The Future Holds Revolution
With all of the crazy events that have been happening in 2020, it’s easy to feel like all chaos has broken loose. In many ways it has, but one of the most significant events that has happened this year is the federal government’s response to the novel coronavirus and the protests over police brutality and systematic racism. Because of their complete failure to actually help the people it has many people reflecting on what could actually change the way our government works in order to serve the people instead of themselves. I’m here to tell you the only answer is revolution, but maybe not in the way you’re thinking. Maybe.
In my personal reflections, I’ve been seeing three possible paths. The first is for everything to stay how it is until the people are completely disabled in regards to standing up for themselves and stripped of any power or ability to make change. In my opinion, this would be the worst possible outcome. The second is for physical revolution. This is the one your hippie or redneck friends always rant about saying we just need to overthrow the powers that be and perhaps end up in anarchy, at least for a while. The last one is for the system to change and for things to get better. It was as I began reading Rules for Revolutionaries by Becky Bond and Zack Exley that I realized this last option is accurately and most helpfully described as revolution as well but instead of physical revolution, it’s political revolution.
In other words, while I understood the amount of change that needs to happen, the framing of it as revolution made me realize that the amount of grassroots involvement and support this movement will take.
The significance of this realization for me has two prongs. First, while I realized the change that needs to happen is large I was also thinking about it in less extreme ways. In other words, while I understood the amount of change that needs to happen, the framing of it as revolution made me realize that the amount of grassroots involvement and support this movement will take. Regardless of what solutions you support, a change to our system to start valuing the people will certainly be a revolutionary change. In comparison to a physical revolution, both would take an uprising of the people at large to actually demand and make change. Secondly, I realized that a revolution of some sort is inevitable. Basically, the first of the original options I was looking at is actually the least likely. The people will stand up for themselves in one way or another eventually and if that first option happened people would end up revolting physically in any way they could even if they have been stripped of most powers politically. This means options one and two would come together.
In a way, the realization that revolution will happen no matter what gives me hope. At the very least, it gives me hope knowing that the people will stand up for themselves, and if the current system and powers get bad enough they will end. However, I surely hope the path that we take is the one of political revolution and I really hope we do it now. While I’m weary to look at the current situation and conclude that political revolution must happen now or else physical revolution will be the choice simply because we are in a crazy time I think the fact that we’re in such a crazy time has revealed every reason that is actually true.
The economic situation of the average person in the U.S. is getting worse and worse as the powers that be are getting richer and stronger. Minorities have been held down for centuries and now have to watch as our representatives choose to paint murals and bicker over statues instead of enacting legislation aimed to help these communities and stop the systems that keep them down. Even the ‘middle class’, if that really exists anymore, has been left to fend for themselves by having to go out in the middle of a pandemic to work because the government hasn’t helped us get through this economic crisis else face missing mortgage payments, car payments, or being able to get basic necessities.
The people aren’t yet at a place of complete revolt … But all of these reasons, after a while, can easily build up into a complete frustration and rejection of the powers that exist.
The people aren’t yet at a place of complete revolt. Partially because a lot of people have learned not to count on our representatives to actually help, partially because some haven’t realized the problem exists, and partially because they’re too busy having to take care of themselves. But all of these reasons, after a while, can easily build up into a complete frustration and rejection of the powers that exist. After knowing for so long the people that could help you won’t, after losing care about what is going on it only takes one really serious thing to happen to let the originator of that apathy turn into anger. After the problems get so bad no one can ignore them, and after feeling like you’re stretching yourself so thin for so long just to get by and not seeing your situation improve, revolution will come in one way or another. The riots, the tearing down of statues, and the vandalizing of government buildings were just a hint, a letting off of some of the pressure and steam, of what could happen if the people feel like they aren’t being heard or seen for so long.
Revolution is coming but it’s up to those of us who believe the system can be fixed and can be better. For those of us who know that there are some very solid foundations in this country to build a beautiful structure to choose political revolution and make those changes before physical revolution breaks out.
I don’t want to see a physical revolution, I don’t want to see many in pain, many die, or many fall to the crowd either as victims or as proponents. This is not the ideal outcome and we must hold out hope that we can change the system through the system. Many great societies have reached a tipping point and fallen at the hand of physical revolution but we perhaps have the greatest opportunity in history with a system that was set up to listen and represent the people. A country that was founded on freedom and basic human rights. While the country is headed away from this direction right now we still have these powerful structures we can use.
We need to enact political revolution. We need to make big asks, we need to demand that things change quickly and not incrementally. We need to demand to be heard and accurately represented.
Whatever happens, the future holds revolution, for the way things are right now cannot stay the same. We need to enact political revolution. We need to make big asks, we need to demand that things change quickly and not incrementally. We need to demand to be heard and accurately represented. We need to remind our politicians that their job is to be a public servant, not a corporate one. The solutions that are needed have been thought of and are building steam. All it takes now is for every single one of us to get involved and to push these solutions and to push the people who are leading the charge to the forefront of the conversation and into office. The revolution has already started in many ways but it hasn’t reached the majority level yet and that’s what it will take to change things. We still have some time, but I’m not reassured it’s much. I don’t want to see what things will be like after another 50 years of corporate powers in charge. This is why we need to do what we can to grow the revolution to the stage where it really looks like one starting today.
