Revolution

About: albert einstein institution - advancing freedom through nonviolent action

So far, revolutions show up metaphorically as that stage of the zygote just after fertilization - chaos, but without DNA as a master plan. Into this chaos can enter good or bad - almost any kind of being.
I have been fascinated by Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals for some while. Last night I watched How to Start a Revolution on CurrentTV. The non-violence & the references to Gandhi were encouraging. Current TV is not; it seeming to be all about the leftovers of MSNBC & KOberman. My main concern is that the teaser (~60 minutes) seemed to be an infomercial for Gene Sharp's books or a DVD of a more complete movie. The show was using scenes from the Arab Spring to illustrate a lot of the brief ideas implying that revolution to topple dictators leads to democracy. And that Sharp was responsible for the main ideas. We are still waiting for democracy in Egypt.

The Yi King on revolution is KO or KHO #35 - (49 in the old system). I like to bring together lots of different disciplines & perspectives.

Currently it looks like a lot of the USA politicians would like to grab hold of this chaos to implement their own initiatives. There is more Pathos than Logos in the chaos - ripe for revolutionaries.

Sharp's book From Dictatorship to Democracy down-loadable pdf is here.

Methods by name without explanation here pdf download.

You have to purchase volume 2 to get the details.

The problems with the non-violent methods is that at any time they can turn violent depending on who benefits & whose ox is gored. Gandhi witnessed lots of his people mowed down by military vehicles. He had to fast in order to bring the violence between the Hindus & the Moslems to quiet. I doubt that non-violent methods work with terrorists at all.

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Mark de LA says

http://www.energyofmindtherapy.com/societal-reflections/lessons-for-a-revolution-5-self-nourishment/

1. Take time every day to absolutely nothing, while remaining awake – a.k.a. meditation.

2. Make it a priority to ENJOY 3 delicious, healthy meals per day, preferably home-cooked and/or in the company of loved ones.

3. Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes (some days do so more rigorously, others in a more relaxed fashion)

4. Lay down and rest during the daytime – at least once.

5. Go to bed early and wake up early – calibrate your day by cycles of nature (i.e. the sun and moon) not by the dictates of clocks and calendars.

6. Figure out a way to appreciate something of the beliefs and ways of your foes in order to avoid bitter and vengeful motivations that kill you faster than corporate injustices ever will.

7. Practice relaxing and keeping things in perspective – learning to trust that change is a natural product of time, not strenuous effort. Things may seem urgent. But, acting with a stressed sense of urgency accomplishes nothing but disease.

8. Actively participate in the cycles of nature: plant food, eat food that you planted, compost, recognize and contemplate the birth in death and the death in birth.

9. Create and/or appreciate art in any form that moves you to a sense of awestruck wonder and beauty – as opposed to the often embittered forms of angry art that activists often indulge in.

Seth says

ok i see what yu are saying.

Mark de LA says

seth 2011-11-29 13:56:03 15671

M 2011-11-29 13:37:59 15671

seth 2011-11-29 12:28:32 15671

M 2011-11-29 11:22:11 15671

seth 2011-11-29 10:13:43 15671

M 2011-11-29 07:08:34 15671

seth 2011-11-29 03:46:24 15671

source: M above
I doubt that non-violent methods work with terrorists at all.

I doubt that non-violent methods are used against terrorists. Rather they are used against authoritative governments.

.. like Iran & the Norks?

Yes the people of Iran and North Korea can use non-violent methods against their repressive governments.

& it will end up with a violent outcome just like Libya, Syria, & Iran (remember Neda Soltani).

so are you saying that the non-violent techniques, pioneered by Gandhi, which worked in India in the early 20th century, will no longer work today? What about Egypt, what about Tunisia?

Nope! Just speculating that terrorism is a wild card in the whole mess of revolution.

It seems to me that on the face of it, they are almost the opposite stratagems to revolution. I still don't know what you are saying by "I doubt that non-violent methods work with terrorists at all".

You seem to have gone off the main line of this comment. It is clear to me that a revolution where the oppressor is terrorist (i.e. Iran) & the oppressed is non-violent won't work. Terrorists depend on violence & terror. The main point of this item is some bookmarks & opportunity to talk about the 198 ways of non-violent revolution studied by Gene Sharp.

Mark de LA says

http://www.energyofmindtherapy.com/societal-reflections/lessons-for-a-revolution-6-%e2%80%93-identify-clarify-and-uphold-your-values/ ... internal revolution stuff.

Mark de LA says

In the Politics of Nonviolent Action - Part One - Power and Struggle by Gene Sharp his introduction seems to agree with my previous statement above.

source: ... Some conflicts do not yield to compromise and can be resolved only through struggle. Conflicts which, in one way or another, involve the fundamental principles of a society, of independence, of self-respect, or of people's capacity to determine their own future are such conflicts.

... the rest of the first few paragraphs I scanned here.

It is an interesting book & several of the rest are intriguing. I think he took it much farther than Saul Alinsky & spent most of the last part of his life studying non-violence.

Revolution

About: albert einstein institution - advancing freedom through nonviolent action

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