Revolution

[DISCLAIMER]

In my youth, I was often bored in school. Therefore, when the American Revolution was discussed, my only takeaway was that the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had irreconcilable differences, culminating in the American Revolutionary War. There was death involved, as well.

That bloody event was said to have resulted in the independence of the colonies as the United States (U.S.). Then, when learning about the American Civil War, I understood that the Union fought the Confederacy. There was also death involved there.

That bloody event was said to have caused the Confederacy to collapse, allowed for the abolition of slavery, and millions of enslaved black people were eventually set free. That’s when our war-torn nation entered the Reconstruction era, about which I recall very little from my lessons.

Mostly, history classes appeared to have been taught by unmotivated educators or sports coaches who were required to teach at least one course. As such, history was more of a throwaway subject about which I cared very little.

Rather than valuing the humdrum lessons which seemed to have read with the excitement of an electronic home appliance manual, I found worth in learning about history through hip hop. For instance, in a blogpost entitled Malcolm in the Middle, I stated:

[D]uring a period of time prior to public access of the Internet, I sought to learn as much as I could about Martin [Luther King Jr.] and Malcolm [X; also known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz]. Rather than hero worship, I wanted to understand the struggle against oppression— the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control.

At that time, a number of hip hop artists used quote snippets from both civil rights movement leaders. Per my limited understanding, I preferred Malcolm’s message to Martin’s.

Raised with a Judeo-Christian foundation, the concept of passivity was unappealing to me. I didn’t view myself as a defenseless sheep in need of a protective shepherd, nor did I agree with instruction to turn the other cheek when being assaulted.

Back then, I agreed with rapper Speech, from the hip hop group Arrested Development, when he addressed the topic of pacifism in “Fishin’ 4 Religion”:

The reason I’m fishin’ 4 a new religion is my church makes me fall asleep. They’re praising a God that watches you weep and doesn’t want you to do a damn thing about it. When they want change, the preacher says, “Shout it!”

Does shouting bring about change? I doubt it. All shouting does is make you lose your voice, so on the dock I sit in silence, staring at a sea that’s full of violence. Scared to put my line in that water, ‘cause it seems like there’s no religion in there. Naively, so I give it another go, sitting in church hearing legitimate woes.

Pastor tells the lady, “It’ll be alright, just pray so you can see the pearly gates so white.” The lady prays and prays and prays and prays and prays and prays and prays and prays—it’s everlasting. “There’s nothing wrong with praying?” It’s what she’s asking.

She’s asking the Lord to let her cope so one day she can see the golden ropes. What you pray for, God will give to be able to cope in this world we live. The word “cope” and the word “change is directly opposite, not the same. She should have been praying to change her woes, but pastor said, “Pray to cope with those.”

The government is happy with most Baptist churches, ‘cause they don’t do a damn thing to try to nurture brothers and sisters on a revolution. Baptist teaches dying is the only solution. Passiveness causes others to pass us by. I throw my line till I’ve made my decision. Until then, I’m still fishin’ 4 religion.

As potentially misguided as the reader may consider my perspective at the time, Martin’s rhetoric seemed to advocate weakness. Conversely, Malcolm, who was born in 1925, carried a message of strength in opposition to the injustices of his time.

Rather than turning the other cheek and praying to cope with injustice (violation of right or of the rights of another), the mindset of my youth was to hope for someone’s head to spontaneously ignite around me when all I had was a canister of fuel with which to douse the individual.

Noteworthy, the aforementioned cited Arrested Development lyric was from the hip hop group’s album 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of… (1992). Also from that anthology was “Raining Revolution”, performed by Speech, as lyrics include:

It’s raining revolution

It’s raining solutions

[…]

A conscious baby for a black resistance

I feel the rain enhances the revolution

And reminds us of a spiritual solution

And reminds us of an unnatural supernatural solu-lu-lu-lution

Back when that album was released, there was a lot of talk about “revolution” (a sudden, radical, or complete change) of various sorts within hip hop. Spiritual, conscious, metaphorical, actual, and other forms of radical change were often touted. According to one source:

In political science, a revolution (Latin: revolutio, ‘a turn around’) is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society’s class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain “a common set of elements at their core: (a) efforts to change the political regime that draw on a competing vision (or visions) of a just order, (b) a notable degree of informal or formal mass mobilization, and (c) efforts to force change through noninstitutionalized actions such as mass demonstrations, protests, strikes, or violence.”

Although not as bored with the medium by which I learned about revolution when listening to music, I still had very little concept of what a revolution would actually look like when I was young. Still, after watching the film Malcolm X (1992), I was left with questions about revolt.

Fueling my curiosity was the Arrested Development track “Revolution” from the 1992 Malcolm X soundtrack. When closely listening to the lyrics, I began to comprehend what revolution truly entailed. It was a violent means to an end. Specifically, the lyrics state:

Come on, come on

Let’s talk right, let’s talk right

Talk up, talk up, but

Don’t talk up all night!

