[PAA-Discuss] pro-war Republican backing pro-war Obama, "Sheeple", and the change we really need

[Jessica Wilson]

WOW THANKS!!!!  some fresh air in here, this was a solid read.**

On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 10:41 PM, sandy jo <sandy4newworld at yahoo.com> wrote:

> *from Revolution #146 <http://revcom.us/>*
>
> **
>
> *The Morning After the Elections...
> and the Change We Really Need...*
> *WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO NOW?*
>
> *This is a message to those who got behind Barack Obama because they have
> been horrified and furious with the direction this society has taken over
> the past eight years. To those who put their deep felt desires for change in
> the hope that Obama will take society in a different direction.*
>
> *Revolution* has made the argument about why such hopes are misplaced and
> illusory, why the direction Barack Obama will take society is diametrically
> opposed to the direction you want to go, and why supporting Obama is
> harmful. But we can't help but raise one more time to those who know the
> system is rotten: the logic of getting behind Obama boils down to saying: if
> we can't do away with this system now, we have to *strengthen* that system
> by putting resources into and/or working to elect someone who doesn't even
> pretend he's going to work to bring about a real change in the nature of
> that system.
>
> And if you don't think we need a revolution—then you need to explain how
> voting for Obama will address the things you do care about. How, from within
> the confines and framework of this system, can Obama begin to solve all the
> horrors facing humanity today, from global warming to the food crisis to the
> vicious discrimination in this society?
>
> But with all that, here we are. As we go to press, the outcome of this
> election is undecided, and is unpredictable. Not just in how the votes add
> up, but even whether they will be added up. But, no matter what the outcome,
> when the dust clears the question will be posed for all those who genuinely
> desire changes so desperately needed by the people of the world:
> *What are you going to do now?*
>
> Will you fight for the changes in society and its direction—and the role
> the U.S. plays in the world—that you yourself care deeply about? And, if you
> voted for Obama, will you fight for the things that got you to put your
> hopes for change in Obama?
>
> If Obama is elected, many will try to "wait and see" what happens.
> But how long will you wait and how much will you have to see? What will you
> find intolerable? What is that line that you will not cross? At what point
> will you step up and resist?
>
>    - When Obama tells you the war in Afghanistan (and all the terror and
>    suffering and murder that will mean for the Afghan people) must be escalated
>    because this is "the good war" and the key front in the "war on terror,"
>    will you go along like a sheep, or will you resist? Will you have sense and
>    principle enough to remember that every step of the way those pulling the
>    strings lied to people, and that it is an endless war for empire? When he
>    even more aggressively "tracks down the terrorists in Pakistan" (read: raids
>    on the people of Pakistan increase), will you step out and resist? When and
>    if Obama were to attack Iran, as he has made amply clear he is willing to
>    do, what would you do? And what if he reinstates a draft? In short, how much
>    murder in defense of empire from Obama will you tolerate?
>    - When Obama tells you that people who are losing their homes just have
>    to do their best and put their faith in their leaders, will you go along
>    with that—or will you resist?
>    - When Obama pumps money into faith-based organizations and gives them
>    control over whatever social services get funding—in a way that embeds
>    religion even more deeply into all facets of society, will you go along with
>    that—or will you resist?
>    - When Obama rules out of order taking on all the cruel and unjust ways
>    in which Black people are oppressed—and argues for "understanding" the
>    reactionary racist opposition of some white people to affirmative action,
>    will you say that this is just something he has to say to get along? And
>    when he blames Black people for a situation that is a product of a whole
>    history and present reality of oppression as a people, in a way that
>    justifies criminalizing a generation of Black youth, as he did in his
>    infamous "Father's Day speech" this year, will you make excuses for him or
>    worse yet go along with it, or will you refute and resist it? And when other
>    people point to Barack Obama as proof that racism has been overcome—while at
>    the same time, nearly one million Black people languish in the jails—will
>    you shrug and agree, or will you call out that backward shit for what it is?
>
>    - When Obama says "we all agree that abortion is terrible," and
>    conciliates time and again with regard to the attacks on abortion and birth
>    control, in the name of overcoming differences, where will you be? Accepting
>    this as the new reality? Or saying "NO FUCKING WAY"?
>    - When Obama maintains and even intensifies the repression of
>    immigrants, and blandly justifies it while families are split apart and
>    people humiliated and abused and demonized—what will you do then?
>
> And consider this: McCain could win, just as Bush "won" the elections. What
> would that prove? Only that there is a section of society that can be
> whipped up around "small town" values of ignorance, intolerance, white
> supremacy, and patriotism—and that refusing to take this on, head-on, will
> only embolden these fascist elements. And it may once again prove that
> elections can be fixed and stolen. But then what? You knew the game was
> rigged when you sat down to play. It is impermissible to then retreat into
> cynicism and despair just because they cheated you. Will you let the open
> fascists then rule unchallenged? Or will you stand up and join with others
> to resist the juggernaut he will unleash, including going into the streets
> in massive political resistance if they *do* in some way once again try to
> steal the elections?
> Forecast: Storms Ahead *Whoever *steps into the Oval Office after this
> election will get behind the wheel of a whole system, and in particular, a
> system whose trajectory has been defined by the Bush regime, with its world
