Lessons Learned

Welcome to the tenth anniversary celebration of The Revolution Continues! Let's keep working diligently so we find ourselves still here in another ten years.

Lessons Learned

by C.A. Matthews

Welcome to our tenth anniversary celebration of The Revolution Continues!

It’s been ten years this month since I agreed to become blog editor. TRC had another name originally, and it was posted on another social media platform, but it gradually transformed into what you’re reading today. That tentative first step kicked off a busy decade of writing, editing, reading, and researching how human beings manage to screw things up and try to put them back together again.

Ten whole years. Would I agree to do it all again, knowing what I do now? Hmm… Let me think about it.

Some folks place TRC under the category of “political science,” but I prefer think of it more as a study in anthropology, history, sociology, and psychology. People making life either harder or easier for themselves or others is what our time on this planet is all about, in my humble opinion. And it’s amazing just how many in power enjoy making life more difficult for others in order to “get ahead.”

It’s issues like these that trigger my spidey-sense gained from my background in psychology. Why do sociopaths get such satisfaction from the struggles and suffering of their fellow human beings? Can’t we simply learn to respect each others’ differences, and live and let live? Most days, apparently not.

And with that insight, I’ll share ten pearls of wisdom gathered over the last decade from fighting in the trenches of American politics and activism. I’m sure you’ve discovered most of these yourself. Feel free to comment below on which one(s) has/have made the biggest impression on you.

Ten Tough Lessons Learned Over the Past Ten Years

1. We must act as our own heroes.

Nobody is going to become our “savior” and save us from our failures as a nation or as a people or as a species. We must learn to save ourselves and do it over and over again. This is what the brave crew of the Madleen in the Freedom Flotilla are attempting. This is what the March to Gaza is all about.

Political heroes in particular are more than likely to let you down. Take for example Bernie Sanders. This blog began as The Bernie Blog in 2015 when a handful of enthusiastic “Berners” came together in hopes of spreading the word that democratic socialism could solve all of America’s problems. The only problem with that idea was that the corrupt system under which Americans elect their leaders and solve their society’s challenges didn’t want to have anything to do with people like Bernie or his followers. They particularly despised any philosophy of governance containing the word “socialism” in it as well.

More on that corrupt system in a moment. One day soon I promise to write more about the origin story of the TRC blog and how our relationship with Bernie changed. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of funny, scary, and very educational stories to tell about how we survived it all.

2. You don’t have to be intelligent or moral to become a politician (or a billionaire) in the US (and possibly everywhere).

Growing up, I figured that politicians were all super smart and savvy individuals. How else did they get elected? But after rubbing shoulders with a good number of them, I know better. To be successful in American politics or business, it helps to be greedy, manipulative, and conniving. It’s a whole different type of intelligence that has nothing do with having empathy or compassion for your fellow citizens or the world at large. The less empathy you have, the further you will go. Donald Trump exemplifies this fact perfectly.

Having an evil streak helps—just look at Sen. Lindsay Graham’s threat on social media made to Greta Thunberg and the crew of the Freedom Flotilla ship, the Madleen, on its humanitarian mission to Gaza. His display of arrogance and cruelty seems to be common among those who accept large quantities of money from Zy0nist lobbying groups. I learned this lesson as I got to know our district Congress member, Marcy Kaptur, a bit better.

Sure, Marcy comes across as having more manners than Lindsay. She’s perfected the smile and handshake photo ops, but deep down she’s just another Zy0nist. I wouldn’t trust her any more than I could throw her. (I wrote about her lack of empathy when the local Palestinian-American community approached her in the fall of 2023.)

3. The system isn’t broken and needs fixing. The system is operating exactly as it was designed and needs to be destroyed.

Ask yourself: If the system of government in the US wasn’t operating as it was designed, would Donald Trump get away with all the fascist shit he’s been getting away with lately? (Would any of our former presidents?) Bernie Sanders would have been able to openly run for president as a socialist and won if Americans had a system that was inherently fair and democratic.

The American system of government was created by wealthy, white slave-owning/land-owning males. The real goal of this system has always been about keeping this founding group firmly on top, making sure they never lose their power or wealth to any other groups. And I know this next statement will break the hearts of some, but the USA was never created to be a democracy for the vast majority of us.

We’re just cogs (or Round Pegs) working in the factories or mules pulling the plows for our “masters,” a.k.a. the oligarchs. The oligarchs enjoy their vast wealth and privileges they’ve been blessed with thanks to our system of laws. To quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “This country has socialism for the rich, and rugged individualism for the poor.”

Now get back to work!

4. Money makes the world go ‘round—wrong!

It’s much worse than that. The US government attempts to control the world’s oil reserves so it can print out worthless green slips of paper in order to control us. The American oligarchy’s goal is to hoard as many of those green slips of paper (or numbers in a bank account spreadsheet) that is backed up by petroleum (not gold), hence the name “the petrodollar.” The oligarchy’s raison d'etre is hoarding and taking all the green slips of paper from the rest us who actually work for a living—along with our homes, land, resources, and lives.

