Don't Play the Enemies' Game. We are Revolutionaries. Be Revolutionary!

For all the best will in the world, political activism can be something which is non-productive or worse, counter-productive.  The phrase Acta Non Verba sums up the futility of words which are employed as a substitution for action.

In the current political climate, political action has become the stuff of pantomime.  Across the spectrum, the 'revolutionary' activities tend to boil down to protest marches and demonstrations (which in every case have to be organised with the express permission of the police and state), and the usual stickering/leafleting campaigns which likewise have to be prepared with one eye on the possible legal ramifications for publishing material which does not conform to the liberal orthodoxy of the globalist Ruling Class.

Set piece activities do not work.  They have become the norm because they are the sanitised and acceptable face of rebellion. They are conformity wrapped in the smug air of dissidence.  To ensure that the people are kept in line, the liberal thugs who violently suppress any 'politically incorrect' expression of thought, have become a particularly insidious type of police by proxy.  This makes activity more difficult.  If only politically acceptable activity can be safely undertaken; if only non-threatening and easily ignored activity is sanctioned by the very state which is the problem, then what is the point in bothering?

A couple of poignant illustrations of pointless activity can be considered by looking at two organisations on opposite sides of the reactionary spectrum.  These two organisations consider themselves revolutionary, but by obeying the rules of the game, they can be proven to be just side-shows and examples of how not to engage in politics:

1.  The National Front (NF). The NF claims to have been in existence for 50 years, and takes great pride in this. Their signature activity is the march.  NF marches were at one point spectacular events attracting vast numbers. They have since dwindled to the shuffling of a few skinheads with media attention dwindling in direct correlation.  They have learnt nothing in 50 years. They have failed to grasp that the massive protest marches in London which occur ever more frequently, achieve nothing.
2. The Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The SWP set piece activity is the paper sale.  This takes the form of a handful of students badgering passers-by to buy the SWP rag (Socialist Worker). An amusing example of such a sale was the SWP setting up stall outside a Bank(!) with the full permission of the Bankers inside to sell their rag.  How very radical, how revolutionary!  Of course it is with bitter irony that the SWP has fallen into the trap of becoming a neutered Trotskyite parody, full of Social Justice Warriors who are so obsessed with bizarre fetish identity politics that they are no threat whatsoever to the Capitalist system.

Demonstrations are not always pointless. 

• Taking a stand alongside Striking Workers shows solidarity and emboldens the cause.  
• Leafleting for specific purposes and specific times is a valid course.  A flash demo outside a bank for the purpose of handing out literature to bank customers exposing the banking racket, is a worthy task (with the purpose of waking people up to the mendacity of the system being far more worthy than selling papers full of liberal drivel which wouldn't look out of place in the Guardian!)
• As long as the leaflets are concise and appropriate (not general and largely irrelevant), and as long as they are handed out personally and in broad daylight (not put through letter boxes / on car windscreens in the dead of night like a reverse burglar!), leaflets have their place.  Stickers?  Do they have any purpose at all? Probably not.

Revolution is not set-piece. Revolution requires imagination and the application of skills which each of us have individually.

• The Education System is Toxic. Don't moan about it! Home school your own children. Where possible set up education cooperatives with like-minded people to teach sanity, and keep the minds of the youth safe from liberal lunacy
• Medicine is largely a cash cow for the Pharmaceuticals Industry. Research Natural Remedies, keep fit, break free as much as you can. Don't moan while continuing to feed the system - get out of the system and help others to do so.
• Stuck in a dead-end soul-destroying job?  Quit!  It isn't easy, but with planning, it is possible. As Socialists we espouse Workers' Cooperatives and the right of the individual to be his/her own boss. These are not theoretical possibilities for a post-revolutionary era; these are real and achievable building blocks of the Revolution right now.  
• Live by example. Moaning about how awful life is, while remaining a cog in the machine, is defeatist. We want to build a better society. We can start by making our own lives better. If we live as Socialists, trade as Socialists, work as Socialists, support each other, help our communities, strive for our people as Socialists, we become living examples and we inspire others to do likewise.

In Wales, the fake patriots of Meibion Glyndwr tackled the problem of tourists depriving locals of homes through buying up property to holiday in, by the utterly stupid strategy of sneaking around at night and setting second homes on fire. This helped house no-one, and only further limited available housing.  A better strategy would have been to break into empty properties and occupy them with people otherwise homeless (and not just Welsh people!)  Meibion Glyndwr made the Welsh people appear to be an English-hating set of idiots, when they could have used a better set of tactics and become a beacon for the homeless across the UK.  We have to be careful not to engage in activities which are counterproductive. The ends and means must work in unison.

Social Media is another minefield. Yes, it is useful in raising awareness. But if it is used without serious thought, it can lead people to the wrong idea about us. The message must be consistent, positive, constructive.  If people want to naval-gaze and engage in self-pitying whinging, they can turn on the TV - they don't need to have the defeatist sickness pushed at them by us. We need to inspire people, and we won't do that by becoming an echo of the mainstream media!

To work Comrades!  Be the Revolution.  Take time to think about how we behave and how the general public see us.  Actions, Not Words, will bring about the end of the Capitalist System, and it is up to us to do all we can, so that others do likewise. We are few, but we can inspire and motivate many.