An Argument to Stay

I am writing this to convince myself to stay in this hell hole we call a country just as much as I am writing it to convince you. There have been a lot of jokes about heading to Canada if Trump wins the election. Well he won and now people aren’t really joking anymore. Many people in our country are seriously considering calling it wraps and leaving America. This is ultimately admitting defeat and allowing our country to fall to fascism. I will argue that to leave this country is the wrong move and will not result in a better world for the coming generations.   

Between Trump's inauguration and a lack of democratic accountability in our current two-party system, it may be attractive to fall into an apathetic mindset. A mindset inundated with hopelessness ultimately keeps you from finding any confidence in yourself. If one does not have confidence in themselves how would one have confidence in a revolutionary movement?  Therefore, this mindset will only serve to empower those who hold humanity in chains. You are likely part of a privileged class in this world, simultaneously you are likely part of a marginalized group. This doesn't change the fact that, as a college student or educated adult, you are still better off than a majority of those people in the global south or on the indigenous reservations in the USA. If leaving the USA or your red state is something you could feasibly do, then you have some semblance of economic agency and an awareness that the world stands to lose a lot with the growth of Christian Nationalism in the USA. With this knowledge and ability, you can grab hold of your community and in turn history- to guide these things towards an egalitarian social order. 

This class of people has been described as the “have some, want more” (Alinsky, 1989, p.19). This is a class of people who understand how much they have to lose while simultaneously acknowledging the oppression that is imposed upon all humanity. He describes this group of people as thermo-politically hot, as opposed to the “have-nots” and “haves”. “Have some, want mores” are hot because they have the means and knowledge to do political action and organizing. The “haves” are considered thermo-politically cold, because of their desire to maintain the status quo, which holds them at the top of the socioeconomic order. The “have-nots” are also thermo-politically cold due to their lack of economic agency and the weight of oppression that rests on their shoulders. However, this group houses white-hot embers buried amongst the smoldering coals that are simply waiting for a gust of hopeful wind to ignite the flames of revolution. As a “have-some want more” you must be the fan that kindles these flames (Alinsky, 1989, p. 21)

It is important to remember that this revolutionary struggle is a global one. Though you may be under the immense weight of oppression, in your own country or state, this nation remains one of the most privileged in the world while imposing economic and social rule on the globe. How would one expect to change the world order from a nation in Europe, which is economically subordinate to American capital? Is your plan to join the CCP and invade the USA? Or does moving to Europe/Canada seem nice because you can further alienate yourself from the reality of American imperialism? The desire to leave a red state to secure abortion rights and therefore bodily autonomy is very understandable and I wouldn’t discourage this behavior. I would however ask you this. Who will fight for the bodily autonomy of the “have-nots” in the state you just left?

I do not ask these questions to insinuate marginalized people are unable to work towards our collective goals. I simply want people to acknowledge their privilege, whether they belong to a marginalized group or not, and use this in any way they can. I will acknowledge my own privilege as a white, educated, man in America while also understanding that my station as a cook, or wage slave, limits my ability to participate in political organizing in both a temporal and monetary sense. This hasn’t stopped me from finding those like minded people around me allowing me to participate in mutual aid in whatever way possible. I must pursue these mutual aid systems however I can because I know my coworkers working two jobs with children have less time and freedom to pursue this struggle. 

Mutual aid has been a way to create community and support our neighbors when the government leaves the populous in the dust. We can observe the community food distribution systems of the Black Panthers and see how these communal mutual aid programs can drastically influence the practices of institutions (Heynen, 2009) At the moment these Black Panther mutual aid systems were being destroyed by the Chicago police department. However, in time they went on to influence the American Education systems breakfast programs. This shows us that these mutual aid systems we create will be under intense scrutiny and attack from the institutions maintaining the status quo. While still maintaining the ability to create institutional change. Some people, specifically in America, would like to reject this communal understanding of providing for society in favor of an individualist take on human nature. However, it is a rejection of human, and animal, nature to assert that humanity is an individualist violent nature. Pyotr Kropotkin discussed and observed mutual aid in animals over 100 years ago. Kropotic says “Sociability is just as much a part of the natural world as mutual struggle… animals which acquire habits of mutual aid are undoubtedly the fittest” (Kropotkin, 1902, p. 12). It is a common struggle we are all subject to and therefore it is together that we must fight this struggle. We must reject American individuality in favor of communal action.

Finally, we should discuss the global role that America plays in perpetuating poverty and environmental degradation. As Americans, we must understand that we are at the metro-pol of capital accumulation. Our lifestyles are a product of American imperialism and our country's ability to consolidate resources from around the world. Michael Parenti once said, “Poor countries are not under-developed, they are over-exploited.” Which when stated in such a way shows us that redistributing wealth, housing, food, and other resources will require a sacrifice on our part. We must understand that creating a community takes sacrifice, of individuality and creature comfort. Creating a global community will take communal sacrifice and degrowth on an unprecedented level for America. This is a struggle, a fight, I have never known; a fight to be a comfortable experience and this one will be no different. 

I've been told I should add a section to this paper that demonstrates what you would get out of staying in this hell world we call America. I could say something like “You can find your community or a sense of meaning in this world.” Ultimately I want to reject these thoughts. There is nothing to gain but our freedom, simultaneously there are infinite things to lose. Community is not built through selfish means it is built through sacrifice and martyrdom. Selfless giving and respect for those around you are the only things that will create a true community. You must reject bourgeois morals and desires for career development, and self-actualization and rather fight for the actualization of a community that picks up the pieces that our institutions leave on the floor. 

After examining the little privilege we may have and the role that America plays as an imperialist power we must come to this conclusion. Ultimately, you should not run from this struggle. The struggle to remove the shackles that hold all people in this world. Shackles bind us to violent institutions of endless suffering. Your shackles, the shackles of people less privileged than you, and those of the most privileged people who only see the world through these murderous institutions. Forget yourself and think of the totality of humanity.  

Citation: 

• Alinsky, S. (1989). Rules for radicals: A pragmatic primer for realistic radicals. Vintage.

• Heynen, N. (2009). Bending the bars of empire from every ghetto for survival: the Black Panther Party's radical antihunger politics of social reproduction and scale. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 99(2), 406-422.

• Kropotkin, P., & Robinson, V. (2020). Mutual aid: A factor of evolution. Read Books Ltd.