Under the right circumstances, we can all become murderers. That’s a sobering lesson I learned from the Netflix documentary "Ordinary Men: The Forgotten Holocaust", voiced by Succession’s Brian Cox. This research-packed, cruelty-filled film made me reflect on a reality I’ve long accepted as a communist: revolutions require bloodshed. I've even declared I would take up arms if necessary. History—the Haitian Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Black Panthers—has taught me that freedom comes at the steep price of pounds of blood.
As I grow older and consider how precious human life is, enough to say that I am against the death penalty (anti-abortion-rights losers, this is not for you), I find myself questioning whether there are different, less lethal ways to seek freedom. I wouldn’t say I’m more likely to wield a paintbrush or a sewing needle with war around me, but those avenues of aid would be my first choice and have been my first choice. Perhaps, when the time comes for the people of the world to finally imagine a path to freedom and seize it violently en masse, I’ll be a benefactor, a painter documenting the times, a sewist mending uniforms, a strategist, or a mathematician before I take up arms.
Revolutionary people come in many different forms. While some are front line arms, others provide necessary support behind the scenes. History often speaks of the people on the front lines, but every successful revolution needs its share of logistics coordinators, teachers, and uniform menders. We need as many good people as we can get who have diverse talents to fight for a financially, socially, politically and environmentally sustainable future.
We need to imagine our skills today as the building blocks for the future, a fact true throughout time. That future revolution starts now and with ourselves. For example, I need to continue to use my talents to create change in the present. I do that mostly through art: capturing the zeitgeist of our turbulent times and inspiring others to action through a variety of mediums. Maybe in our future revolution, my love for analytics will transform into a thirst for mathematics, a skill that is used today and will be used tomorrow to model better systems for more just societies.
The older I get, the more I realize that revolution doesn’t always mean picking up arms. Sometimes it’s about picking up a pen, a brush, or a sewing needle. Revolutions require bloodshed, but maybe they can also be about mending wounds, both literal and figurative, now and in the future. Revolutions need to be about creating something new while tearing down the old.
Revolutionary change needs the diversity of skills and perspectives that each of us brings. In a world that is constantly evolving, our roles in shaping it are multidimensional. We are artists, mathematicians, political scientists, and more. Our contributions, whether on the front lines or behind the scenes, are vital. Simply put, revolution doesn't always mean bloodshed; revolution can mean creation, support, and diverse change.