My State of the Union Address - Part 1

Every once in a while it is time to review strategies and methods for changing our society. Our society needs a revolution. But that may take time. Revolutions take place when there is a revolutionary situations and that isn't happening now. It is hard to tell when it will happen.

In the mean time, there has been a type of coup in the US. Large moneyed interests such as those of the Koch Brothers, David and Charles, have taken over parts of the political system and they are striving for more. It is very unlikely they will slow down their ambitions any time soon. There efforts have been successful and there seems to be on stopping them so far. They know all the tricks and tactics to win an election.

These people are trying to create a ultra-corporate government that is intertwined with various corporations. They are trying to destroy as much of US private sector as they can.

The worst part of this is their drive to wage a class war on poor people and the working poor.

We have to regard these people as the enemy. We have to strive for their down fall—front and center—as our main goal. They are like fascists and they have won the sympathies of the entire mainstream news media to the point where THEY are the news. They are the only news in politics. Their every whim is capture by the news media as if Jesus Christ himself where talking.

" The hollow horn plays wasted words....

Propaganda, all is phony"[1]

Everything these people do is the antithesis of the left and any leftist values. Their moral culture, their religion,[2] their core beliefs are phony and useless to the average working person and to us. They worship hollow gods made of tin.[3]

Their values are based mostly on GREED and VIOLENCE. In their world (which is now our world) they have left no room for other ideas or philosophies.[4] We can see their contempt for anyone else's views just be looking at the way they have turned on American Muslims. Although some politicians, such as President Barack Obama, have said "We are not at war with Islam." Many Republicans have sat back and allowed prejudice to build against American Muslims. Typical of such prejudice among the common people are this:

Yolande
This political correctness will completely bankrupt us. Instead, place monitors fluent in Arabic in every classroom of every Muslim private school and mosque in the US. Immediately deport any teacher and/or imam with their whole family (including 3 or 4 generations, uncles, cousins, nephews & nieces, siblings & their families) who incite violence and/or teach against wholehearted assimilation of US societal values. Because the Koran mandates violence against all infidels, it is hopelessly absurd to support the study and practice of Islam in the US. Islam should be banned from the US just as Christianity is banned from Saudi Arabia.

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As for leftist alternatives within the system, such as left-wing politicians—there are non. Here in Kansas our Democratic Party has jettisoned the labor movement[5] that has been their allies for most of the last century. Across the country Democrats have moved to the right trying to win over middle of the road voters—many of whom are rather conservative. Many Democrats across the country have given up on women's issues such as abortion rights. At the same time they have advanced no agenda of their own to counter the Republicans. The result has been a major loss of political influence in the entire country. And when progressive people feel abandoned they give up on the Democrats. And they have.

Now the really big question is how do we stop this—or do we? From a Maoist revolutionary view we should be doing the ground work for a revolution. That is what all revolutionary groups do. But should we ignore these developments as just part of the system we hate? Or do we work against these forces within their own system? That is a big question.

Despite all of the revolutions of the 20th century we still have had none of them in the industrialized imperialist world. As we turned into this century we don't even have a Soviet Union left. There are revolutionary movements gaining ground in India and Philippines, but again, none in the industrialized fist world. I don't think we want to give up on revolution. But I do have to wonder if we should use such tools as elections and reform campaigns in the short run.

For example do we want to support raising the minimum wage? That in itself is not revolutionary. It only gives temporary relief to the working poor. But to oppose it would seem to be ignoring the working poor. To put most of our efforts into changing it might be a waist of time. In the long run that won't be a very big change for the country. Also all the activists will go home when it is over and take the attitude that their efforts at change is no longer needed. 'We got what we want—now lets just go home, kick back and have a beer.'

There is the recent election of Syriza coalition in Greece. Many on the far left want to ignore that victory or boycott taking any part in it. But should we really just ignore it. Of coarse we can learn from the mistakes of Salvador Allende, of Chile and Jacobo Árbenz, of Guatemala, who where overthrown in CIA Coups. Also there was a military coup in Greece several decades ago.

There are also the examples of both the democratic socialists (Socialist International) and the Greens Party in Germany and elsewhere; as examples of movements that sold out rather than face the fact that the bourgeoisie would not give in to their demands. The Socialist international parties today are not much different that US Democrats.

 But at the same time, some movements can provide some relief in the short run. Syriza, as with the minimum wage, can bring short term relief to many working people and poor people who are suffering terribly under the Troika oppression in Greece.

So do we join in these little campaigns of reform or tell the people of these countries to just "wait for the revolution?"

My feeling is it looks callous and mean to tell those in the working class to just suffer until we find a way to revolution the whole country. It would be my preference to go after a revolution, but maybe it is more humane to alleviate suffering now, before we go after a revolution.

-សតិវ​អតុ

This is a first part of this series in which I will write on furtherà

Pix by watchdog.org.

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[1]It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) by Bob Dylan.

[2] “Religion is the opiate (of the people)” Angkar/អង្គការ

[3] "It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself."

Epicurus/Έπίκουρος

[4] "Throughout history, new and correct things have often failed at the outset to win recognition from the majority of people and have had to develop by twists and turns in struggle. Often correct and good things have first been regarded not as fragrant flowers but as poisonous weeds. Copernicus' theory of the solar system and Darwin's theory of evolution were once dismissed as erroneous and had to win through over bitter opposition."

-Mao Zedong/毛泽东

On "Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom, Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend," Five Essays on Philosophy, (Foreign Language Press, Peking)1977, p. 114.

[5] See What's the Matter with Kansas?, 2010.