by Diana Moreno
It felt insane to have gone through a holiday season where we’re surrounded by messages of “Peace on Earth” and told to have a “Happy New Year” while a genocide takes place in Palestine. It feels insane to go through the motion of life under capitalism while a genocide rages, while families starve, are displaced, and buried under rubble. So how do we keep going without despair setting in?
We can’t ignore the glaring contradictions that neoliberalism and the rise of fascism have brought us. We face more and more undeniable evidence of climate change each year, more shifting right-ward by politicians more interested in lining the pockets of bomb manufacturers than providing childcare, healthcare, education, or housing. The callousness and inhumanity of the ruling class has never been clearer. Capitalism, white supremacy, settler colonialism are a death sentence for humanity, a death sentence for the planet.
And even if individually, we’re relatively lucky, even if we enjoy good health and stability in our own lives, the latest crisis reminds us that we are not an island. We are as good as the most vulnerable among us, and while it is deeply painful to feel our siblings’ suffering, it is also a reminder of our shared humanity. The capitalists have not stolen our ability to connect to the pain of our fellow human beings. And because of this, many of us are struggling. I never thought I’d witness a genocide like this in my lifetime. And it is all done through decisions that are shoved down our throats by a minuscule number of assholes with so much money and power, it has rotted their brains and shriveled their hearts.
But, we cannot despair. We must remain hopeful, even in our rage, because it is clear we are not alone. Millions around the world are still able to feel the righteous rage of witnessing oppression. the whole world is screaming “No!” to this horrifying system that does not represent us.
The world is out on the streets, marching, blocking bridges and highways, calling out politicians, often risking their bodies and livelihoods to stop the war machine in its tracks. Young people are done believing the lies of Zionist propaganda and are bold and brave in speaking out. There is a fracture in the empire’s propaganda machine that will never be repaired. The ruling class doesn’t even know how much this has changed us. They cannot know, because they are so disconnected from us.
I started my organizing work in Gainesville as a University of Florida student who got involved in the Civic Media Center when I stopped by a table at the Plaza of the Americas. Since that fateful day, I’ve organized for farmworker rights, worked to organize UF faculty and graduate students, organized to make abortion free and accessible, worked to expand rights for immigrant students and workers, and more.
For the past four years, I have lived, worked, and organized in New York City. My work with the Civic Media Center and National Women’s Liberation in Gainesville, and Democratic Socialists of America and socialists in New York City, have connected me to the best of humanity, the long and proud tradition of socialists fighting against war, fighting for worker power, fighting to enjoy the wealth that we alone create.
Organizing is always the best antidote to despair because it brings so much wealth in the form of relationships, in wisdom that has been generously passed down, in community that nourishes me and challenges me.
So my commitment in 2024 is to continue this beautiful tradition and bring more people into the fold. Because fascism is knocking at our door, but so is revolution. My wish for you in this new year is to know what the ruling class always wants us to forget. We are powerful. Because I am not interested in just surviving in late stage capitalism but dismantling this whole system. For you, for me, for us. I want to win. And the only way to win is to fight.