Simply put, capitalism must die. No doubt about it. Until this archaic and selfish system of economics is crushed, all the workers of the world will suffer, and we will never experience true democracy. There’s no way for ordinary folks to get ahead in this world if we’re constantly being buried under the dirt by capitalists who extract our lifeblood from us until we fall over dead.

5. Until big (and dark) money is eliminated from public elections in the US and all people are allowed to vote directly for their representatives—including those currently in prison, resident aliens, and those who don’t speak English as a first language—we will never come close to having a “democracy.”

Anything less is just oligarchy pretending to be a representative democracy. (Read more about the 2014 Princeton Study.) I believe most Americans intuit the situation but find it hard to verbalize.

The Move to Amend organization has the right idea about getting money out of elections, but they’re going about it the wrong way, in my opinion. They’re spending a lot time and effort trying to get Congress members to support the 28^th Amendment that would create publicly funded elections. Of course Congress members will say they support it, because they know their big money donors will make sure it never passes through Congress or gets ratified by enough of the states to change the Constitution. I say we must lock up the big money donors first, then change the laws.

6. Greedy, sociopathic people in power will do anything and everything to stay on top, up to and including committing genocide.

Sociopaths have no conscience. They don’t care about you or me or probably their own family members if they can’t get enough money or power out of the relationship. Sociopaths are prolific in the world of politics and government—no real surprises there. Our system encourages them.

A perfect example of a sociopathic toady is the US ambassador to the United Nations. Both Biden’s and Trump’s UN ambassadors have vetoed every resolution in the Security Counsel calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be rushed into the zone. Their behavior demonstrates the true depth of the American oligarchs’ depravity.

Americans can’t really use the “There’s two sides to every argument” tactic to prop up the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv. We’re openly committing war crimes (though the GHF) and condoning acts of genocide by Israelis to rob yet another indigenous population’s land and resources. Our tax dollars pay for the bombs and the bullets the IOF have used to murder a half-million Palestinians. We are the problem. We must stop or be stopped. Permanently.

7. The vast majority of Americans cannot get past dualistic thinking.

Some Americans think that if you didn’t vote for the Democrat, then you voted for the Republican and vice versa. They can’t imagine having three, four, five or more choices on a ballot for each and every office. They can’t imagine that you could actually rank candidates in order of preference (Ranked Choice Voting or RCV). No matter how hard you try to explain this is a democratic (small d) and fair process of electing people, most just don’t seem to get it. They continue to believe that the two “duopoly” candidates are their only choices.

The duopoly is essentially one political party, since both factions accept billions of dollars from corporations, political action committees (PACs), and wealthy individuals and work hard to please those donors, not ordinary people. But American voters will believe that the Green Party is a part of the DNC or that the Libertarians are just a different type of Republican because they listen to the duopolists. These horrible misconceptions have probably come about because of the next lesson learned.

8. Whoever controls the narrative (that is, the mass media), controls the thought processes of the vast majority of the people.

This phenomenon is better known as “brainwashing.” If the mainstream media tells you “Russia bad! Ukraine good!” repeatedly, this is what you will believe. Even if there is ample evidence to prove otherwise, such as the US, NATO, and the CIA have been setting Ukraine up to fight this proxy war for the West against Russia for years, you’ll still repeat the mainstream narrative.

This is why those in power (the oligarchy) can’t afford to let anyone win the presidency who doesn’t share their love of war and genocide. This effectively eliminates third/alternative party candidates who are peacemakers, not warriors.

Other false narratives include, “Hamas started this out of the blue on October 7!” without mentioning the 77 years of brutal apartheid occupation by Israeli terrorists and the thousands of uncharged Palestinians held hostage—many of them children—in Israeli torture chambers/prisons.

Another false narrative: “Voting for the lesser evil of two evils is good!” without mentioning that voting for anything or anyone remotely evil produces more evil. This narrative is behind the cause of the next lesson.

9. Whenever people suffer from cognitive dissonance, because you’re threatening tenets (or outright lies) they hold dear, they are capable of doing or saying violent things.

Death threats, rape threats, cyber-stalking, and being spit upon for holding the “wrong sign” at a protest or supporting “the wrong candidate” are real things. I’ll write more about our run-ins with these dualistic thinking persons some day. These sick individuals provide evidence to how much Americans need universal health care that covers mental health.

Last, but certainly not least:

10. The Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) rules the world.

We’ll never have lasting peace on Earth until we completely dismantle the military-industrial complex (MIC). We must send all its biggest fans to trial before the International Criminal Court at The Hague. The MIC is a huge part of the corrupt capitalist system (oligarchy) that runs the US and most of the so-called “democracies” of the West and Israel.

White settler-colonialism and unbridled end-stage capitalism fuel the war machine that lusts after oil and other natural resources throughout the world. The MIC is destroying our planet’s environment along with the oppressed peoples who stand in its way. For the sake of humankind’s survival, we must shut it down forever.

But how? It’s time we start rounding up the sociopaths who run the MIC. Locking up the oligarchs/billionaires and their warmongering henchmen in government is a good start, but guillotines are probably the best insurance policy to keep these war criminals out of power forever.

