Revolution Meme
When it comes to "A Revolution" some people say we need "to use guns" others say we need "read books" some also say "why not both?. But we are missing the point entirely.... what we really need is understanding.
Guns
Guns are only a tool, a tool which some of us around the world have, and some us don't. Now im not going to be delving into the argument of "pro or anti gun" as that is hardly relevant in this particular discussion, but what i will touch on is the problem that comes with many who can have guns... ignorance.
In many conversations, particularly with some Americans, there is the standard script which comes with talking about guns "The right to bare arms, bah blah blah, constitution bah blah blah, amendments, bah blah blah, defend against a tyrannous government, bah blah blah." Unfortunately these people know the script and lines, but don't have the tacit knowledge which accompanies words being spoken (or written in many cases).
Many governments where guns are legally accessible have tyrannous governments in place right now, including The United States of America. From unethical scientific testing on its own citizens resulting in death through to fraud and theft its all on the table when it comes to government actions... but where is the rise against the tyrannous government ? Why are people not taking to the streets with their guns/weapons and marching to the capitol to take back their country ?
Its because people don't know how to use their tools/weapons, not that they dont know how to maintain or operate them, but that they have no idea of how to utilize what they have to actually do what they want..... they are just "blowing out the lines from the script". Any fool can use a tool from pulling the trigger on a circular saw or a gun its the same thing.... the real art is knowing how to use the tool to create what you want.
Books/Reading
Again we have another tool, books are great for containing information, they give us the ability to learn and attain knowledge, but they have some flaws too. Just because something is written in a book does not make it "good knowledge" im sure many of us know some crappy books out there which come to mind.
When it comes to historical data, the history is written by the victors, so naturally the story will be bias. The hooman condition can mean that what we write is based on an agenda, for instance if we look at the writings of colonization around the world, what we find is that the colonizers paint a picture of "bringing civility to the 'savages' " while the natives side of the story paints a far more horrific tale.
How about this concept, if someone was to read every book in the world about a sport , lets say tennis, they know ever rule and regulation, they know the tips and tricks to make a great serve or return shot.... they know absolutely everything there is to know about tennis, but have never played the game, held a racket or even stepped out onto a court for that matter. Does all this knowledge mean that if they went up against the world number one in tennis they would be able to win? or would they struggle to do anything at all without the tacit knowledge of actually playing tennis?
Having all the knowledge in the world is of little use without having the ability to apply it, again, many of the "educated" in this world think that having the degree on the wall means that they have the upper hand, but just like the aforementioned demographic of gun owners, there is a great difference between having the tool and knowing how to use it (again, nothing to do with the operation of the tool).
Understanding
Understanding comes from analysis, investigation , questioning (of others and self), etc. with the want to comprehend. It means setting aside personal bias, thoughts and opinions to be able to see things from other perspectives, not to change our own minds, but to be able to see the whole picture.
Example:
Mr. Freeze is a Batman supervillan, hes a bad guy, but if we delve into the story and perspective from Mr. Freezes point of view we gain some valuable insight, not only as to his motives and intent, but also to his driving force, which when understood can allow us to predict future behavior, actions and even thought processes.
Wiki Link
Batmaan & Mr. Freeze
This does not mean that we see Mr. Freezes behaviors/actions/ etc. as acceptable or take them on ourselves, it means that we understand what it is that has created the persons perspective and its influence to act in a particular way. When we objectively dissect this kind of data we learn, we understand, we arm ourselves with something greater than we could ever create with our hands.... we gain wisdom.
Wiki
Our Greatest Weapon
The truth is that the greatest tool/weapon we have is our minds, This is why so much effort has been spent on finding ways to manipulate and influence thoughts, to focus our attention on the differences among ourselves and have us bicker over them as opposed to focusing on those who pit us up against each other for profit and personal gain.
All the tools in the world are useless if we do not choose to use them correctly. A gun wielded without the appropriate intention may as well be on the rack in a store, and a book read but not comprehended may as well be burned before reading.
It is up to us to recognize the fact that we have been conditioned to think quite a number of things, that we don't like "thinking we are wrong" and this stops us from questioning ourselves. That this, among many, flaws of hooman trait is being exploited, preventing critical thinking and free thinking. The only way to break free from the chains which bind, is to acknowledge the inherent flaws within ourselves, and work on them, free our minds of the conditioning we have received over decades of our existence within THEIR system.
What will be integral in the "revolution" is not the tools and weapons we use, but the reclaiming of our own thoughts and unleashing the power of the mind. With this understanding of self and others we can appropriately utilize the tools available to us to create positive change and finally..... the "revolution" and evolution of mankind can finally begin making the kind of difference we want to see in the world.
Now Fight!!!
I agree deeply with the message that we have not fully conceptualized how to utilize the tools at our disposal, books included.
Raw text requires an intense amount of skill, in crafting words, to impart voice in a way that is truly humanizing; how are we to expect those most oppressed by our system to achieve this when the method for writing is taught in a system gatekept by fiat currency? How are they expected to have the time to teach themselves outside of that environment (academia) when the world is just so hard and demanding of your time to generate fiat currency unless you already have access to a reserve of it?
It's my personal opinion that comic books (re: illustrations of people with words attached to tell a story) are the best usage of text for imparting a message with a memorable, relatable, and humanized message to it that we've currently realized, as a society. It's fitting then that those seeking to maintain power and hierarchy over us would make us think and utilize it only for recreational means while continuing to encourage our communication channels to imitate the academic system (re: verbosity, tone, prose, structure).
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Thank you for your comment, The systems in place (while differing from country to country and state to state) are all designed to do the same thing, control the population and feed the machine.
