Revolution Online Edition, August 17, 2009
A plea to my generation...
Hey there,
I would like to say that I have been very inspired by all of the correspondence that has been sent in from people. It is really great that you all are posting it online and in the paper. I have definitely learned from other people's experiences and wonderful ideas. I would like to contribute what turned out to be more of a plea than ideas on how to spread this further. None the less I have supported this newspaper for a while and felt compelled to send in some correspondence of my own. You all are doing a great job!
Keep up the good work!
"The Revolution We Need... The Leadership We Have"
I would like to start off by saying that shortly before this call was put out I had been reading the memoir by Bob Avakian, From Ike to Mao and Beyond, and had been very inspired by reading about everything that was going on during the sixties. I really thought, before reading it, that the memoir was not a piece of literature that was very important. I didn't see how it contributed to the overall work that we have been carrying out. I was very wrong about that though. I can see how even in his memoir Bob Avakian has the method of thoroughly and often humorously explaining everything that was going on at the time and how it affected the way things developed including himself and the Party. So this was very inspiring in a lot of ways. For someone who did not live through that type of environment it is amazing to read about all the wonderful things that were going on at the time, and everything that Bob Avakian and the Party have gone through in order to stay on the Revolutionary road to Communism.
I was contemplating how I was going to work to contribute to that type of movement and to fight for it to be even more revolutionary this time around, in order to actually get on the path to Communism. At that moment I opened up the web page to Revolution and saw that "The Revolution We Need... The Leadership We Have" had been posted. As I went through and read the article those thoughts I had been having seemed to really connect with what this statement was calling for.
It was motivating as well as inspiring. I felt moved to get up and do something right then and there. And then of course I realized it was 9 am on a Monday morning and I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet; none the less it was a great feeling.
I agree that this call is right on time and right on point, and the ways in which we are working towards bringing into being not only a Revolutionary movement but a core of people who, as the Constitution of the Party poetically puts it, "want revolution so badly that they are willing, and determined, to be scientific about it."
Some of the things I have been thinking about lately have been how to actually break through the rampant isolation and relativism that plagues my generation. I guess people from my generation where raised with the "Don't talk about Politics and Religion" policy. . A lot of people my age are uncomfortable with discussing these things and quite frankly Houston seems to harbor that atmosphere quite well. My generation doesn't have the type of exhilarating society where debates about important issues are being discussed and debated. My generation doesn't have the type of society that stands up against continuing wars and police brutality. Not to say that it's not there at all, but it's too rare and too small. My generation doesn't have mass protests and great upheaval.
But my generation does have the type of leadership that can not only create that type of movement, but can actually enable us to be critical, to be scientific, and to be rebellious for the goal of actually breaking free from the brutally oppressive intolerable exploitative system of capitalist dictatorship.
My generation; we have been lied to! They say that we can't do better than this system; that it just needs to be reformed. They say that we're in the situation we're in because our generation just can't get its act together. They say that there are things that should not be discussed. They say that no one will watch out for you, so you might as well watch your own ass. They say all these things but when was the last time they listened to what we have to say? When was the last time the congressmen, the senators, the President came into your neighborhood and asked what you thought? Or got up on their podium and started talking about ending the exploitation, instead of making more jobs where when it boils down to it... you are still working for a relative handful to get rich off your labor! You're still working to maintain a system that spreads devastation not democracy all around the world. My generation; open your eyes! This world is intolerable, but we can do better than this! We have to work for it though. I know that in the age of microwaves, drive-thrus, Wikipedia, text messages, and all the other instant gratifications that we are used to; working for long term goals is a bit foreign, but we can do this! Let's organize discussions and meetings on the spot wherever we are, be it in the neighborhood projects or in the park. Let's do Revolutionary Poetry in the streets that inspire people to learn more about this Revolution. Let's incorporate the masses of people in protests and fundraisers.
There are so many people who need to be reached with this call, who need to be introduced to this Party and its leader and learn about The Revolution We Need... And The Leadership We Have. Needless to say, we have a lot of work to do!
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