An Appreciation for “Writings from Bob Avakian in 2020”—Momentous Leadership in “A Momentous Year”

from a member of The National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

August 30, 2021 | revcom.us

 

Recently, revcom.us posted a full listing of writings from Bob Avakian (BA) in 2020—“A Momentous Year.”

This is an incredible compilation of work! I took some time to go through these and encourage everyone reading revcom.us to do the same—the titles of the articles, the range of questions, the different audiences BA is speaking to, the searing agitation and biting humor, the loftiness and historic sweep, the consistent and breathtaking depth of scientific analysis... this made me appreciate again the rare and precious leadership we have in BA and underscored what it really means when A Declaration, A Call to Get Organized Now For a Real Revolution says, “There never has been a leader like this in this country and there is no other leader like this in the world now. We cannot afford not to follow this leadership if we ever want to get free and put an end to this madness.”

There is no one else on the planet besides BA speaking on this level to these burning questions... and not just speaking to questions—but providing living guidance for how to understand the situation we’re in, how we got here, while continuing to develop the strategic approach for making revolution... and continuing to advance the theoretical framework of the new communism—the whole process, scientific method and understanding for humanity to get free from all the chains of oppression and exploitation, including the mental shackles among the oppressed themselves.

It is that last point that stands out: the political, ideological and epistemological struggle BA is waging with the millions and millions of people whose interests are bound up with this revolution but who are thinking and acting based on, as BA says in a more recent piece, the “confining and degrading terms of this system.”

In his New Year’s statement on January 1, 2021, A New Year, The Urgent Need For A Radically New World—For The Emancipation Of All Humanity, BA wrote:

A profoundly different polarization must be brought about, in line with the potential for a radically different and better world, representing the actual interests of the masses of people and ultimately all of humanity. A radically different approach to understanding, and acting on, the relations and problems of society must be taken up—a thoroughly and consistently scientific method and approach.

BA’s work—concentrated in that compilation from 2020 and continuing to right this second—is fighting for and leading in this.

The compilation is titled, “A Momentous Year” and there are many reasons this was true, including a recognition, on BA’s part that as one of his essays from June is titled: “RADICAL CHANGE IS COMING: WILL IT BE EMANCIPATING, OR ENSLAVING—REVOLUTIONARY, OR REACTIONARY?” BA has—for decades up until now—recognized the particular role and danger of fascism in America—a product of this horrific system, and contributing to tearing apart the fabric of this system. How do we wage the struggle against this fascism—on the basis, and in the service of, the struggle for a revolution to overthrow this system that gave rise to this fascism? This is extremely complex and something that the communist movement historically has broken its back on. BA has forged a new path in understanding these questions—and did so all through 2020... and again, up until right now.

There is one more thing I want to comment on about this year’s worth of work: the breadth of the work itself, how BA leads and who he is as a person is a concentration of the new communism—the scientific method and the emancipating goal... a revolution that really could, to quote from the first stage of communist revolution, “free the spirit from its cell.” BA speaks to this in a piece that is provocative, profound, and I think underappreciated: “REVOLUTION, ROGER FEDERER’S TENNIS: WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? A LOT, ACTUALLY.”

...the revolution I am talking about—a revolution guided by communism, in its further development with the new communism that has resulted from decades of work that I have carried out—this revolution, and the radically different society and world that it aims to bring into being, could not do without, and has as one of its main goals and requirements, precisely an appreciation of and the flowering of beauty and artistry, in many different dimensions of human endeavor.

In this piece, BA expresses a depth of appreciation and knowledge of Federer’s game. He says, “One of the things that makes Federer so uniquely great and breathtaking to observe is that we see the artist at work, trying things that others would not dare to try, willing to fall down at times, in the immediate, in order to find the way to reach the greatest heights.” I didn’t grow up with sports and know nothing about tennis, but as a follower of Bob Avakian, I do know something about watching an artist at work—and that is also what comes through in this work from 2020. BA is a revolutionary leader, and the world’s most important political and strategic thinker in the world... but we are also watching an artist at work!

This is someone with an incredibly rare combination of science, creativity, heart and a fierce determination and recognition that humanity is capable of bringing into being a world where—through great struggle and sacrifice—a great diversity can flourish. Leaders on this level—and with this rare combination of strengths and ability—come along with extreme rarity.