The standard education systems are deigned to teach us WHAT to think and not HOW to think... this is why we have people "blowing out lines from a script"not thinking about what it means, but just doing it because they have been told to.
Art has always been a means of expressing ones self and the current state of affairs, a historical view will confirm this kind of "rebellion" , some more passive than others. Music, Art, Dance... any form of expression has been utilized to define a perspective of ones experience in the cultural setting. In modern times we have many more outlets to express ourselves with. Yes , comic books are a good means, but we cant forget that there are many arts to explore, video games, cartoons, and various means of displaying such works such as blogs, social media, forums etc.
We have the tools but we have yet to realize what we can do with them.... i believe this is due to the minds of many being "closed" , through conditioning and manipulation. THEY will not set us free, WE must break free....
The issue with other forms of media is that the more abstract your ideas get, the easier it is to be co-opted by the system; all artwork has its place in achieving class consciousness, the goal should be recognizing the best tool at our disposal for achieving what we want re:fighting against capitalist indoctrination while insuring they aren't able to co-opt our message to one of support rather than critique.
Video games like Fallout are a great example of this, as it amazingly uses the medium to show what most fear — the end of hierarchy without the end of capitalism — while creating a thrilling narrative and enjoyable gameplay which will encourage you to continue engaging yourself with it. It aptly sends this message, as most point to it as the "I hope the world doesn't turn into this" but... the point is missed in how the world ended up like that, despite the complete destruction of hierarchy; art has to be effectively utilized or the message is lost in translation, and it's clear those in power have effectively deceived us into not utilizing our tools correctly.
We have the rope, it is not others fault that it is not being tied. We must critique how we both shape and send our messages, and the medium with which we use it.
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Exactly, having the tools don't necessarily mean that they will be used effectively or appropriately within the context we have outlined. It comes down to the PEOPLE and what we choose to do with these tools... its all up to us ;)
I am curious why the need to label the US as a tyrannical government? All governments have lean toward tyranny, as those in and or seek power, salivate of greed. Now the the US may be the biggest world power ever to have existed, and there by its actions have a larger span of repercussions, but it’s by far less tyrannical than other places. Of course it is by no means innocent, many time the US has made terrible decisions and veered into nefarious paths. Nevertheless, it still allows much more “freedom” to its citizens. There’s a reason you don’t hear about much protesting in China. There’s a reason why thousands of people in Russia just “disappear”: artists, musicians, idealist, all just gone. I just feel to use the USA as an example comes from a bias when it’s transgressions should be lumped into the whole of the hooman condition.
Segway, and the hooman condition is generals void of wisdom. 😝
To put it succinctly, wisdom comes only from experience. Or if you believe in some for of diety, or higher power etc. The current world has never had access to more information. Our collective intellectual prowess is staggering. My phone alone has access to more information than entire world did just 50 years ago. Add to this equation, think tanks, AI etc. yet all this intellectual yet wisdom is rare. As I read recently a funny YouTube community about the debate between iPhone and android: ‘it’s literally two people arguing about something that comes in a box’. The hooman condition is void of wisdom. You may want to live a peaceful life, but others won’t. We are all drawn into the conflict. We must be wise, seek wisdom. Revolutions are often the worst thing. The bring chaos and death and suffering. Yet, nothing changes because those that want the same will sit idly in the background and resume once the violence settles. Wisedom peers into the future and warns the consequences of harsh or hasty actions.
As related to the ‘mr.freeze’ section. Knowing and understanding why someone would do something terrible is in my opinion, almost worthless. The storyline is become a trope. Good guy turns bad because terrible circumstances “require” him to. It’s sad ideology that has terrible repercussions. Maybe Mr.freeze did get dealt a terrible hand but does he have the right to destroy the cards of others? It’s a situation everyone will be faced with in someway. This is where wisdom is needed. Mr.freeze could have went a different path. His path took him into violent conflict because his greed. The twisted judgement to openly harm others because ones Benevolent goal is the very antithesis of wisdom. It’s a lesson in wisdom Mr.freeze would likely learn only after many more painful experiences.
You see this brings up something else I firmly believe in.
“That choice is irrelevant of context.”
-M
PS wonderful article as cope. It’s so rare to see such unbiased thinking and level headedness. I just thought of another quote as I wrote this.
“Sit on the fence of any subject and be at the highest point between opinions and have the best view of both.”
-MSuck it @inspirobot 😝
Very well written. The problem is that our education system was the first system to fall to tyranny. Now that we have lost critical thinking the mindless masses will certainly take us over. Indoctrination is a very difficult enemy to overcome. I have been falling down the rabbit hole for many years now. The beauty of the second amendment is that you don't need it until the establishment tries to take it away.
Thanks for the compliment and the comment.
Yes education system is manipulating the mind and planting seeds which will in future shape our thoughts and opinions in ways which are bias and serving of the system in place. This is why i believe it is important to be able to search ourselves and practice mind exercises which give us different perspectives, questioning ourselves, thoughts and biases gives us the ability to "see more" than the autonomy which has been forced upon us through the indoctrination. Once this spell is broken we begin shifting our method of thinking and become more congruent with the self.
All what we need for a revolution is will power! We should not think about races, religions or countries, but only the human race and one goal, then we will succeed.
Here is someone who gets it ;) The power for change is within us, we have been conditioned to think it lies in the tools, texts, weapons, etc. but this is a fallacy, WE are the change, WE are the revolution, its is up to US.
Those set to gain and profit from our conflict have highlighted our differences to keep us bickering and feuding among ourselves, all the while reaping the rewards at the expense of their fellow humans. When we realize the game which is being played we can refuse to take part anymore THAT is when we will see a paradigm shift.
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