> ambitions—and the way it has fought to remake all of society in a fascist
> way. And whoever steps into the Oval Office will do so at a moment when
> there is tremendous turmoil and dislocation as the financial crisis
> destabilizes the global economy—with the prospect of much worse to come. The
> future of millions hangs in the balance.
>
> However this election turns out, there are going to be profound "changes."
> This upheaval could result in a leap in the remaking of society in a fascist
> way. But at the same time, if there is a growing revolutionary movement and
> a growing culture of resistance, it could open the way for and set different
> terms…and the balance of forces in society can be dramatically realigned.
>
> The call from World Can't Wait remains true: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN. WHICH
> ONE WE GET IS UP TO US. There's going to be storms. You can sit and let it
> pour down on the people, here and all over the world, or you can do
> something to wrench a whole better future out of it.
> Whoever Wins, the Republican Fascist Offensive Will Continue Many people
> are getting behind Obama because they feel he is all that stands between
> them and the imposition of an increasingly fascist Republican agenda. But
> the Democrats—and specifically Obama—are not going to stand up and
> forcefully call out and oppose what is going on. Time and time again, they
> tell us this—and demonstrate this through their actions. Even while the
> McCain/Palin rallies grew uglier and more threatening in the weeks before
> the election, Obama continued to call for "conciliation" and "overcoming our
> differences." And let's be clear, the unleashing of this narrow minded,
> right-wing populist movement now is not merely a campaign tactic. It is not
> just ugly; it is dangerous. When the specter of Obama being the anti-Christ
> is run out there in the way this campaign has done, it is just one ominous
> signal that the Christian fascist forces are on the move—and mobilizing and
> congealing their base to fight for their reactionary programs and ideas to
> govern the society.
>
> Why? Because in these tumultuous times, Obama's message and role is to
> bring people "into the fold." He has won so much support from the ruling
> class—and make no mistake about it, he would not be leading in the polls and
> raking in the donations if he did not have *tremendous *ruling class
> backing—because they feel he has the best program to get the people in
> America to hold still and hold tight for the hell they are about to be put
> through. And they also feel that he is the best person to sell the bloody
> program of aggression and murder that they need to continue all over the
> globe to people of the world. He is a "fresh face." But these rulers also
> agree that the Christian fascists who now slobber over Sarah Palin must also
> be part of the mix and must not be called out for what they really are. It
> follows, then, that in response to every attack from these dark forces of
> -obscurantism, woman-enslaving theocracy, racism, and "USA #1" chauvinism,
> Obama has preached accommodation and capitulation. And this won't change if
> he is president. Because to mobilize people to fight in opposition to the
> current agenda of the rulers holds within it the potential of unleashing the
> masses in a way which could lead to the further unraveling of a situation
> the ruling class is desperately trying to pull together. And calling forward
> the masses could contribute to the rise of a radical challenge to the whole
> set-up coming from below.
>
> But while Obama does not want to and will not call forth a mass movement
> from below which goes up against all the reaction and injustice, and, in
> fact, as many Obama supporters will soon find out to their chagrin, he will
> use the machinery of state *against* any such movement—this is exactly
> what needs to happen.
> What You Need to Do Now Is this going to be a time of great change? How
> could it be otherwise given what is happening in the world? But the question
> is: what kind of change and in whose interests? The rulers of this country
> are not going to sit idly by and watch this system fall apart. In the face
> of powerful centrifugal forces pulling at the fabric of society—the rulers
> are going to try to bludgeon and hammer their way through this crisis. And
> if they are successful, they will do this on the basis of greatly and
> egregiously intensifying the suffering and exploitation of the people. But
> this outcome is not inevitable.
>
> These heavy times also hold the potential for radical and dramatic shifts
> and an even more profound crisis that could pose the possibility for
> revolutionary change...and we must be preparing for such times.
>
> To those who ask, "But until the revolution comes, what can we do?" the
> answer is that *right now *is the time to be building a revolutionary
> movement. Revolutions can only be made when the time is ripe, but in a real
> way, revolutions are "made" all along the way. Our Party is and will be out
> there, spreading revolution and building resistance. Our Party is and will
> be out in the world, working to bring forward a revolutionary people through
> all the twists and turns of this struggle so that when the situation
> develops where revolution has a real chance, the people will be ready to
> seize the time.
>
> And when you realize you've been played...when you have had enough and
> decide to fight for the change the world needs, and not the change we're
> told we have to settle for...when you decide it is time to stand up, step
> up, and resist—join with our Party in working for change that really
> matters.
>
>
> *To state it in a single sentence, elections: are controlled by the
> bourgeoisie; are not the means through which basic decisions are made in any
> case; and are really for the primary purpose of legitimizing the system and
> the policies and actions of the ruling class, giving them the mantle of a
> "popular mandate," and of channeling, confining, and controlling the
> political activity of the masses of people.*
>
> from
> *Democracy: Can't We Do Better Than That?*
> by Bob Avakian
>
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-- 
Every generation has the obligation to free men's minds for a look at new
worlds... to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.

-- Ellison S. Onizuka
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