By SJ Otto
Today I celebrate the military heroes from the
left—those who lost their lives but had the courage to take on the capitalist
government of the United
States of America . Most of these military
groups were loosely organized and they didn’t last long. Their leaders and
members were often captured, and in the past, some were executed. Some of them
where killed as they were captured.
The group I want to celebrate the most include
members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA ). It was a small leftist guerilla group made up of
about 22 active members and they had a following of about 30 people, who gave
them logistics and support. Their basic ideology can be found today online.
The group is long gone, and there is one former member still in prison today.
Almost all the survivors of that group spent many years in prison. They were in
prison because police and political leaders wanted to see these people punished
severely. They wanted to send a message to any group of leftists that standing
up the US government
means severe punishment. They don’t want any leftist group to ever take up arms
against the US again.
For our part, as leftist, we need to celebrate
these people and make them out to be our heroes. That is the only way we can
stand up to a system that relies on terror and fear to defend itself against
revolution.
For many years leftist have pointed out
the SLA and similar groups have made
big mistakes. That has been true. It may be that such a revolutionary movement
is just not possible, at least not right now. But we can agree that honoring
these people and their efforts is a way of saying to our present government and
system that they can never whitewash these people’s efforts and their courage.
They were courageous. It is really hard to take on the US government,
with armed conflict. No one on the left today is brave enough to do that now
and that includes me. But I can make heroes of these people and give them the
honor they deserve.
Today there are people across the country
honoring those who fought for this country and also its empire. “War is an
honorable profession” according to many pundits and politicians and although
many civilians (including children) across the Middle East and in such
countries as Afghanistan ,
have been accidently killed, US soldiers are honored and glorified. We are told
we owe our freedom and way of life to these vets. Most politicians and pundits
don’t care that civilians in other countries die from accidental bombings,
drones and gunfire. It is OK with them that the US has conquered, plundered
and stolen people’s sovereignty. Today, the scum politicians that run our country
come out from under their rocks to honor people who actually fought the
wars many of them started.
It is interesting that Newsweek pointed out the difference
between Veterans Day and
Memorial Day:
“Veterans Day is commemorated in November and
honors all those who have served their country, including those who have passed
away. However, it's primarily focused on thanking those who have served
who are still alive.
Memorial Day, on the other hand, is designed
to honor those service members who passed away, especially those who gave their
lives in the line of duty.”
This is relevant since most our heroes of the
militant left are now dead.
There have been other militant groups taking
on the US government
with arms. One of the best known is the Weather Underground, from the 1960s through the 1980s. There
has also been pro-Puerto Rico independence groups. One well known group is
The Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, (English: Armed
Forces of National Liberation, FALN). There were also military groups in the 1950s. There have been
anarchist groups that fought the US government in the last part
of the 1800s and early parts of the 1900s. During
the mid 1800s and before, we had the US American Indian wars.
The important point of this article is that we
on the left here in the US will keep the dream alive that someday memorial day
will honors those who REALLY fought for our freedom—and that freedom includes
the freedom from the capitalist class that oppresses us today.
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