up their role as the backbone of a revolutionary movement and become emancipators of humanity. For that to happen, this newspaper must reach deep into the prisons, housing projects, ghettos, barrios, reservations, factories and fields. One excruciating expression of the gap that must be closed: Hundreds of readers in prisons around the U.S. read, share, study, discuss, and correspond with Revolution, but hundreds more prisoners have requested subsidized subscriptions that cannot be filled due to lack of funds!

With an expanded financial base, Revolution can support a sustained campaign to greatly expand its online and print readership. An expanded fund base will enable more street sales. It will allow Revolution to make its web edition—revcom.us—more dynamic, more interactive, and more accessible to people who rely on the web for news, as well as to readers around the world who rely on reading the paper online, sometimes at great risk. And a stronger fund base will allow expansion of the paper's e-subscription list, more commercial distribution, and subsidized subscriptions for prisoners, as well as subsidized print subscriptions for readers around the world.

Additional funds will allow for strengthened editorial content—more ability to send reporters to cover major events around the world at a moment's notice -- to New Orleans after Katrina, to the packing houses being raided by immigration agents, to scientific conferences, concerts, galleries, and to meet and interview major figures in every field. An expanded financial base will allow for a more attractive paper with more color, and better photos.

Essential to the mission of Revolution, additional funds will improve the quality of the weekly Spanish edition that brings Revolution to a bilingual audience in the U.S., and to the Spanish speaking world. And, allow a stronger Spanish language section of revcom.us.

And an expanded fund base will provide money to advertise and promote the print and online versions of Revolution in every region of the country.

A core of dedicated people, including financial sustainers, currently allows Revolution to accomplish important things. But that core must expand, and become the base from which Revolution truly reaches into every corner of society. Your generous contribution to our six month, $500,000 expansion and fundraising drive can make that possible. Much is at stake. If people are going to really understand what is going on, and if something good is to be pulled out of the current storms, a greatly expanded Revolution newspaper must be at the heart of that process.

Read, distribute, and contribute generously to Revolution!

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