New Year's Revolutions
We can ease the suffering of this world--but we'll have to work for it.
New Year’s Revolutions
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
–-from the song Of This World
resolution /rĕz″ə-loo͞′shən/
noun
The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.
"faced the situation with resolution."
A firm decision to do something.
"made a resolution to get more exercise."
A course of action determined or decided on.
"His resolution is to get up early."
revolution /rĕv″ə-loo͞′shən/
noun
Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation.
"the planetary revolution about the sun."
A turning or rotational motion about an axis.
A single complete cycle of such orbital or axial motion.
The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.
A sudden or momentous change in a situation.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Just in case you thought I made a typo or spelled the last word in the title wrong, I’ve provided the definitions above. While many folks this week are discussing their “New Year’s resolutions” to lose weight or take up exercising, what this world desperately needs are “New Year’s revolutions.” Yes, revolution as it states in the fifth definition: “a sudden or momentous change in a situation.” If we don’t see any revolutions in 2024, we probably shouldn’t expect to be alive and well this same time next year.
I know you thought I was going to say we need a revolution as defined in the fourth line: “the overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.” Well, that kind of revolution may ultimately be necessary to enact a needed sudden or momentous change in our situation. For now, let’s stick with just the simple idea of change and a resoluteness to enact those much needed changes.
See? I didn’t throw out the first word’s definition entirely, but I’ve changed it slightly. Resolution, such as undertaking an activity like jogging, has been changed to resoluteness, a character trait that we all need to have, a spirit of firm determination to tackle the job that needs to be done.
So, what New Year’s revolutions need to be enacted in 2024? In case you’re an alien from outer space who has just landed on Earth, or you’ve been cryogenically frozen for the past year or more, you can catch up with what’s been going on with humankind by reading last week’s (that is, last year’s last post) entitled Silence Equals Death: 2023 In Review. That should help you understand how humanity cannot remain forever locked into the death-giving behavior patterns it finds itself locked into now.
To continue down our current path of death and destruction is to ensure humanity’s final and total annihilation. This is not something rational, sane individuals should wish to do. Nor should rational, sane individuals desire to be led by leaders—elected or appointed—who wish to continue down this pathway of death and destruction. Hence, we are all in need of a “sudden or momentous change” in our situation in order to save us from our demise.
This is where the fourth definition of revolution might become necessary. Even a threat or a hint that the workers have had enough of the bourgeoisie class dictating death-giving terms to them could ignite the momentous change necessary to turn things around (revolve them into something better, you could say) and put our society on the road toward life and creativity, away from death and destruction.
Contrary to popular belief, revolutions don’t have to be bloody to be effective. A revolution of the heart, an awakening of conscience, or the raising of our collective consciousness (as prolific essayist Caitlin Johnstone terms it) could be all it takes to instigate changes for the better. After all, the word “love” can be found in the word “revolution” if you look closely enough.
(R E V O L U T I O N. Do you see it? Try flipping the word around and spelling it out. Sometimes a sudden change of view is all it takes to see the good in everything.)
The question really becomes this: Do we want to look closely enough? Are we resisting a revolution of our hearts because to open our hearts to love others can be… too humbling? With an open heart, would we see others as fellow human beings, equal in the eyes of our God/Higher Power? Would this insight make us uncomfortable because we could no longer dismiss others’ needs and treat them as objects for our own gain?
For instance, do the majority of us want to keep turning a blind eye to the genocide happening in Gaza? (Or the ones occurring in Congo or Sudan, for that matter.) We Westerners seem to be experts at ignoring the pain and suffering of others, particularly people of color whose religion or culture is different than our own. We’ve been indoctrinated to keep our emotions to ourselves, to point out the “flaws” and “weaknesses” of other cultures and not our own, so much so that we don’t even seem to realize how hypocritical we’re acting.
To open our hearts and love is to reveal our true nature—our own flaws and weaknesses—to the other. It means asking for forgiveness for our past sins. It means making reparations to those whose families lost their lives and lands to our capitalistic greed and hunger to exploit natural resources for our own gain. It means sharing with and caring for everyone on the planet, not just the face in the mirror.
Love isn’t for sissies. It’s not for those without a resoluteness of spirit willing to walk the painful pathway toward reconciliation between two or more warring factions, but it can be done. Look at how South Africa dealt with the evils of apartheid with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Where there is love, there is hope.
And there are plenty of examples of how a revolution of love could bring about an end to the selfish, warmongering behavior of the US and its allies. Building a world order based on trust and mutual aid rather than the petrodollar and US hegemony would eliminate the competitiveness and spitefulness engendered under Western capitalism
Once a momentous change or revolution of the heart has occurred, similarly changes in the “head” or the human intellect usually follow suit. We can make a revolution from using faulty pretzel logic to rationalize its need for more wars to grab more fossil fuels (which we acknowledge are destroying our climate and our planet) to using our intellect to design cleaner, greener energy sources and technology that could improve the life of everyone on the planet. And I mean there would be life improvements for everyone, not just the rich and those of lofty social status. A revolution of both the heart and head of humanity could lead to many wondrous positive inventions and fascinating explorations of our universe, technology and knowledge shared with everyone, everywhere.
We shouldn’t underestimate just how much good and beauty humankind is actually capable of creating if it is willing to do it together as one body and not as competing cells. The “Lone Wolf Syndrome” (a.k.a. “the oligarchy” or “billionaires”) would be cured once and for all in a world that is unified to protect, nurture, and care for all its members not just a few.
