Stories of the open road

Tales of a Vagabond...

By Pathum Punchihewa

Listen folks... the next revolution is going to be a revolution of ideas...

Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!

~ Karl Marx

In 1917, The Bolshevik Revolution arose as a political revolution and it took place with an armed insurrection in Petrograd. The revolution was led by the Bolsheviks, who used their influence in the Petrograd Soviet to organize the armed forces. Bolshevik Red Guard forces under the Military Revolutionary Committee began the takeover of government buildings on 24 October 1917.

Today, ‘Red October’ is a term used to describe the great revolution and it has a symbolic idea and a value.

The death of Che Guevara is commemorate a in October, even in Sri Lanka. You must remember the recent event took place at Viharamahadevi to commemorate Che Guevara. What I realized when I attended the event with my friends is, still Sri Lankan youth believes in revolution!

Red Revolution That is ‘something’ indeed, as we see a new millennial generation day to day, that driven by commercial purposes. And for them, Revolution is just a fashion, Che Guevara is a popular trade mark and revolutionary ideas are good quotes to mention! What went wrong?

Can we apply old time revolutions to today's new age, modern society? I seriously doubt it. Yet mankind couldn’t protect the freedom they gained through bloodsheds, sacrifice and revolution. Even in Sri Lanka there were many lives lost during youth movements of revolution. Even today the youth generation is quite unsatisfied and disappointed about the ‘system’. They believe that a change is essential. And many counter-cultures arose underground as a backfire to the pressure from the corrupted system, out of date traditional society and useless norms. A revolution is an essential constant, no doubt.

Now, what should be the shape of this future subversion? Armed revolutions are out of date fashion today as the most fearful weapon invented by nations is ‘ideas’. The peoples’ revolution should be philosophical; it should be a revolution of ideas. True patriots who intend to build a better world brick by brick need to understand that essential fact.

And to lead such a revolution, you have to sharpen your weapons of ideas, straighten your armors of philosophical doxas. You have to believe that you are here for a purpose and that purpose should be to walk towards a better world. You have to keep faith in the revolution.

Today the word ‘revolution’ is repeated in a miraculous rate and I believe repeating the word cannot bring a true revolution. Still the Red October revolution or the methods that Che Guevara used in Cuba are out of date but that doesn’t mean their ideologies are obsolete. Still those readings have the sufficient potential to lead a new age revolution!

Before I end the article, I want to remind you about a character I always inspired by. The great Chilean revolutionary Victor Jara... A great poet, singer, song writer and most importantly a revolutionary, who dreamed about a better world... He fought side by side with Salvador Allende for the freedom of Chile.

In September 1973, he was arrested, tortured and ultimately shot to death by machine gun fire.

Even today, his music makes us keep our faith in revolution, the better world...

That is the spirit… that is the essence…

58687-bigthumbnail

The revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution.

-Huey Newton

Published on Youth Mirror - Daily Mirror (21th October 2010)

2 comments:

Makulu said...

Yeah youths still believe in a real revolution which was never happen till now.

Great Post pathum. you done well.

Pathum Punchihewa said...

@ makulu...

Thanks. Keep the faith. Its near.

Post a Comment