Urgently Needed Leaps in Getting BA Everywhere
October 28, 2012 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
In a world that is desperately crying out for revolution, be part of the movement to spread the voice, vision and works of Bob Avakian—the leadership we have for the revolution we need into every corner of society. This is what people need!
The world, as it is, is a horror for the great majority of humanity—from millions of children dying needlessly each year from preventable causes, to women being trafficked as slaves in the "sex trade," to global climate change threatening catastrophe for life on earth, and much, much more.
But the world does NOT have to be this way. All these horrors stem from the workings of the system we live under—capitalism-imperialism and the rule of exploiters and oppressors. It will take communist revolution to get rid of this criminal system and bring about a whole new, liberated future. And because of BA and the work he has done over several decades, summing up the positive and negative experience of the communist revolution so far, and drawing from a broad range of human experience, there is a new synthesis of communism that has been brought forward—there really is a viable vision and strategy for a radically new, and much better, society and world, and there is the crucial leadership that is needed to carry forward the struggle toward that goal.
Many more people throughout society urgently need to know in a basic sense what BA is about and to seriously engage the questions of revolution and human emancipation bound up with the breakthroughs Avakian has made. No one should underestimate the impact this can—and will—have in lifting the sights of people who right now hate the way things are but are caught up in thinking that the world can be no other way, and in moving them to join this movement for a real revolution.
This is where the campaign to get BA Everywhere has come in. It is a major effort to raise big money, through different creative means and involving many different people, in order to fund the projection of BA's leadership, voice, and work in a much greater and broader way—in short, to make BA a household name and the new synthesis of communism a point of reference, discussion, and debate throughout society. This fundraising campaign is dynamically related to, and in fact crucial to, putting this movement on the map, to expanding and pushing forward the overall movement for revolution.
Over the past year, a movement has been born. (Check out the BA Everywhere section at revcom.us to get a sense of this.) But there is much more to be done... many more people to reach and to draw into this movement. This is a moment to renew our efforts and make new leaps. Let's look to the next weeks and months to make much-needed advances. And if you're just finding out about this, there are many ways you can get involved.
Spread the Cornel West Interview with BA Far and Wide
The prominent public intellectual Cornel West recently interviewed BA for the public radio show Smiley & West. The interview aired on stations across the country and is available for download, and permission has been given by the original radio show for it to be picked up and broadcast all over. This is an extraordinary introduction to BA. Packed into a little over 30 minutes, the interview gives a living sense of this leader and what he has been working on. The warm, heartfelt introduction by West and his thoughtful questions open the door to listeners to really check BA out if they haven't heard of him before, or to get deeper into him if they have.
This is a great opportunity for there to be many listening sessions/parties and to raise money for the BA Everywhere campaign—in the neighborhoods, dorms, salon-type gatherings, and other places—inviting broadly. The interview will no doubt spark lively discussion—and this is an excellent situation to ask people to contribute funds so that BA's voice and vision can spread out in a qualitatively wider way. (See box on page 4 for more on the interview and how to help it reach far and wide.)
In every corner of the country, campus and other radio stations should be urged to play this interview.
Get Out BAsics 1:22
This is also a time when people are being hit with even more intense levels of election frenzy, as those in power work overtime to suck people in to play the game of "choosing" between the two candidates for top political representative of the ruling class. It's a game that the people always lose if they play—because it is controlled and decided entirely by the rulers, in order to further their interests which are directly opposed to the interests of the people. BAsics 1:22, the currently featured BAsics quote—along with last month's quote, 1:3—cuts right through this election game to some essential truths about the system. (See this issue's centerfold for BAsics 1:22 and the back page for 1:3.)
Think about how stacks of the BAsics quote palm cards can get into the hands of many people—who can then spread them out to many, many more. Getting these cards out in the neighborhoods, at workplaces, on campuses and other places is a very concrete and important way people can be part of BA Everywhere and the movement for revolution—right now. And fundraising should be an integral part of the plans, so that even more quote cards can be printed for wider distribution.
Bringing Forward a Movement as Funds Are Raised
Along with pushing out with the Cornel West interview and BAsics 1:22, it's also time to make fresh plans for the months ahead and around the upcoming holiday season. Gatherings of friends and family are opportunities to hear the Cornel West interview together or to view video clips of the BAsics Bus Tour from Atlanta to Sanford and BA speaking over the years—giving them a vision of how getting BA's voice and work out there in a much greater way can change the awful terms pervading society right now.
Fundraising not only raises money that is absolutely essential to accomplishing critical goals in the movement for revolution, it is a way for many people to do something concrete and meaningful that makes a real difference, even as they are starting to check out BA and the movement for revolution. And it brings people together and helps forge community—a shared sense of momentum and excitement at reaching goals and making breakthroughs, including seeing how the funds that are raised translate into an immediate impact in society.
The new synthesis of communism is a potential source of hope and daring on a solid scientific foundation. This potential has come alive in beginning ways. A national movement is being born and has begun to break through. People the campaign has touched across the country not only see the source of the brutality and misery they and others suffer under this system, but the possibilities for a whole other way the world can be.
In the coming weeks and months, let's go out into the swirl of the world and make urgently needed leaps in getting BA Everywhere!
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