500 Years from Now…
March 9, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Five hundred years from now, about the same amount of time that has elapsed since Columbus invaded what his class of exploiters call the "New World" and began a genocide of its native peoples, future humans, if there are still any, will look back on this time—our time—as one of the most critical in human history. Our planet is now literally teetering on the brink of environmental catastrophe, yet our so-called "leaders," of this capitalist-imperialist system we all live under, do nothing. In fact, they are even accelerating the crisis. It was just reported that last year saw the second largest annual increase ever recorded of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas driving global warming. Greenhouse gasses are not being cut back, their output is increasing!
And let’s not forget the many other crimes spawned by this system: from the starkly illegal invasions of Third World countries, to Stop and Frisk and the New Jim Crow, to the imprisonment of brave whistleblowers like Brad Manning (who faces a possible death sentence for exposing war crimes—who should instead be treated as a hero), to the patriarchy and commodification of women (and men), to ALL the “savage inequalities” that are part and parcel of this system. Anyone with eyes to see and a developed conscience can grasp that the world is a living nightmare for billions on the planet today—and it will only get worse under the current worldwide system of capitalism-imperialism. So how do we break out of this madness—of a system that has proven time and time again it can’t be reformed in any meaningful way?
Revolution—Nothing Less! This is the only viable answer—and it is also the title of a remarkable new film I was privileged to see in rough cut form. This is an extraordinary film of an extraordinary leader—a revolutionary leader. Why extraordinary? Because genuine revolutionary leadership is not common in today's world. Expect unusually straight talk from someone who is basing himself on a thoroughly scientific worldview and on the most advanced revolutionary theory there is—the New Synthesis of Communism—from someone who is motivated by a deep love for the masses and a genuine concern for the future of the planet. And, most importantly, HE IS WILLING TO LEAD AND FIGHT FOR THE BETTER WORLD HE KNOWS IS POSSIBLE! This is a film and a leader I strongly recommend to everyone who is concerned about the future of humanity and the fate of the planet.
Finally, let’s hope that when our descendants of the distant future—if there are still any—look back on the early 21st century they will not remember it as the time when the cruel and greedy capitalist-imperialists won out and destroyed their planet and their future—completing the destructive cycle begun by Columbus 500 years earlier. Let’s hope instead they will remember a bold and heroic people of that time, inspired and led by farsighted revolutionaries like Bob Avakian, who in one of history’s darkest hours was able to meet and defeat the forces of reaction, move history forward, and progress beyond anything those brave revolutionary souls of that time could have imagined. These descendants of the future would celebrate the memory of those individuals for the sacrifices they made for their future, which they in fact would have made possible.
—a former Peace Corps volunteer and environmental activist
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