Let's get Dumb!

Those are lyrics to an E-40 song. He is of course the popular rap star from the Bay Area whose lyrics about getting dumb reference the dance that is associated with the so-called "Hyphie" hip/hop movement that has its roots in the San Francisco, Bay Area. Although many people dismiss these types of lyrics as simply "having a good time" we should probably take a few minutes to examine the ideas behind the lyrics closer. Its important to do so because we don't want to reduce the concept of getting dumb to E-40 and hip/hop. Our youth already carry so much blame for the condition of African people when in reality, they are not responsible for any of the ills the African population faces. Instead, we want to talk here about the ideological concept of information, its proper use, and why and how intellectualism has become to be viewed as a fatal disease by many sectors of the population.

Let's start by clarifying that we would much rather talk here and now about the struggle in Somalia, Darfur, Sudan, Ethiopia, Southern Africa, the labor struggle in Guinea, the continued fight to protect and grow the Cuban revolution, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., etc., etc. We won't talk about any of those or related topics today because before we can have more effective information flow on those very important topics, we have to address this dirty four letter word that is so essential to us being able to advance as a human population; READ. Yes, the concept of sitting down, taking out a serious book (not a novel, magazine, or comic book), studying its pages, and developing an analytical understanding of the topic being studied and any topic from which a person takes an interest in understanding.

The world today is dominated by the capitalist/imperialist profit over people network which is led by the multi-national corporations of the U.S. This system strives on keeping people ignorant. Ignorance is a critical component of capitalism because the system maintains its dominance through violence, manipulation, exploitation, lies, terrorism, and a level of evil that people could never sanction if they understood what takes place daily with their tax dollars and in their name. Consequently, the system has to insure ignorance is maintained as the dominant ideology so that it can continue to nurture its exploitative relationship to the world's populations. This has been accomplished by making the studying of ideas unpopular. Instead, the citizenry is programmed to seek self enjoyment immediately at all costs. We are taught it is against your interest to wait for self satisfaction and that anything that doesn't directly benefit your stimulus within 2 minutes is certainly not in your interest and a waste of your time. This explains the proliferation of drug use such as meth, weed, alcohol, and estascy. It also explains why the World Health Organization predicts that 97% of the U.S. population will be overweight by the year 2012 (because food has become another drug).

With the proliferation of cable and satellite television and the internet, people can achieve self satisfaction 24/7. You don't have to be interrupted by news, even worthless news. Instead, you can play video games, listen to mindless music, watch mindless immoral reality TV shows that teach us that it is perfectly ok to marry someone for money, take advantage of people for money, or do anything that requires you to see people as a means to an end. In fact, the message is that if you do these things, you will be rewarded. Intellectual ideas are discouraged and any discussion beyond the most superficial aspects of society is considered strange. Think about it. If you go to your job and start a discussion about American Idol, Marrying a Millionaire, the NBA, NFL, etc. No one would think anything of that. In fact, most of the people you encounter would have input about those shows from their perspective of watching them. On the other hand, if you state that you don't watch any of those shows, people will consider you strange and if you start a conversation challenging the U.S. real reason for confronting Somalia or North Korea, people will avoid you like the plague.

This ideology of product consumption and superficiality is very profitable for capitalism while insulating it from the type of critical analysis that will immediately expose its contradictions. Does any of this mean people shouldn't be able to enjoy themselves? Of course not. What it does mean is that somehow, someway, we have to figure out a way to encourage people that critical study is a good thing. This is the essential point because even many of the so-called activists are very guilty of a very poor ideological foundation which contributes to the eventual gradual acceptance of capitalist ideology. An example of this is someone like the late Leroy Eldridge Cleaver who in the 1960s denounced capitalism and who in the 1980s was a spokesperson for reactionary capitalist ideology. For those who would turn their nose up at Mr. Cleavers radical transformation, there are much more subtle examples that we see everyday. One is the gradual acceptance that African people should accept some responsibility for their oppression and that token advancement has become some sort of demonstration of progress for Africans within the capitalist system. Equally insidious, and hand in hand with that confusion, is the also subtle suggestion that institutions that exist specifically to oppress African and other poor people, like police agencies, are somehow legitimate and to be respected. Anyone who makes these types of insane arguments cannot be engaging in consistent revolutionary ideological development. All revolutionary thinkers know the history of police agencies and the purpose of their existence. We know that the people will never have the same interests as the police, regardless of how good a person an individual police officer may be.

Of course, if someone is confused they will convince themselves that their new found "balanced" perspective of capitalist institutions is some sort of new developing ideology when in fact, it is nothing more than another example of how imperialism dumbs down the citizens of the planet to believe in its institutions.

For those who want true revolutionary change the time is now more than ever to encourage people to study. Nothing else is more important. We cannot stop people's suffering until people understand the problems we are facing, the reasons we are having these problems, and the people behind the source of these problems. People have to understand the role of power in keeping people oppressed and why power is essential to changing the suffering conditions some people have. People have to learn that power alone doesn't corrupt provided the masses of people have it because the masses of people, properly organized, are the greatest protectors of fairness and equality in the society. The first step to all of this is organized study to combat this ignorance that is so dominant today and that has to start with the so-called old guard who claim to understand the contradictions in this society. Many of these people haven't picked up a book and read it in years and it shows in their weak analysis of current conditions.

So for those who still strive to defeat imperialism, don't be discouraged the next time you run into someone who formally believed revolution was the solution, but who now believes Obama will solve the problems. Instead, start a study group and stick with it. One of the most revolutionary things we can do right now is develop our ability to think critically. Once people know how to think critically, they will act critically and once people act critically, capitalism's days are numbered. Next time, we will discuss socialism in great detail since this principled system is very rarely discussed today, even by the so-called people who claim to support it. We will discuss why socialism is a very positive thing for the majority of the world's population. Its as Bob Marley said in his prophetic song "soon we'll find out who is, the real revolutionary..."