How easy it would be to swallow whole doctrines complete like that! I don't think anything is perfect...and I hate labels. I can't just be labelled socialist, Catholic, activist, etc. Those labels are just too easy. I like to pull the values and beliefs that resonate with me from different sides of the spectrum. I just don't think it can be as simple as; I am an "insert label here" and I think all the things associated with the beliefs outlined by the dude who set up that particular label.
Then today I found this from Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and I find that I agree with some of it and totally disagree with other bits (warning: I know it is long but I wanted to copy it in whole):
I like the rhetoric of that last bit about "pop diplomacy"...Statement of Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)on the London Bombings, July 7, 2005 - www.cpcml.ca
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)condemns the wanton acts of violence in London, England today in which, once again, it is the innocent who are injured and killed. What is the reason for targeting innocent civilians on their way to work? Who perpetrates such wanton crimes and whose interests do they serve?
The leaders of the main imperialist countries meeting at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, especially the war criminals George W. Bush and Tony Blair along with all major imperialist media outlets, were quick to blame "Al Qaeda," "Muslim extremists," "sleeper cells" and the like. Bush and Blair pledged to step up their "war on terror." Far from believing these simplistic accounts, CPC(M-L) holds the imperialist states and their agencies responsible.
CPC(M-L) condemns the imperialists and their news agencies for using the occasion to detract attention from the peoples' united opposition to the imperialist agenda and international state terrorism against the peoples of the world.
Such acts of wanton violence are and alway have been the preferred method used by the imperialists to sabotage the peoples' struggles. At a time the peoples are politically expressing their determination to deal with the serious problems which face their societies and the entire world, the imperialists are creating a climate of anarchy and using state terrorism to cover up their refusal to deal with these problems as the peoples are demanding. The first object is to have people draw the conclusion that whosoever is capable of ending this state of anarchy and confusion should be supported. According to this logic, any measure, including the outright massacre of people, is justified.
Another aim is to create an atmosphere in which every uncalled for act of violence, including cold-blooded killings and mass murder, can take place so that people who exercise no control over their lives become indifferent. Another aim is to create a climate in which it is permissible to target entire communities and under certain circumstances incite people to kill one another on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender or ideological differences.
Such methods were developed during the 19th century to sabotage the peoples' struggles, especially in France and Czarist Russia. During the 20th century these methods were perfected in the fight against communism and the national liberation struggles. After the Great October Revolution and prior to the Second World War, they were used by the British, French and others in their attempt to egg on Hitler to attack Soviet Russia. These methods were used by Hitler and Mussolini to set up the communists, people of Jewish origin and oppressed peoples and on this basis justify committing atrocities against them.
In Canada, it is proven that violence targeting the people has the hand of the state and its agencies behind it. So too in Ireland; the battle between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants was the policy of the British imperialists to divert the people and obstruct their unity against British rule and the establishment of a united Ireland under their own rule. In Europe, the political wing of NATO confessed to setting up terrorist groups throughout Europe to carry out bombings, kidnappings and create a general climate of terror against the population. Such events were then used to justify the persecution of progressive forces, as well as the policy of state terror on the part of individual governments and the imperialist powers as a whole. The same is the case in India and all other countries where the state and its agencies act with impunity against the people's forces. The crimes against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean through the dirty wars, Plan Condor, the blockade against Cuba, etc. are all exercised in the name of high ideals.
This being the case, why do the media and "experts" remain silent about humanity's experience with the use of such methods? Recalling this experience would assist people to shed light on what is taking place at this time. It clearly shows that the people must pay utmost attention to drawing the warranted conclusions. They must provide themselves with a guide to action which consolidates their political unity in action against the growing fascism and danger of imperialist war.
CPC(M-L) calls on the Canadian working class and people and the peoples of all countries to take their own stands and persist in their opposition to the narrow interests of the imperialists for which the peoples are paying a terrible price. CPC(M-L) hails the successful actions carried out in Scotland against the G8 Summit and its nefarious agenda to increase the plunder of the long suffering African continent and divert attention from the deeds of the imperialists and their henchmen in Iraq, Palestine and other countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the fascist measures they are taking in their own countries.
CPC(M-L) also opposes all attempts to divert attention from the serious issues facing humankind. We condemn the hypocrisy of the likes of George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Paul Martin and other so-called leaders whose pathetic attempts to promote "pop diplomacy" seek to fool the gullible into believing that their sole aim is to solve the problems of the African peoples for which they and they alone are responsible.
Imperialist Marauders,
Get Out of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean!
Do Not Permit Wanton Killings to Disrupt the People's Political Unity in Action Against Imperialist Plunder and State Terror!
There are some pretty strong allegations in there too: "the political
wing of NATO confessed to setting up terrorist groups throughout Europe to carry out bombings, kidnappings and create a general climate of terror against the population"
Really? I'd like the source on that. Ummm...I have a question...who the hell makes up the political wing of NATO? Wouldn't that be the member states?? The State itself? It would be impressive if they could actually prove it. Maybe they can. I'll email them to find out and let you know.
I guess what I am trying to say is the more I learn the more I realize life will never be as simple as all the ridiculous labels we've created for ourselves. And here I thought I would one day figure out exactly what label I am. But so far, no such luck.
Song Du Jour: Pissing in the Wind ~ Badly Drawn Boy
4 comments:
I consider myself to be an libertarian democratic pragmatic socialist with strong islamic and moral convictions.
That's my label.
- Mustafa Hirji
But you are also so much more than that. I guess I would also use the words pragmatic socialist to describe myself, although I was once told that pragmatic and socialist are contradictory terms...Which made me laugh. So many people think that if you are a socialist you have to be a raging Communist.... I have become much more realist over the last few years because of my education.
Would you say your moral convictions are based on your religious beliefs alone Mustafa?
I woudl say my moral convictions are mostly hedonist which fights against a lot of the moral Catholic values I was raised with.
The reason I like to parade the "libertarian democratic pragmatic socialist" bit is because it _is_ completely contradictory. I have my own world view, ideology if you will, that doesn't fit any of the normal labelled views that are paraded around by some. And I think most people are probaly like that. It's basically a way for me to laugh at the whole concept of adhereing to a labelled ideology.
My moral convictions are probably best described as being a combination of religious and non-religious. At some level I guess you could argue that they're all religious: e.g. fairness is a value that I get from religion and that is a basis I use for may of my moral convictions, but I think that's too indirect for me to call being religiously-based.
At any rate, I think that both sets of beliefs fit together well.
- Mustafa Hirji
The political wing I suppose is the civilian side of NATO - the part I'm going to work for. My best guess is they're refering to the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, which incidentally is fairly small. I'm not so convinced by the articles they sent back. They come of as a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
On top of that it seems like the Communist Party is accusing the leaders of the G8 for almost directly perpetrating the attacks in London, which is highly naive and narrow minded. Of course the action of the 'coalition' have had an effect, but to assume that if they pulled out of all the zones they're in that terrorism would suddenly just stop is beyond naive. It's plain stupidity.
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