The task before us

For those of us who want societal liberation from capitalism, racism, sexism and all other forms of oppression, the last few days have been a cauldron of emotions.

Our comrade Heather Heyer was murdered by a fascist in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday as she resisted Nazis along with many other socialists, communists and anarchists from many groups.

We mourn her death and we will never forget how the police forces of the state and the nonprofit industrial complex aided and abetted her murder and the attacks by fascists against many others.

On Monday night our comrades in North Carolina tore down one of the symbols of white supremacy, a thrilling and heartening act of resistance against racism and the fascist state.

Today, though it comes as no surprise (and is certainly nothing new at all), the US government and its fascist in charge Trump came out in full voice with support for these criminals against humanity.

We stand in solidarity and full support with our comrades who continue direct action in pulling down or defacing the symbols of oppression and white supremacy.

But the task before us will require much more than direct action. And it will require all of us. Every single one.

As unfathomable as it seems, we stand at a threshold of a new world. The world order of capitalist ‘democracy’ we’ve been told is invincible now suddenly doesn’t seem so stable. The only people who don’t want to believe it are the rich. The ‘end of history’ the right wing predicted 20 years ago is laughable.

Now is the time to be talking to everyone: Our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers. In as many languages as possible. And most importantly, that includes the ‘language’ of working folks and people who struggle who aren’t well-versed in leftist ideas.

We need to be talking and creating as much media as we can to help people understand one thing: we can create a new world, without capitalism. We need newspapers, pamphlets, comics, YouTube videos, graffiti – everything.

We must form discussion groups, study groups and begin to organize ourselves. If an organization or party is in your area, join. If you’re like so many Southerners or others who don’t have many in your area, start small, even if it is just one other person. And then recruit others. And then find others to join with.

All of us have a part to play. There is no time to lose. The time for revolution is not in a far distant future with our grandchildren. It is with us. Now.