Letter from a Reader:
A Reason to Hope
December 16, 2012 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The following letter is from a Unitarian Universalist minister, ecofeminist and animal rights activist.
I have been learning about the RCP and Bob Avakian—feeling my way into what I might find here that can inform and inspire my own justice work as an ecofeminist.
Cornel West’s rich and exciting interview with Bob Avakian offers such inspiration.
Avakian inspires me with the breadth of his knowledge and analysis and the depth of his commitment. As one might expect, I find deep resonance with his clarity and understanding of the issues facing us: interlocking systems of domination and oppression—racism, sexism, classism, and environmental degradation, all a result of the capitalist-imperialist system.
Avakian calls us to “look at the world the way it is.” He calls us to look at the horror this world is for so many. But Avakian doesn’t simply name the horror. Avakian offers a vision of a world that he believes is possible. A world of abundance, Avakian reminds us, that offers “a rich life… in a spiritual sense,” a life in which the material, intellectual, and cultural needs of all people could be met. Imagine that. And you must be able to imagine it.
West celebrates Avakian’s life-long commitment to bringing about a different, better, more beautiful world: “He never sold out. Never caved in. Never gave up.” Both West and Avakian express “a willingness to live and die” to bring about that world. But working for this world is not for the faint-hearted or half-hearted. The kind of dedication Avakian and West are talking about is born of love—a deep love for the poor, the oppressed, (and for this ecofeminist, for the earth and all beings). It is a revolutionary love. It is a love that will not let us go, and will not let us off.
Avakian’s deep commitment moves me, articulated so powerfully with these words: “If you don’t burn with a desire to put an end [to the horrors of the world] and bring something much better into being, especially when you see that it’s possible, then you have absolutely no right to call yourself a revolutionary.”
It’s exciting to hear a Revolutionary Christian and Revolutionary Communist express common ground in their love for the oppressed as well as the imperative they both feel to live that love—“to persist and prevail.”
The disparity between the haves and have-nots, the degradation of earth, the oppression and exploitation of the poor, people of color, women, and all beings is thoroughly unacceptable. The capitalist-imperialist system that has created and perpetuates this disparity and oppression and the horrors of it must be dismantled. Those of us who are called to name and change this situation will need to participate in appreciative engagement with all who share our cause. Bob Avakian models for us how we can weave multiple perspectives to this struggle and invites us to live bravely and boldly to bring about the world we know can be.
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