Revolution #014, September 18, 2005, posted at revcom.us
We received the following correspondence from a reader.
Coming from a strong Christian background myself, it’s a painful thing to see the exploited and oppressed call out to a god that doesn’t exist to explain natural disasters and how this system and its ruling class deals with them.
While speaking to someone who had family stranded and possibly dead in New Orleans, we got into a back-and-forth argument about whether or not the hurricane was god’s punishment and yet another warning of the “End Times.”
The person nearly broke into tears thinking about his family stranded there and had to walk away, as they left they said: “It’s just time to let go and let god.”
Well, I would put it a much better way: It’s time to just let go OF god, because frankly he doesn’t exist. And the continued belief in this myth is not only a hindrance to understanding how reality actually works, but it is very harmful.
Hurricane Katrina (and any other natural disaster) is not the result of some mystic hand of god bringing judgement on people or testing people.
These events of nature are the result of material forces, of matter in motion, that can be understood—and, in the case of Katrina was predicted long before it hit— by scientists studying the world around us. (And was not predicted by “prophecy” or any other mystical means.)
There is absolutely nothing useful or positive to the masses of people of the world in holding on to the belief in god or this religion shit in general—to the belief that god has anything to do with such phenomena of nature.
This is why it is so painful to see some of the most exploited and oppressed sections of society holding on the tightest to this shit.
I’ve been there—desperate and praying for the slightest glimpse of a blessing, going to church wondering why everything is so messed up and looking for answers.
I used to think that it was only by “the grace of god” that I was still alive and surviving. I’d go to church and be with other people who were suffering day-to-day too, and just as desperate for answers. And when we’d greet each other asking “How are you?” everybody would always respond: “I’m blessed.”
But I came to realize that the truth of the matter is this: Naw...you ain’t blessed, you’re oppressed! And you need to be fighting for the emancipation of humanity from all of this unnecessary suffering!
It’s been said about Black people that religion has been crucial to their survival as a people. It’s said that’s why many Blacks hold on to it.
And speaking from the experience of being Black with a proletarian background: it sometimes just felt like this system has taken every thing and every opportunity away from you. Like the only thing you have left to hold on to for survival is god and religion.
But the reality of this is that, as stated by Bob Avakian, “Religion has been crucial for the survival of Blacks as an oppressed people, as an oppressed nation in the U.S. It’s been an integral part of keeping Black people in an oppressed condition.”
That’s why Blacks should let go of it.
At every turn in the history of Black people, this system has scandalously betrayed them—from slavery, to lynching, to police brutality, to the abject poverty that the majority of Blacks have undergone (and still undergo), to the whole history of white supremacy that shaped and enforces this national oppression.
And in the face of all of this unspeakable affliction on so many levels, how has “just letting go and letting god” done anything but accommodate this oppression?
Christianity in particular was imposed on Blacks to justify their subordination in slavery as “god’s will.” Holding on to it today is nothing less than mental slavery and an oppressive hindrance. And once again, it’s not simply a hindrance, it is very harmful. Especially when it paralyzes Black people in the fight against political movements and trends that are potentially quite genocidal in fact.
The Christian fascists who are in seats of power right now are pushing for an all-out theocratic dictatorship, where the rule of the bible (as they interpret it) is law.
As we know, the bible calls for the most extreme forms of punishment—including state execution and even stonings—for things that today are minor crimes or that should not be considered crimes at all.
And given the history of how white supremacy has been inseparable to the operation of this system, imagine what this would mean for the most exploited and oppressed sections of society—such as Black and Latino people who are systematically locked at the bottom of this system, often excluded as unemployable, and many forced to resort to the underground alternative means of survival.
The majority of the prison population today is Blacks and Latinos. And it is clear that these are peoples who are already demonized by the white chauvinist fabric of this country and already considered prime targets by the state and police.
If this theocracy is actually achieved—and given the reality that the crimes those in these prisons have been convicted of are regarded as serious crimes—what’s to stop these fascists from a full-blown crusade of mass exterminations through state-sponsored executions on these peoples as a “final solution”?
And of course it would be all in the name of god.
These truly are very turbulent times, not just in the most narrow sense in people’s individual situations, but globally and in the U.S. itself. And reactionary political authorities recognize that people are experiencing this. And with that, we have all this religiosity shit being pumped out and poured on people to gloss over all of these overt and inexcusable crimes of the system as simply “god’s will,” and fundamentally set the grounds to be able to intensify these crimes in an unprecedented way.
This recent natural disaster in New Orleans, how it was handled and is being handled by this government, exposed the very cutthroat, cold, racist and utterly bankrupt nature of this system.
People did not have to die. People did not have to suffer. But they did, terribly so!
And now what are those in power saying we should do: A day of prayer! If that ain’t pissin’ on the people and telling them it’s raining, I don’t know what is. What do they take the masses for? It’s bullshit, and they can’t be allowed get away with this.
The needless suffering and dying of the people has nothing to do with any god or other supernatural forces. But this class of capitalist imperialists as well as their reactionary political representatives would love to have people believe this so they can keep on getting away with these monstrous and bloodthirsty crimes on humanity.
And so meanwhile, the very masses of people that they exploit and oppress will look to forces that don’t exist for emancipation instead of emancipating themselves.
In other words, while the people pray, these bloody-jawed wolves prey on the people.
It’s really time to drop both this myth of a savior coming to deliver the people and the belief in some god who is in control.
The masses must emancipate themselves. The masses must take control of the direction of society.
Because, when we get down to it, those bumper stickers and T-shirts that say “Prayer works,” they are right in a certain sense. Prayer doesn’t work for the people —their prayers are not heard or answered by any god. But all the endless praying does work for the ruling class of capitalist-imperialists who wish to keep the masses on their knees and pleading in vain, instead of revolting and fighting to become themselves the rulers of society.