Anything & Everything

“The emancipation of the workers can be effected only by the workers themselves; a socialist revolution is out of the question unless the masses become class conscious and organized, trained and educated in open class struggle against the entire bourgeoisie.“

– Vladimir Lenin (Russian revolutionary)

Where do we go when our home feels like it is collapsing in front of us? What do we do when everyone around us feels disconnected from one another? How do we move towards class consciousness in a world that is more divided than ever. In my mind, some solutions are simple;

We must learn to listen and have hard conversations! With those we dislike, and with those we disagree with as well as those you agree with.

We do this to broaden our understanding of others and the world. Humans do this to make connections in hopes that if we listen to others others will listen to us! Similar to the golden rule that is in almost every Earth based religion and we often learn in kindergarten, “Treat others the way you wish to be treated.”

The Golden rule – how it is applied to different lifestyles and how different groups modified the quote;

(Islamic Networks Group , 2025)

When we learn to have empathy, we combat the violence and hostility in the world. When conversations are made possible, community is built with your neighbors, your family, and friends. Ultimately, keeping empathy in mind allows us to step into other struggles and see them from a different point of view. Empathy is necessary to attain class consciousness because without understanding the struggles of others we cannot understand others in a whole hearted capacity.

When we advocate, and when we speak our mind even when no one is listening, it is preparing us for conversation that may be bigger than us. We must continue to push ourselves, through rejections, through despair, through hard conversations that truly make the mind turn.

When we educate ourselves, we change the world. History is more similar to a circle than a timeline, everything comes back, like a cycle. Unless we are aware of the cycle, it will continue to repeat until class consciousness can be achieved and the cycle can be broken.

Ultimately, must keep moving and growing, we must put down our guard occasionally and build the world we hope for! We go on with our lives so that we may once again find the comforts of home and belonging in a world that has turned its back on equality and empathy.

It is up to each of us to attain class conciseness; we must first be aware of those in power, how they got there, and what we can do on individual level to build to build the power of the individual and working class. The solutions in my mind start with you! We must build on these concepts;

• Empathy (For yourself and others)
• Education (The future depends on it)
• Conversations (That propel the world towards the future)
• Finding your purpose in your community (What can you personally do to help build empathy in the world and in your community?)
• Be yourself (People like you are necessary, keep on keeping on.)

Sources

Islamic Networks Group . (2025). The Golden Rule. Retrieved from https://cdn-ilaahpl.nitrocdn.com/vabUMSsTdWgMhvfUxTPGIEwbnhcAHEDA/assets/images/optimized/rev-a1ab64b/ing.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/images_Golden-rule-poster.gif

Written by: Liberti Jonas-Jongebloed