Revolution #130, May 25, 2008
Letters from Prisoners
The following letters were forwarded to Revolution from the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund.
Just Finished Reading Away With All Gods!
I just finished reading “Away with All Gods!” by Bob Avakian. To say that it is a provocative analysis of religion is nearly an understatement! His analysis rings so true that it can be nothing else aside from a definite indictment of religionists and the ruling class that pushes it like a bunch of dope dealers.
Chairman Avakian correctly implies that relativism (subjectivism) which is so favored by the religious, is dangerous. An individual or a class is capable of self-determination only to the degree that they are willing and able to deal with factual reality. It’s a fact: no gods exist. So now we know this, now that we know that there is absolutely no “Supreme Being,” we must take this beyond rational knowledge and move it into the realm of practice.
Religions flourish inside prison because people are unwilling to accept the depths to which they have fallen. They are coddled by various religious groups, as well as pseudo-psychological Twelve Steps groups; “You can’t help yourself” they are told “it’s just in your nature.” This is obviously incorrect – sin doesn’t exist; no matter what mask you try to hide it under.
This is what Bob Avakian understands, and this is what Bob Avakian is saying. Humans must develop their positive characteristics and struggle with their negative ones, because no amount of prayer to an imaginary friend will do it for them. We must forge the present into a better future if we wish to live in a world where relationships aren’t based on mutual exploitation.
Thank you for sending me this new book. I will donate it to the prison library and encourage people I know to read it.
Solidarity,
XX
South Dakota
P.S. Would you please send me a copy of the article “God the Original Fascist” by A. Brooks?
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Without Revolution, This Concrete Tomb Would Be a Hopeless Place Indeed
Greetings from the gulag! I’ve received the back copies to Revolution newspaper you sent (#117-123), and I’d like to address a couple of those topics later. As you can see by the yellow publication denial slip, the prison confiscated #122 because “it contains the photograph of a nude child” on page 10. I suspect it was a copy of the photo of the little Vietnamese girl running from the U.S. napalm attack on her village (as on p. 4 of #105); I don’t know who or what they think they are protecting with their censorship but, what’re you gonna do? The photo surely did move me, but not in the way they’re afraid of….
Before I forget: comrades, please renew my subscription to Revolution newspaper. My cousin, my last family link with the outside world, is quickly passing away with cancer (it’s inoperable because of its location and extensive progress) and my being in a super seg. cell 24/7, you’re my only active connection with the outside world. Needless to say, I’m not financially able to purchase your critically necessary communications, but must wholly rely on the charitable generosity of my kind communist friends and comrades. Without you, this concrete tomb would be a hopeless place indeed!
Over the past year or so, from reading your publications, I find I am truly seeing the world through communist eyes more and more… I recently checked out a book from the prison library, The Establishment vs. the People, by Richard Viguerie. The title promised to be interesting and, I’m always open to learning and gathering different perspectives. Mr. Viguerie presents himself as a populist angry at Big Government for subverting the will of the people. He’s a proponent of the so-called Moral Majority. What he in fact is, is a right-wing Christian Fascist (is that redundant?) who wants to turn the country into a mindless theocracy (where he’ll feel more comfortable!). The point is, and my purpose in bringing this up: Two years ago I would not have been able to see through his bullshit and lies; he would have been able to hand feed me his half-truths and distortions and bald-faced lies, and I’d’ve been unable to discern the difference between that and strawberry ice cream. Perhaps, he’d’ve been able to con me into seeing the world through his eyes. And this is why I wrote earlier “your critically necessary communications.” Unfortunately, homo sapiens has not evolved to the point in which his or her bullshit meter is fully operative – if it were otherwise, we’d already live in one communist world. This is why your newspaper is so critical: it’s like a dialysis organ that helps the masses filter out the impurities that we’re inundated with on a daily basis, it’s the instrument which valiantly struggles against George Orwell’s dark prediction for the future characterized in 1984. A prediction coming more and more to pass every day.