A side corollary of the MIC is ACAB or All Cops Are Bastards. Policing agencies are a big part of the military-industrial complex. You just have to look at the George Floyd/BLM protests in 2020, the handling of campus encampments for Gaza, and the ICE protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere to see local police and National Guard units alike using tear-gas, rubber-bullets, and other “non-lethal force” in a very lethal manner on peaceful protesters.

For decades now the US government has been deliberately militarizing local police forces in order to do just what they’re doing—mowing down fellow citizens at the whim of the oligarchy. Gaza is a testing ground for drone devices, AI programs, and starvation control techniques to be used on Westerners in the near future. Is it any wonder that the majority of large American cities send their top cops to train in police tactics in Israel using Israeli methods?

There have been a lot of tough lessons learned over the past ten years, and I’m certain they’ll be plenty more in the next decade. Stay tuned here for the latest. And please like, share, subscribe, and donate to keep The Revolution Continues going. Thank you.

We can learn a lot from each other. Learning is what keeps human beings alive and well. Here’s to a healthier and happier world for us all!

Keep Learning With These Articles & Interesting Links

March to Gaza starts June 15: https://marchtogaza.net

The Last Days of Gaza https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-last-days-of-gaza

Fighting state violence from Gaza to Los Angeles https://mondoweiss.net/2025/06/fighting-state-violence-from-gaza-to-los-angeles/

US Vetoes UN Resolution Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza https://news.antiwar.com/2025/06/04/us-vetoes-un-resolution-calling-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/

Greta Thunberg Speaks from Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation https://scheerpost.com/2025/06/05/greta-thunberg-speaks-from-aid-ship-heading-to-gaza-despite-israeli-threats-its-my-moral-obligation/

From Media Darling to Persona Non Grata: Greta Thunberg’s Journey https://www.mintpressnews.com/greta-thunberg-canceled-capitalism-israel/289936/

What happens next to the Gaza flotilla’s Madleen and its crew? https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/6/9/what-happens-next-to-the-gaza-flotillas-madleen-and-its-crew

Amid global silence, Israeli forces kill, injure over 600 Palestinians at aid distribution centres in one week https://countercurrents.org/2025/06/amid-global-silence-israeli-forces-kill-injure-over-600-palestinians-at-aid-distribution-centres-in-one-week/

14 Killed, Including Children, in Israeli Attack on School-Turned-Shelter in Gaza’s Khan Younis https://qudsnen.co/14-killed-including-children-in-israeli-attack-on-school-turned-shelter-in-gazas-khan-younis/

Don’t Fund the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation https://medeabenjamin.substack.com/p/dont-fund-the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation

Inside the Hamas unit fighting Israeli-armed gangs that loot aid and facilitate displacement in Gaza https://mondoweiss.net/2025/06/inside-the-hamas-unit-fighting-israeli-armed-gangs-that-loot-aid-and-facilitate-displacement-in-gaza/

French dock workers block arms shipment to Israel https://thecradle.co/articles/french-dock-workers-block-arms-shipment-to-israel-in-protest-over-gaza-genocide

When Will Western Support for Israeli Genocide Finally Crack? https://medeabenjamin.substack.com/p/when-will-western-support-for-israeli

Revulsion for Israel surges worldwide, new survey finds https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/revulsion-israel-surges-worldwide-new-survey-finds

Rubio, Trump Accused of Criminal Obstruction for Sanctioning ICC Judges https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-icc-sanctions

‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/

This Is Israel https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/this-is-israel

How MI6 Helped HTS Seize Syria https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/how-mi6-helped-hts-seize-syria

Yes, Ukraine Started the War https://consortiumnews.com/2025/02/23/yes-ukraine-started-the-war/

This Beloved Global Leader Died With $1,800 In His Pocket. He's the Anti-Trump. https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/this-beloved-global-leader-died-with

Trump Travel Ban Punishes Victims of the U.S. War Machine https://theintercept.com/2025/06/05/trump-travel-ban-afghanistan/

Meet Palantir's Bloodthirsty, Zionist, Neo-Con Head Of Defense Business https://the307.substack.com/p/meet-palantirs-bloodthirsty-zionist

Trump’s FEMA Chief Reportedly Didn’t Know the US Has a Hurricane Season https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-fema-chief-reportedly-didnt-know-us-has-a-hurricane-season/

Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Will Lead to 51,000 Preventable Deaths Each Year https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-will-lead-to-51000-preventable-deaths-each-year/

Trump’s Useful Idiots https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/trumps-useful-idiots

Criminalizing Homelessness Doesn’t Work. Housing People Does. https://otherwords.org/criminalizing-homelessness-doesnt-work-housing-people-does/

The Biden Cover Up Actively Sickening Americans https://www.statuscoupsubstack.com/p/the-biden-cover-up-actively-sickening

A New Polluting Factory Outside Memphis? It's A Supercomputer. https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/a-new-polluting-factory-outside-memphis

Glyphosate poses widespread risks to female fertility and reproductive health: new research https://usrtk.org/healthwire/glyphosate-risks-to-female-fertility-reproductive-health/

Zen And The Art Of New York Times Headline Writing https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/zen-and-the-art-of-new-york-times