Revolution Online, September 15, 2011


Needed: Volunteers to Produce Special Issue of Revolution with Responses to BAsics 3:16

A special issue of Revolution (#247), coming out on October 3, will feature people's thinking about the quote from BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, "An Appeal to Those the System Has Cast Off" (see quote below). We will especially highlight responses from prisoners, but also many others on the bottom of society, as well as people from all different walks of life. We have called on people to send in letters, poetry, drawings, photos, and any other kinds of creative writing and visual art.

Putting this special issue together will be both challenging and exciting and we need volunteers to work on all different aspects of this production.

 

An Appeal to Those the System Has Cast Off

Here I am speaking not only to prisoners but to those whose life is lived on the desperate edge, whether or not they find some work; to those without work or even homes; to all those the system and its enforcers treat as so much human waste material.

Raise your sights above the degradation and madness, the muck and demoralization, above the individual battle to survive and to "be somebody" on the terms of the imperialists—of fouler, more monstrous criminals than mythology has ever invented or jails ever held. Become a part of the human saviors of humanity: the gravediggers of this system and the bearers of the future communist society.

This is not just talk or an attempt to make poetry here: there are great tasks to be fulfilled, great struggles to be carried out, and yes great sacrifices to be made to accomplish all this. But there is a world to save—and to win—and in that process those the system has counted as nothing can count for a great deal. They represent a great reserve force that must become an active force for the proletarian revolution.

BAsics 3:16

This special issue will be a way for many different kinds of people to dialogue and share ideas about this quote from Bob Avakian. This is an opportunity for people to be part of the process of reading and picking the letters, artwork, photos, etc. for issue #247. We also need people to work on many other aspects of this production—transcription, design, picking photographs, proofreading, and more. Financial donations for this special issue are another way people can contribute.

Many people have been especially inspired by the letters from prisoners that have appeared in Revolution (go to revcom.us or prlf.org). And this special issue will be a way for prisoners locked away from society to get their ideas out into the world. PRLF's correspondents are very pleased to see their work in print, and an important trust has been built because they understand that we will protect their identities while spreading their thinking. And volunteers who transcribe and read these letters will have to agree to one very important rule: that these letters must be returned to the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund only and must not be sent to any other person, publication, or used in any other way. These are protected communications and there is a trust involved that must not/cannot be violated.

We are starting to work on this issue NOW—so those who want to volunteer should contact us RIGHT AWAY. Let us know a little about you. How did you learn about Revolution newspaper?  Why do you want to volunteer? Are there certain things you want to work on/contribute to? Are you a student/working?  What are some of your other interests?  Send e-mails to: Revolution.Volunteers@yahoo.com or U.S. postal mail to RCP Publications, PO Box 3486, Chicago, IL 60654.

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Basics
What Humanity Needs
From Ike to Mao and Beyond