email info@socialistviewpoint.org

US and World Politics

How to Be Human

One man’s lessons from the struggle

By John Gould

This country is full of amazing people and a unique history to boot. That being said, Black and Brown lives matter. Families belong together. People don’t cross borders; borders divide people. Actual invaders committed genocide on the indigenous population of this land. And the constitution was written not for white men, but for “wealthy land-owning” white men. Not only does white supremacy and privilege exist and are very real, but everyone who benefits from it should take personal responsibility and acknowledge this fact. Then all communities can work together to eradicate this modern evolution of slavery.

This country was built by enslaved and immigrant populations on the land of the victims of genocide. It’s offensive to think and behave like these facts of history are somehow irrelevant now. And it’s almost criminal to withhold this information from younger generations. If we don’t learn from history the likelihood of history repeating itself becomes greater and under this system it’s almost inevitable. In San Francisco public middle school books there is no history taught to expose where systemic racism and poverty is rooted. In my daughter’s seventh grade history book, enslaved Africans are referred to as migrant workers, who were necessary to the growth of this country because Native Americans didn’t know how to work or farm.

The police continue to disproportionately harass and arrest non-white people, and the criminal justice system continues to disproportionately prosecute in the same manner.

Working people are pitted against each other because we believe that there’s not enough to go around. There’s more wealth in the bank accounts of the ruling capitalist class than that one percent of the population could ever spend, and yet the system continues to squeeze and siphon more out of the working class than we ever see.

This is not the land of equal opportunity. Sure, given the right circumstances, anyone could participate in capitalism to create a better life for those immediately dependent upon them. But everyone isn’t this fortunate. And everyone deserves a sustainably healthy quality of life. One baby isn’t more or less deserving than another no matter what race, creed, color or gender. This planet provides an abundance that the capitalist system makes disposable. Capitalism breeds hate, intolerance, prejudice, selfishness, self-centeredness, and feeds into our ego and off of our spirit and souls.

Capitalism no longer serves a purpose to humanity; it only continues to devour all life on earth with little to no contribution back.

This is in our collective consciousness and we seek material validation to fill the void we feel after birth. When in the womb, two souls, two people are in unison. Complete unity. And when were born that unity is broken and a void is felt, this becomes what this system not only depends upon but preys upon.

Being in touch with being human you realize that unity is how we can heal and overcome any and all adversity. There’s no power with money, only more access to oppressive violence.

True power rests in words and actions of people, and ultimate power rests in the masses of people united in solidarity for a greater cause than oneself, this cause is community—com—with or together; unity—the state of being united or joined as a whole—a greater cause. When in touch with what it means to be human we realize that we want for others what we want for ourselves and vice versa. The only way to achieve this is through world communism, i.e., com—with or together; uni—one, having or consisting of one; ism—a distinctive practice system philosophy and/or political ideology. Communism—a system and philosophy of living together as one.

We hear things like competition breeds progress, but imagine cooperating instead of competing. The possibilities are endless. When players on a basketball team, for example, are competing with each other for control of the ball the team as a whole suffers; and when the team cooperates with the same goal in mind, and the players are more selfless, the team unites and becomes more fluid, flexible and successful.

People in balance with being human all have generally similar goals—food, shelter, education, and the need to contribute to community and society as a whole. We’re social beings that thrive in love and confidence and suffer in hate and fear.

Indigenous or aboriginal people around the world have known this for centuries. But this modern development of so-called civilization has lost sight of what it means to be human; has lost sight of the ideologies that are based on basic human principles like goodwill, compassion, respect, responsibility, empathy, service, reason, passion, integrity, open-mindedness, purpose and unity. This is what being human consists of. We’re taught that we are born in sin, and that we will always fall short of ideologies of humanity. And maybe individually we will always have struggles. But by accepting that no matter what we do we are born in sin as the truth totally absolves the individual of self-responsibility.

An addict in recovery learns to give our will over to a power greater than ourselves, which can simply be unity, and to ask, instead, for our higher powers of will—of group consciousness—to replace self-will. And by doing so in time, our true will returns.

The true will of humanity is to live in unity by these principles—these spiritual principles of unity and solidarity—that are truly human principles.

—August 13, 2019