By: Frei Betto *
1. Keep alive the anger. Check regularly if you are really left. Take the view of Norberto Bobbio: right considers social inequality as natural as the difference between day and night. The left face as an aberration that must be eradicated. Beware: you may be contaminated by social-democratic virus, whose main symptoms are right to use methods to get achievements left and in case of conflict, small displeasing to not look bad with the greats.
1. Keep alive the anger. Check regularly if you are really left. Take the view of Norberto Bobbio: right considers social inequality as natural as the difference between day and night. The left face as an aberration that must be eradicated. Beware: you may be contaminated by social-democratic virus, whose main symptoms are right to use methods to get achievements left and in case of conflict, small displeasing to not look bad with the greats.
2. The head thinks where feet tread. Can not be left without "contaminating" the shoes wherever people live, struggle, suffer. Rejoice and share their beliefs and victories. Theory without practice is to make the game right.
3. Do not be ashamed to believe in socialism. The scandal of the Inquisition that Christians did not abandon the values \u200b\u200band proposals of the Gospel. Similarly, the failure of socialism in Eastern Europe should not induce him to drop the socialism of the horizon of human history. The current capitalism 200 years ago failed for most of the world population. Today we are 6 billion people. According to the World Bank, 2.8 billion live on less than $ 2 per day and 1.2 billion on less than $ 1 per day. The globalization of poverty is higher thanks to the Chinese socialism, despite his mistakes, said food, health and education to 1.2 billion people.
4. Be critical without losing self-criticism. Many leftists switch sides when they start to look for lice in pinhead. Out of power, become bitter and accuse their partner (s) of errors and inconsistencies. As Jesus says, we dust in the eye of another, but not the beam in your own eye. Nor are hooked to improve things. Remain as mere spectators and judges and some are captured by the system. Self-criticism is not only admit their own mistakes. You admit to being criticized by the (as) companions (as).
5. Know the difference between militants and Militonto. "Militonto" is one that claims to be everywhere, to participate in all events and movements, acting on all fronts. His language is full of explanations and effects of their actions are superficial. The Militant is strengthening its ties with the people, study, reflect, meditate, valued shape their area of \u200b\u200boperation and activities, values \u200b\u200bthe organic links and community projects.
6. Be rigorous in the ethics of activism. The left acts on principle. The right interest. A leftist activist can lose everything, freedom, employment, life. Less moral. The demoralized, demoralizing the cause that defends and represents. He provides an invaluable service to the right. There are careerists disguised leftist militant. Is the subject that engages pointing first to his rise to power. On behalf of a collective cause, seek first his personal interests. The real militant - as Jesus, Gandhi, Che Guevara - is a server, ready to give his life for others have life. It does not feel humiliated by not being in power, or proud to be. He is not confused with the role he occupies.
7. Eat the tradition of the left. It is necessary to cultivate the prayer of faith, love to nurture love of the couple, "back to basics" to keep alive the mystique of the membership. Learn the history of the left, read autobiographies, including "Diary of Che in Bolivia" and ballads such as "Mother" by Gorky, or "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck.
8. Prefer the risk of missing the poor to have the intention of hitting without them. Living with the poor is easy. First, there is a tendency to idealize. After it was discovered that among them are the same defects found in other social classes. They are neither better nor worse than other human beings. The difference is that they are poor, or unfairly and involuntarily deprived of the essentials of decent living. Therefore, we stand with them. As a matter of justice. A leftist activist never negotiates the rights of the poor and knows how to learn with them.
9. Always defend the underdog, but apparently they are not right. There are so many sufferings of the world's poor can not expect them attitudes that do not appear in the life of those who had a refined education. In all sectors of society is corrupt and bandits. The difference is that in the elite, corruption is the protection of the law and the bandits are defended by sophisticated economic mechanisms that allow a speculator takes an entire nation to penury. Life is the greatest gift of God. The existence of poverty cries to the heavens. Do not expect ever to be understood by those who favor the oppression of the poor.
10. Make prayer an antidote to alienation. Prayer is left questioning by the Spirit of God. Many times we fail to pray not to hear the divine call that requires us our conversion, that is, the change of direction in life. We speak as militants and live as bourgeois, accommodated in a comfortable position of judges who struggle. To pray is to allow God to subvert our existence, teaching us to love as Jesus loved, freely.
* Brazilian theologian
* Brazilian theologian
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