To start the revolution of the heart and the head, we must first be willing to use our “hands” to spread this message of love to all. Hands on the keyboard typing a social media post sharing the news of a group who is supportive of life and creativity, away from the path of death and destruction we’re currently taking. Hands holding a protest sign telling those in authority that we will not accept the slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and elsewhere. Hands raised in a fist to prove we have the love that it takes to begin the “overthrow of one government and its replacement with another” if that is what would be more conducive to guaranteeing peace and prosperity for all human beings.
As Peter, Paul, and Mary sings:
I can ease the suffering of this world, I can ease the suffering of this world, I can ease the suffering of this world… With my head, my heart and my hand
In 2024, let us stand resolutely together and shout boldly, “I can ease the suffering of this world.” Let’s get down to work on our New Year’s revolutions, shall we?
Articles and Other Interesting Links
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: Press Release
29 December 2023
The Republic of South Africa institutes proceedings against the State of Israel and requests the Court to indicate provisional measures https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231229-pre-01-00-en.pdf
South Africa Invokes Genocide Convention Against Israel
https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/29/south-africa-invokes-genocide-convention-against-israel/
2023: The Year Humanity Died
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/2023-humanity-died-gaza
One month into the bloodshed, after Israel had killed 1,000 children, I said that’s it; the world would make its move now, if only to save the children! But the U.S. responded by vetoing a humanitarian cease-fire that could have saved thousands of innocent lives! A month after, when the death toll of children reached 10,000, I said enough is enough; it’s high time the world acted NOW, because humanity itself is at stake! U.N. officials had already sounded the alarm that Gaza was becoming a “graveyard for children,” so no one could pretend they did not know. The time to act was now or never! Yet there was another U.S. veto; another cold hand was raised to issue a new death sentence for Palestinians. Another spit in the face of humanity!
Now I’m lost for words. I have lost faith in humanity. The staggering death toll in Gaza is humanly impossible to fathom or accept without losing our sense of shared humanity. As a Palestinian, as a human being, I feel that part of me has died in this war. I know for certain that I will not emerge from this tragedy the same person I was before. None of us will.
“Christ in the Rubble”: The best sermon you’ll ever hear.
Christmas in Bethlehem 2022 vs. 2023 https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/26/christmas-in-bethlehem-2022-vs-2023/
The lies we believe about Gazan Christians are killing them
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/gracecoloredglasses/2023/12/why-christian-west-cold-hearted-palestinian-christians-enormous-crisis
Debunking the world’s largest skin bank: How Israelis harvest organs without consent? https://medium.com/@ASll0_/debunking-the-worlds-largest-skin-bank-how-israelis-harvest-organs-without-consent-d8415b266a55
Voters Want the U.S. to Call for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza and to Prioritize Diplomacy https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2023/12/5/voters-want-the-us-to-call-for-a-permanent-ceasefire-in-gaza-and-to-prioritize-diplomacy
Patrick Lawrence: To Retrieve History https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/28/patrick-lawrence-to-retrieve-history
Palestinian Journalists Are Exposing How “Objectivity” Is Used to Silence Them https://truthout.org/articles/palestinian-journalists-are-exposing-how-objectivity-is-used-to-silence-them/
Returning to Gaza after kidnapping, torture by Israel youtu.be/svcMuAt3To0?si=8hGrl_uPXyqwJ1cT
The Overlooked Economic Incentives for Israel's War on Gaza youtu.be/vDS5mKiXmgQ?si=CMM5nfE85Gv9P97s
Jill Stein on the Genocide in Gaza https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/1740152022144622839
We Should All Take Up the Cry of ‘Not in My Name’
https://wagingnonviolence.org/metta/2023/12/we-should-all-take-up-the-cry-not-in-my-name-anarchic-politics/
I believe, we no longer want to live in a world where the death of children can be legitimated, rationalized and justified. No law can make the killing of children right, if it does, it is not just; no amount of reasons can make the targeting of children right, if it does it is insanity; no justifications can take away the conditions of peace from a child, if they do, it is a clear pointer that it serves tyrants and, therefore, is a perverse mockery of justice. This world must be overthrown, even if we do not know as yet what will take its place — let us be open to, and imagine and construct other possibilities.
Israel's War Crimes https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/29/israels-war-crimes/
Israel Announces Its Gaza Endgame: Ethnic Cleansing As ‘Humanitarianism’ https://popularresistance.org/israel-announces-its-gaza-endgame-ethnic-cleansing-as-humanitarianism/
The Long History Of Zionist Proposals To Ethnically Cleanse The Gaza Strip https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/29/the-long-history-of-zionist-proposals-to-ethnically-cleanse-the-gaza-strip/
License to kill: US police killed over 1,200 people in 2023
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/30/asgq-d30.html
Boycott Israel/Support Palestine Tool Kit
https://www.codepink.org/bdstoolkit?
2023: The Year the Bubble of US Leadership Burst
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/2023-us-leadership-bubble-burst
Silence Equals Death: 2023 In Review
https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com/p/silence-equals-death-2023-in-review
US Military Sinks Three Houthi Boats in Red Sea Killing 10 https://news.antiwar.com/2023/12/31/us-military-sinks-three-houthi-boats-in-red-sea-killing-10/
RIP John Pilger https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/12/rip-john-pilger/
truly!
“a revolution of the heart, an awakening of conscience, or the raising of our collective consciousness”
So many of us are on the same page about how this year has to be a turning point. I'm writing a post about this, in a very different way, right now.