By Andre Vltchek
June 29, 2020 "Information
Clearing House" - Observed from outer
space, the United States is in a revolutionary turmoil.
Fires are burning, thousands of people are confronting
police and other security forces. There are barricades,
banners, posters, and there is rage.
Rage is well justified. Grievances run deep, through
the veins of a confused and socially insecure
population, in both cities and the countryside.
Minorities feel and actually are oppressed. Indeed they
have been disgracefully oppressed, since the birth of
the country, over two centuries ago (see
my latest report carried by this magazine).
There are some correct words uttered and written;
many appropriate sentiments are expressed.
And yet, and yet… It
looks like a revolution, it feels like a revolution, but
it is not a revolution. It definitely is not!
Why?
An expert on Communist China, a man who spent many
years living and writing books about the most populous
country on Earth, Jeff Brown, recently voiced something
that immediately caught my attention. He described,
accurately, on his China Rising Radio Sinoland,
what has been taking place in his native country, United
States:
“Protests in the
USA, land of Marlboro Man will come to nothing
because there is no solidarity, no vision, nor
guiding ideology to unite the people in the common
struggle against the 1%. Just ask the Black Panthers
and Mao Zedong.”
This is precisely when ‘guiding ideology’ is
desperately needed! But it is nowhere to be found.
For years and decades, the US (and European) elites
and their mass media, as well as their educational plus
‘entertainment’ outlets, have been systematically
de-politicizing the brains of their citizens.
Pornography, consumerism, and sitcoms instead of deep,
philosophical books and films. Massive – often booze and
sex-oriented – travel, instead of roaming the world in
search of knowledge, answers, while building bridges
between different cultures (even between those of
victims and victimizers).
Results are increasingly evident.
Citizens in the Western countries were told that the
ideologies, particularly the left ones, became
“something that belongs to the past,” “something heavy,”
unattractive, and definitely not ‘cool.’ Western masses
accepted it easily, without realizing that without the
left-wing ideologies, there can be no change, no
revolution, and no organized opposition to the regime,
which has been plundering the world for several hundreds
of years.
They were told that Democrats are representing
left-wing, and Republicans, right-wing. Deep inside,
many felt it is rubbish. There is only one right-wing
political party in the US – Democrat-Republican
one. But it was better for the great majority just to
ignore its own instincts and swim with the flow.
It went so far that most of the people in North
America and Europe reached the point when they were not
even able to commit themselves to almost anything,
anymore, from the Communist movements to marriages and
relationships. I recently described this occurrence in
my book “Revolutionary
Optimism, Western Nihilism.”
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There are many explanations for this. One of
them: regime created society built on extreme
individualism, selfishness, and shallow perception
of the world. To organize, to commit, actually
requires at least some discipline, effort, and
definitely great dedicated effort to learn (about
the world, a person, or a movement) and to work hard
for a better world. It is not easy to become a
revolutionary when one is positioned on a couch, or
a gym, or while banging for hours every day into a
smartphone.
The results are sad. Anarchism, consisting of
countless fragmented approaches, is increasingly
popular, but it will definitely not change the country.
When leaders of the ‘revolutionary commune’ in
Seattle were approached by sympathetic journalists and
asked about their goals, they could not answer. These
were, undoubtfully, people with good intentions,
outraged by racism, and by the killing of innocent
people. But do they have plans, strategy, an
organization to overthrow the system which is literally
choking billions of lives on all continents? Definitely
not!
On June 11, 2020, RT filed a report about
the situation in Seattle:
“A few different organizations have different
demands, and no one speaks for everyone, but everyone’s
trying to get together,” Simone clarified, implying that
the much-discussed list of “demands” that have
circulated for the past few days don’t represent the
wishes of the entire community. However, there are a few
lines of commonality running through the settlement.
“Everyone’s upset. We all came here in unity,
just over the fact that cops need accountability,” he
said, declaring that his decision to join the
demonstration was about “trying to send a message and
get accountability held.”
“Now we’re here – let’s get the dialogue going,”
Simone continued, unwilling to commit to taking over
other precincts, expanding the Zone, or any of the
ambitious demands made by others in the group.”
Russian Bolsheviks had it clear, and the same could
be said about their followers. Before the 1917
Great
October Socialist Revolution, they spent years and
decades educating people all over their vast country.
Some of the greatest thinkers and writers, including
novelist Maxim Gorky and poet Vladimir Mayakovski, were
participating in the “project.” Even simple peasants
were easily grasping the reality of their dismal
existence while getting inspired by some of the greatest
minds of their nation. If not for the Cold War and
West’s brutal interference, the Soviet Union would
survive and thrive until this day.