Another case in point are the outstanding articles “Bamboozling You into the Empire,” and, “…A New Face on the Same Set-up?” On the progressive radio programs a consistent subject is the unreliability of the present voting machines, near “smoking-gun” evidence of voting fraud in several states and the “critical need” for comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation. It’s very easy to get caught up in these verbal sleight-of-hand arguments if one’s bullshit meter isn’t turned on. The argument being, of course, the system works if we can just vote out the few bugs in it. This is the BIG LIE that we’re conditioned to believe. The ideological prestidigitators job is to get everyone’s attention focused in one direction, while in another direction, out of vision and consciousness, the actual machinations of the illusions are performed. The aforementioned articles address the heart of the matter: the capitalist-imperialist system, in the personification of Uncle Sam, has his hand shoved up the backsides of all the candidates and is using them for finger puppets! You want Black? We got Black. You want female? We got female. That’s right folks, come one, come all; whatever you want we got. (Just don’t direct your attention toward the system and the fact that, like my cousin’s cancer, it’s inoperable.)
Concerning the issue of “supporting our troops,” Revolution newspaper, to my knowledge, is the only publication in the entire country with the clear insight and courage to come right out and say We Must Not Support Our Troops, and gives a clear and irrefutable argument why this is so…
Lastly, if I’m not taking up too much of your valuable time, I wanted to address the issue of anarchy: I have always held the concept of anarchy – a society of freely associating individuals devoid of government coercion – as an ideal. I still do and always will. Not on a space-of- the-moment whim did I get “Enemy of the State” quite boldly tattooed across my breastbone, and I’ll hold this ideal as permanently as the tattoo. How then, can I declare in a letter to you, which I wrote on October 26, of last year, (it’s my communist birthday!) that I’m a lifetime [communist]? Anarchists hate communists, don’t they? After all (so the reasoning goes), communists want to control every facet of the individual’s life – they’re anathema to emancipation. I have a rather large collection of books, some written by college professors and political scientists, and every single one of them depict communism as totalitarian dictatorship – total subjugation of the people to the State; they couldn’t all be lying, could they?
It’s in the capitalist-imperialist interest to lump together failed and failing bastardized systems that falsely depicted, and continue to depict themselves as being communist. Chairman Avakian addressed this in Phony Communism Is Dead…, and this issue cannot be overaddressed. Unfortunately, people have short memories and they’re easily led astray; their bullshit meters frequently malfunction!
The article: “Some Points on the Question of Revolutionary Leadership and Individual Leaders” [#120 pp. 6] addresses these conflicting viewpoints fairly and accurately. Journeying from where we are now to our ideal destination without intelligent guidance is likened to trying to negotiate a minefield, or travel through uncharted territory, alone: it’s foolhardy and almost sure to end in disaster. A thoughtful individual or group should be compelled to select the most intelligent and trustworthy guide and trailblazer available and trust to his guidance and direction. In my mind, there is no shadow of doubt Chairman Avakian and the vanguards of the Revolutionary Communist Party are the people with the intelligence and the expertise to lead us to where we’d like to get, a world of true emancipation of the individual; one communist world.
With much respect and warm regards,
YY
P.S. I hear the three murderers of Sean Bell have been acquitted of all charges – surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Another blow struck for justice and democracy… Not!
****
We Would Like to Have a Better Understanding of the RCP
A group and I have been reading the Revolution newspaper here in a Texas prison for a while now and we all enjoy it. Now we would like to have a better understanding of the Revolutionary Communist Party, its ideologies, principles, its vision, and its accomplishments. We are all indigent and you know how Texas prisons are. Inmates don’t get paid for work. Slavery! Anyways, I’m side tracking. B/2 subject, We will greatly appreciate it if you can send us some literature on Marxism, Maoism, Leninism, one on Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and any other book or pamphlet that will give us a better understanding on how [Revolutionary] Communist Party, USA can emancipate humanity and stop imperialism. I almost forgot we’ve all been seeing Bob Avakian’s new book called “Away with All Gods.” I know it cost, but if its possible send it also (smile image). We ask for too much? I hope not. Thank you so much.
Latino prisoner in TX
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