ADVICE TO YOUNG REVOLUTIONARIES- Jersey Flight

The point of thinking is to move in the direction of action.

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it." Marx, Thesis on Feuerbach XI

The problem is not a lack of people ready to take action (any fool can hold a sign in the street) the real problem is that people do not have the discipline to take informed-action. They do not consider their strategy before they proceed. Men and women who function this way (always ready to strike; being insecure they have something to prove) can easily be made the pawns of some foolish king. Anger is dangerous because it can be exploited by tyrants. Passion is the plaything of manipulators and controllers.

If a young man comes to me and says he's ready to change the world. I can only wonder what he means; how does he know what's wrong with the world? The strategy for working with young zealots is first to inspire them in the direction of education. [Once they learn the specifics (of any given cause) they may desire to go another way.] It is no use enlisting ignorant men and women (reactionaries) when in truth these men and women could just as easily have been enlisted in the ranks of the opposition. Ignorant men and women usually do more harm than good... as leaders (god forbid) they are dangerous. In the end they cannot tell the difference between friend or foe because their creed is to protect their interest, they have no higher cause than the cause of self.     
 
That a revolutionary needs to be disciplined, educated before he takes to the streets was the wise philosophy of Gandhi and King.

We must act, but when we act we must act with intelligence.

A revolutionary may think his life away trying to solve a problem, but if he is genuine in this endeavor, if he makes legitimate progress, his sacrifice can be used to save future generations. Knowing precedes doing. Sometimes thought is the required action of revolution; sometimes thought is the most revolutionary action of all.
     
The revolutionary life must be a life of balance, but this does not mean one should invent an unnecessary dualism between theory and action; one should think of action as a form of intelligence; one should think of theory as a form of action.

To place revolutionary action in context means revolutionary action must proceed from revolutionary thought.

"All my thought is for the purpose of moving in the direction of action." Let us not be charlatans (which defect is easily achieved by shunning the work of thought). Charlatans, in the context of revolution, stifle progress, so far from helping, one is forced to overcome them. Pretenders and phonies usually only get in the way. 

"Having revolutionary fire will not give you revolutionary power. In order to have revolutionary power you must have knowledge coupled with strength and ability."

A revolutionary must be set against the exploitation of people, he must not seek to use people but liberate people. A revolutionary is one who would rather inspire a man to educate himself, even though that same man might turn against him, than he would succumb to manipulating him into adhering to his cause.

This is our creed: be real in all things, sincere in question as well as deed. Do not try to protect yourself when you are wrong, admit your error. Learn from all men. Act in truth because you are inspired by love.

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