It's Just A Shot Away

The much overlooked confluence between mysticism and revolutionary socialism can be seen in these quotes from two towering figures of the XXth century:

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."- Albert Einstein

"At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality...we must strive every day so that this love of living humanity is transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force." - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

If our species is going to survive the crisis of the XXIst century, they will require both radical new forms of social organization and an accompanying narrative. Only by engaging in total revolution, which aims at inner as well as outer transformation, can this be accomplished.

And as both quotes illustrate, love - real love, not the selfish, manufactured desire of consumerism - is the wellspring of true freedom. It is the Divine Fire that transmutes the alienated postmodern subject into an authentic human being. When the prevailing mood among perceptive people in general and the Left in particular is one of despair, cynicism and fear, we would do well to remember this. The activity of love is a revolutionary act; the activity of revolution is itself an act of love.