There’s got to be action

If you want satisfaction

If not for yourself

For the young ones

(The children)

As far as I was concerned, regarding my youthful mindset, there were no spiritual, conscious, metaphorical, or other forms of nonviolent revolution. Contributing to my comprehension of this lesson was a 1962 speech in which Malcolm X said:

I would like to make a few comments concerning the difference between the black revolution and the negro revolution. There’s a difference. Are they both the same? And if they’re not, what is the difference? What is the difference between a black revolution and a negro revolution?

First, what is a revolution? Sometimes I’m inclined to believe that many of our people are using this word “revolution” loosely, without taking careful consideration [of] what this word actually means, and what its historic characteristics are.

When you study the historic nature of revolutions, the motive of a revolution, the objective of a revolution, and the result of a revolution, and the methods used in a revolution, you may change words. You may devise another program. You may change your goal and you may change your mind.

Look at the American Revolution in 1776. That revolution was for what? For land. Why did they want land? Independence. How was it carried out? Bloodshed. Number one, it was based on land, the basis of independence. And the only way they could get it was bloodshed.

The French Revolution — what was it based on? The land-less against the landlord. What was it for? Land. How did they get it? Bloodshed. Was no love lost; was no compromise; was no negotiation. I’m telling you, you don’t know what a revolution is. ‘Cause when you find out what it is you’ll get back in the alley; you’ll get out of the way.

The Russian Revolution — what was it based on? Land. The land-less against the landlord. How did they bring it about? Bloodshed. You haven’t got a revolution that doesn’t involve bloodshed. And you’re afraid to bleed. I said you’re afraid to bleed.

Through the lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), using the perspective of the ABC model, I have a much more developed understanding than I did about revolution in my youth. Namely, absolutistic and conditional beliefs drive the consequences of revolution.

Representing the former is, “We absolutely must receive that upon which we insist, or else!” Regarding the latter is, “Either we receive that upon which we insist, or else!” Here, there’s a distinction without a difference when using inflexible demandingness.

With little doubt, people rationalize their demand for revolution using moral and ethical pronunciations (e.g., It’s only right that we commit bloodshed in the name of justice!). Personally, I don’t foolishly believe that what’s “right” for me is objectively right for all.

In Arrested Development’s song “Revolution”, Speech’s moral and ethical demand for revolution was, “There’s got to be action if you want satisfaction.” Here, “got to” functions as a type of rigid demand (absolutistic: must be action; conditional: either action, or no satisfaction).

One could drive a nation to war when applying such prescriptions. For instance, on January 20, 2023, I posted a blog entry entitled A House Divided Against Itself in which I stated:

I listen to the declaration of some people calling for a “national divorce,” and though I don’t advocate the proposal I can comprehend how individuals may arrive to this conclusion. […]

If you observe signs of distress in your romantic relationship, why wait for calamity in order to address the matter? Likewise, what once was a slow drip has now transitioned into a steady deluge that may be worth addressing within our nation.

I’m not qualified to resolve the matter, so I’ll leave that up to the powers that be—some of whom control the very flow of water that placed us in this predicament to begin with.

A “national divorce” is ostensibly a euphemism for “revolution.” Further, I suspect that such a radical shift within the U.S. wouldn’t occur without significant bloodshed. Additionally, on October 14, 2023, I posted a blog entry entitled War is Coming in which I stated:

I’m reminded of a conversation I recently had with a friend, “Moby.” During our discussion, my longtime confidant addressed the likelihood of the U.S. devolving into a civil or world war within the coming few years.

While I hope the predictions of both Moby and I are inaccurate, we agreed that it’s at minimal a possibility. The probability of such conflict remains to be seen. Nevertheless, what we concluded is that war is coming—if not already present in fourth-generation or fifth-generation warfare.

What precious stones do our nation’s citizenry have to protect us from the likely eventuality of war? Familiar with my prior service as a U.S. Marine, Moby asked if I thought I’d be called upon by the government to engage in armed conflict against foreign or domestic enemies—as was my sworn oath when enlisting.

Because navigating a discussion about civil armed conflict is a risky endeavor, I instead framed my discussion with Moby around the potential of World War III (WWIII).

I’m aware that mere discussion of a second U.S. civil war, also referred to by some people as a “revolution,” as well as “national divorce” rhetoric raises the interests of spooky actors. For clarity, I don’t want a civil war, a national divorce, succession from the Union, or revolution!

My perspective on this matter has shifted from my youth, especially after having firsthand witnessed the major political crisis and significant civil unrest that led to the collapse of Alberto Fujimori’s authoritarian government in Peru. Those were turbulent times.

Still, increasingly, I’m hearing mention of potential civil unrest, a national divorce, succession from the Union, or revolution brewing below the sociopolitical surface within the U.S. Regarding this matter, I practice unconditional acceptance to keep from self-disturbing.

In this way, if the proverbial head of the Statue of Liberty were to spontaneously ignite around me, I no longer hold a canister of fuel with which to douse the flaming figure. Truly, I don’t want a revolution! In fact, despite the many imperfections of the U.S., I enjoy life in this country.

How about you? What do you do when encountering talk of revolution? If you unhelpfully self-upset when using unfavorable beliefs, I may be able to help by teaching you the finer points of REBT.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, property of Warner Bros., fair use

References:

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