again is revealed in the actions of the tyrant who, when chasing ever more wealth, takes not just oil from another sovereign nation for himself but takes positions in private companies, engaging in practices more
reminiscent of state capitalism than free-market capitalism, practices more Maoist than MAGA.20 It is all nothing more than rhetoric, designed to distract rather than define. Forget irony. Acknowledge it for what it is: it is simple thievery. It’s all about the money, and the opportunity to make more at the expense of others.
The second trap is to play to the stereotypes
so often involved with the those who hide behind propaganda, the goal of which is to shut down critical thinking. Here, they simply play upon questions of whether socialism can respond effectively to a framework that does not focus on structural issues. This creates the illusion that until socialism and its ideological variants can move beyond reacting against problems into a more proactive stance, outlining specific pragmatic responses to problems both conceptual and practical, there is really no reason to engage in critical thinking because it is the same old song and dance, the ideological tune of which communists and socialists have engaged across the centuries. And yet without critical thinking, both sides ultimately run the risk of becoming systems that are oftentimes dependent on personalities, which poses the further risk that they might devolve into populism at its worst – namely, demagoguery, tyranny, or mob rule. Such trickery is beneath the average American, who would wish to be treated as a person capable of independent thought, based as that would be on hearing the arguments on both sides; but clearly not elected representatives, who would rather people not think for themselves.
VI
The Time is Now
When two-thirds of the population believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, but elected officials fail to act, it is time for change. When elected officials seek personal fame and fortune through what existing frameworks provide without regard for how the vast majority of their constituents are faring, it is time for change. When alternative models for more responsible governance exist but rhetoric and propaganda deny their day in the court of public opinion, it is time for change.
In fact, it is time for more. It is time for revolution, for true revolutionary reform.
As a people who were granted certain unalienable rights and who are constantly seeing those rights eroded by evil intent, we can no longer wait as our representatives sit idly by as an individual and small group of supporters tear apart what is sacred to us. We must act.
And in acting we must build a new framework upon the strong foundations of the old, by offering forth a new way thinking and acting, one that offers a more inclusive community opposite of empire (whether expressed as a rule of one, a republic, or a centralized state), a community that not only respects people, place, and tradition, but one that moves culture forward in a responsible way, one that does not fall victim to the propagandistic rhetoric of unbridled capitalism.
It must also be a model that arises from courage, not fear. Yes, revolutions have often devolved into chaos, terror, and destruction: the French Revolution brought forth the guillotine that served to mark the Reign of Terror and the Russian Revolution brought forth the gulags which served to mark the unapologetic force inflicted upon peoples who the State believed threatening. But they need not do so. The American Revolution brought forth promise; and it is that promise one must keep in mind and build upon as we confront the terror of this tyrant, who has been allowed to rise within because of the very structure of our republic, a structure in radical need of change and repair.
With such in mind, the model that thus comes to mind as being a truly revolutionary form which meets the requirements set forth is the
141