The
struggle for social, political, and economic justice
derives its fundamental authority from the legitimate
yearnings and needs of all people - be they Black,
White, Brown, Red, or Yellow. The human right to social,
political, and economic justice is not bound by color,
gender, or religion, etc. One of the great strengths of
the people�s struggle for justice is that it is inclusive,
not exclusive.
We
must continue to be steadfast in our sustained, ongoing
efforts to organize for human rights, and not allow
ourselves to be stymied into a non-secular pitfall. Let
us remember, that as we engage in this people�s struggle,
the right to religious freedom, for example, must also
include the right to be free of or from religion. Thus,
it is imperative that we stay focused upon the people�s
struggle in the context of full social, political, and
economic justice for all peoples.
There
are far too few citizens of this nation, and immigrants
in this nation, that are aware of the long and
rich history, and secular nature of ongoing and
successful people�s struggles in the United States. Indeed, the corporate media, the
government, and many �educational� institutions endeavor
to obfuscate, confuse, and divide everyday Black,
White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people by injecting, among
other things, religion as a controlling factor
into the political narrative of the people�s struggle.
This is extremely dangerous, and we must not succumb to
this divisive, pigeon-holing, and distracting tactic.
In
the context of the struggle for social, economic, and
political justice [i.e. human rights], it is essentially
irrelevant as to whether one is a believer in Christianity,
Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Agnosticism, or Atheism,
etc. Our struggle is not confined to being a religious
or a non-religious one; it is a people�s struggle
for justice - and nothing short of that. The principles
of justice are, and must be, all encompassing.
Even
as political repression, including the de facto gutting
of the U.S. Constitution, continues unabated in this nation,
so must our determination to resist and reverse this repression.
Yes, even as joblessness, homelessness, home foreclosures,
racism, and mass incarceration steadily rise, we must
seize the time to educate, agitate, and organize
for a sane and equitable society and world.
As
the perpetual, unconscionable and bloody U.S.
wars and conflicts drag on in Afghanistan,
Pakistan,
Iraq, and elsewhere
on this planet, it is incumbent upon us to be creative
revolutionaries in the people�s struggle for social, political,
and economic justice. We must not allow the unconstitutional,
heavy-handed, and Machiavellian tactics (replete with
cynical, so-called �plausible deniability�) on the part
of the Obama / Biden regime, the NSA (National Security
Agency), the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), the FBI
(Federal Bureau of Investigation), or any other local,
state, or federal agency, to chill, stifle, or neutralize
our efforts and activities as a part of the legitimate
and necessary people�s struggle for social, economic,
and political justice. Nor must we allow, or succumb to,
the hegemony on the part of the corporate / military elite.
This
people�s struggle for justice is rooted firmly in the
determination to exercise our human rights in this
nation and throughout the world. In a word, what is at
stake in this struggle for the present and the future
is quite literally, everything. We know that the
alleged �war on terrorism� conducted by the U.S. Government
and its allies is, in reality, a war on the fundamental
human rights of the people of this nation and planet.
It is a war intended to stifle dissent - to discredit,
imprison, and silence the truth tellers. To reiterate:
at stake in this people�s struggle is literally everything.
It
should be crystal clear by now that placing our belief
in the insidiously articulate Mr. �hope and change,� Nobel
peace prize-toting, drone missile-president, Barack
Obama, or in his corporate accomplices of the Democratic
Party foxes and the Republican Party wolves
is a recipe for unmitigated disaster for everyday Black,
White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people nationally and globally.
Our belief must be in ourselves and each other
collectively. Whatever differences we everyday
common people might have with one another should be, as
Malcolm X so aptly said, addressed and dealt with �in
the closet;� and we must step out of that proverbial �closet�
- more united and determined than ever before.
The urgency of this cannot be over-emphasized.
Be exhorted by the ever timely words of Joe Hill, and
�Don�t Mourn. ORGANIZE!�
Onward
now my sisters and brothers! Onward!
BlackCommentator.com
Editorial
Board Member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black
Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the
Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and
the only American to have successfully self-authored his
civil/political rights case to the United Nations under
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In connection with his political organizing activities
in opposition to voter suppression, etc., Pinkney was
interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS NewsHour,
formerly known as TheMacNeil/LehrerNewsHour. For more
about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and
Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard
Zinn]. (Click
here
to read excerpts from the book). Click here
to contact Mr. Pinkney.