The same could be said about the great revolutionary
struggles of China, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Venezuela,
where hundreds of millions of tremendous works of
philosophy, fiction and poetry have been distributed,
for free, to both peasants and workers, who easily
understood and got inspired by them. In China, in the
1930s, the entire so-called “Shanghai School of Cinema”
was born, a true socialist-realism movement that helped
to educate the Chinese public about the state in which
it was forced to exist.
Big and successful revolutions were constructed and
then supported by the educated urban and rural poor, who
were awakened and consequently outraged by their
position in the society.
Unfortunately, the rebellion in the United States is
strategically shallow. There are no great leaders, no
cultural figures leading it, no extraordinary educators.
Without any doubt, there are clear reasons for rage
and resistance. Racism is one tremendous one.
And, there are other ones: US society, in general, is
tired as it is depressed. As it is confused. The country
is robbing, literally looting the entire Planet. It
tortures people in various countries. Rainforests are
burning in Indonesia, Brazil, and Congo to satisfy
demands for more palm oil and other raw materials. US
citizens are consuming as no other nation under the sun
does. They entertain themselves, often living frivolous,
empty lives. And yet, almost no one seems to be happy
there; no one satisfied.
People know something went essentially wrong, but
they are not sure precisely what it is. Or, who should
really be blamed?
There is an acute lack of solidarity. And everything
is happening impromptu.
Are the ‘members of the majority’ in the US truly
kneeling because they are in unison with the oppressed
minorities and the brutalized non-Western world? Or are
they “trying to save their own skin,” and at the end,
keep the status quo intact, as has happened in
Australia and their basically insincere “We Are Sorry!”
2008 movement?
There no strong “front,” there is no revolutionary
program.
It appears that the country is not ready, not
prepared, for a huge job of re-defining itself.
Insecurity is due to the lack of free medical care,
education, and subsidized housing. Most of the people
are in debt. Depression is, at least partially, due to
overconsumption of intellectual and emotional junk.
There is plenty of fundamentalist religions, but almost
no discussion about how to improve life in this world.
Segregated, atomized, and otherwise, fragmented
society seems to be unable to give birth to a truly
compassionate, egalitarian national project.
Many US citizens see themselves as “victims.” Ethnic
minorities definitely are. Are the others, too? Who is
the victim, and who is the perpetrator? On which side of
the scales sits a regular middle-class family, compliant
and, by global comparison, heavily indulged in
overconsumption? So far, there is no open discussion on
this topic. In fact, it is being avoided by all means.
There seems to be at least some consensus that 1% of
the richest is to blame, as well as the entire corporate
and political system, and also banks. But what about the
majority; those individuals who keep voting the system,
those who are making sure to ignore imperialism, racism,
inequality?
Many questions should be asked, particularly now, but
they are not. The very uncomfortable questions they are.
But without asking them, without searching for honest
answers, there is no way forward, and no true revolution
possible.
The neo-liberal system created entire nations that
cannot think independently and creatively. US is
definitely one of them. People were bombarded with
propaganda slogans that they are free, enjoying
liberties. But when the day to act arrived, there has
been nothing substantial in terms of new, revolutionary
ideas. Just one enormous void. Nothing that could
inspire the nation and the world.
The outrage over the brutal police killing propelled
millions of people to the streets. The mood has been
truly rebellious, revolutionary, geared for big changes.
But then, nothing!
Revolution is being postponed. Opportunities lost.
Postpone by how many years?
The truth is – there are no shortcuts. Those who
sincerely want to change the United States will have to
follow the revolutionary formula from other countries.
The formula is mainly based on education, knowledge, and
determined, selfless work for the country and the world,
called “internationalism.”
Unless the US comes up with an absolutely new
strategy, formula, but right now, frankly, it seems to
be extremely far from coming up with it!
First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook – a
journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Andre Vltchek is
a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative
journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens
of countries. Six of his latest books are “New
Capital of Indonesia”, “China
Belt and Road Initiative”, “China
and Ecological Civilization” with John B. Cobb, Jr.,
“Revolutionary
Optimism, Western Nihilism”, a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and
a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing
Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here.
Watch Rwanda
Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda
and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On
Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in
East Asia and Latin America, and continues to work
around the world. He can be reached through his website,
his Twitter
and his
Patreon.
First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook
The
views expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
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