Revolution #193, February 21, 2010
Sustain Revolution... Build the Movement for Revolution
Consider, seriously, the difference it makes that we have Revolution newspaper...
In the wake of the terrible earthquake in Haiti, will the great outpouring of concern and support for the Haitian people be channeled into a PR campaign, and moves to “create stability” for the very forces of global exploitation that were responsible for so much unnecessary death and suffering? Will the oppressed themselves see the dark forces behind the torment the people of Haiti are going through as the work of a supernatural “devil?” Or...
Through the exposure and analysis in Revolution—will people searching for answers be exposed to and challenged to look at how capitalism-imperialism created and is right now reinforcing the conditions responsible for so much unnecessary suffering? And, come to see, and act on the understanding that this system stands in the way of the interests of humanity?
With disenchantment with Obama emerging in the midst of continuing and even escalating war, repression, and economic crisis—will all that discontent be funneled into wishing, hoping and praying for the system and Obama to follow through with promises of “change,” or that the powers-that-be will come up with someone else to inspire “hope for change?” Or...
Will people learn, in the pages of Revolution,the TRUTH about the Obama phenomenon, which means the TRUTH about America—about the system at the foundation of this society, about what it does and must do, in order to maintain itself, here and around the world—about the system of which he is now chief executive? And on that basis, be filled with an irresistible urge to oppose and resist terrible crimes being carried out in their name around the world.
With police brutality and murder unabated in this so-called “post-racial” Obama era, will the system get away with killing with impunity in the inner cities, the ghettos and barrios? Will the people themselves be paralyzed with confusion over the causes of crime and violence among the people? Or...
Will the crimes of the system, and their causes, be exposed? In the past year, Revolution has shined a light on police brutality and killings from New York City to Rockford, Illinois, to Oakland, and is giving voice to the voiceless who are being called on to Bear Witness in the pages of this paper. Revolution is part of inspiring to fight the power, and transform the people, for revolution.
In today’s world will “choices” for women remain defined as between brutal religious fundamentalist suppression (of all stripes) on the one hand, or having their bodies turned into commodities for exploitation by men on the other? Or...
Will the foundational connections between the oppression of women and all oppression and exploitation be unveiled, and people challenged to fight for another way—a radically liberating revolutionary way? A critical tool for doing that is the special issue of Revolution, “A Declaration: For Women’s Liberation and the Emancipation of All Humanity.”
And in a cold climate of lowered sights and visions, will the imposed and widely internalized verdict that dog-eat-dog exploitation and greed are “human nature,” and the best humanity can do reign supreme? Or...
In important ways through the print and online presence of Revolution, will thousands, tens of thousand of people, especially youth, get a sense there is another way, a truly emancipatory way besides the dead-end alternatives presented to them? Will it make a difference if people are exposed to the most advanced theory pointing the way to take the experiences of previous revolutions even higher—to Bob Avakian’s new synthesis, that builds on the achievements of past revolutions even as it takes things further in crucial respects? And if a core of people get with a new stage of the world communist revolution, inspired by radical reenvisioning of communism by Bob Avakian?
REVOLUTION newspaper is a communist newspaper, exposing the utter worthlessness of the current system of imperialism from a thousand angles, and showing the possibility of a better world—of a revolution—and how to get there. But it is more: it is also the “better part” of building a revolutionary movement—spreading truth in preparation for revolution, and serving as the organizing hub for the revolutionary movement.
Whether Revolution continues to play this role depends on you. Here’s the situation: Major fundraising projects make particular projects—like sending reporters to Haiti, or on the Gaza Freedom March—possible. Income from paper sales covers printing and shipping the print edition. But we rely on what is currently a too small group of sustainers to cover overhead ranging from our online presence, to phones and office rent, to salary for reporters.
Soon, sustaining regularly through online PayPal or credit card payments will be more easily accessible through revcom.us. But right now, you can sustain Revolution on a regular basis by sending checks or money orders monthly, or quarterly, with “sustainer” in the memo field, to: RCP Publications, PO Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654.
Will this make a difference?
Potentially, all the difference in the world.
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