FREE ESSAY ON REVOLUTION

REVOLUTION

Revolution.
Revolutionists are judged by their beliefs and not mine. Their ideas are the revolution,
and their belief in them- the justification and proof thereof. In this case, I am
revolutionary because I feel and believe so. I am enlightening at least someone (myself,
if not others) by my ideas due to my personal belief and application of them.
Revolution in and of itself is simply a mere spark, an idea that is relative to the great
masses of people in one new way. The consequence following the revolution could be
defined as the movement of the enlightenment, for the spark of ingenuity carries on the
enlightenment of the people- the movement sweeping the land is a mere consequence of
one's thought. The followers are never the revolt, but the leader is the revolt. Did not
Hitler revolt and the masses follow? The masses were enlightened as the revolution acted
upon them, but the revolution itself, the spark, was Hitler's revolution.
The beginning and the end were the ideas preserved in time, only revolutionary due to
relativity. The spark itself is the revolution- for it starts the period and begins the
enlightenment. For when one individual is an individual- others have the naturally
predisposed tendency to follow. When one match is lit, it is only a short time before the
whole forest is set ablaze, and similarly, when one branch decides to stop burning, it is
only a short time before the blazing forest is once again silent. Such is the way with a
revolution. Just as easily as it is started- it is finished. Just as quickly as gossip
spreads, gossip dies. The fulfillment of the revolution is the enlightenment, and the
remains of the enlightenment, tradition. Tradition then becomes the expectant womb of
revolution.
The dominion that a leader carries is unquestionable. When the speaker of the mound
speaks, he demands the undivided attention of the unruly crowd. And so it is. But when he
stops, the crowd drifts back to its unorganized ways. All that can be concluded from this
is that revolutions only last as long as their leaders. As the leader falls, so do the
beliefs in him, and so the general faith is undermined. Anything that continues to stand
after the leader falls has become tradition, and will then be broken in good time by
someone else's revolution.
The sole idea of revolution is self-sufficiency. Revolution without individuality and
with conformity is no longer a revolution, for the absence of strength undermines the
plan's integrity. Revolution without strength is dead, and stagnant revolution is
repulsive to the intellect. Once a revolution loses its strength, it is no longer, and
will never be again in quite the same pretext. In this case, history does not repeat
itself, but imitates itself through different eyes at a different angle. Individuality is
needed not only to spark the enlightenment, but also to sustain it. While the ingenuity
of an idea is known as revolutionary, the strength in individuality tends to make that
ingenuity commonplace- strengthening the revolution at its roots- maturing it, so to
speak, into a historic movement to be studied again and again. Thus, the key ingredient
in sustaining the enlightenment is individuality.
As a spark is fueled into a burning idea and is formulated in one's mind, there are
primary necessities required to sustain that idea and platform it into a revolution. The
idea in itself is key to the enlightenment, for the idea is the enlightenment. The idea
must then find a way to relate to the audience, thereby involving it to some extent. Once
the ideas relate to the audience, they become followers and the ideas become beliefs. Did
not Christ's followers believe in him and follow him, not just his ideas? Once the
revolution relates, the people find a certain realism or truth in the common belief of
the leader. Darwin never said, I evolve. I progress through natural selection. He stated
it as a fact that We evolve, and so we do.
Nonconformity alone is naive. As a fad, people that feel compelled to separate themselves
from the mass of conformity in which they live are unprepared to realize the extent of
what I have just said. Nonconformity builds upon awareness, strength, and self-reliance
to become individuality. Many people have lived their lives as a nonconformists without
realizing the importance of swimming upstream, and have accomplished nothing. Similarly,
the strength and subsequent self-reliance that individuality demands becomes so much of
the non-conformist. He learns so much from himself and his independence. His independence
is self-justifying, due to the nature of independence. This characteristic molds the
non-conformist into an individual.
The missing puzzle piece of the individual is confidence. One man can live by his own
terms on his own, but that proves nothing. Nothing is changed. In the midst of a red rose
bed, one white rose might not feel comfortable with its difference, that is, its
confidence is lost. In a crowd of contrast, the overwhelming conformity might defy one's
confidence to be his pure self. Individuality without confidence is dispersed at one's
will, but belief defies the conformist.
An individual with confidence breeds a certain belief for what he stands, a contagious
belief. As a chameleon adapts to his environment, he loses sight of the importance of
belief. One might say that belief is part of individuality- but it is just the opposite-
individuality is a part of belief, for we are all individuals, but only few of us have
the audacity or confidence to have unshaken belief in ourselves. A confident salesman
does not sell his product, but his belief and reliability of that product as he portrays
it. As the salesman believes in his product, so does the buyer, which is the sole reason
that he buys it. I don't contend that belief can ever be spelled out as can facts and
objects. Belief is not substance to be seen or felt, it is a delicate blend of faith and
confidence. With the transference of belief, confidence is shown, and the faith
understood.
It is human nature to trust that which is deemed trustworthy, which is the sole idea
behind the contagious belief. If I believe this paper to be a leaf, so will others, until
an act proves otherwise. The only justification of this paper is that it is commonplace
to believe it to be paper- and nothing has ever defied that. It is this independent
defiance that sums up belief. Our confidence in the individual breeds our contagious
belief, which then begins to comprehend the revolution itself.
One who believes in himself and his ideas may be self-reliant, but insubstantial.
Originality plays an extremely important role in forming a belief into an idea. The
nature of the word idea suggests a fresh alternative to the tradition, not some stale,
regurgitated thought. When one thinks completely independent with originality, an idea is
formed. History never quite repeats itself in the same way. Its imitations attempt to
blend tradition with an original idea, something beautiful and monumental. We must
constantly be looking through different eyes, a different perspective, because that keeps
us thinking in ideas, not traditions. When man landed on the moon, art was integrated,
ideas were formed. With increased perspective comes increased voice and creativity. To
see the world through someone else's eyes, to see the moon from the stars, to view the
sunset through the mystic eyes of the moon, these are things that can only be dreamt of.
The imagination is possibly the only tool for invention and creativity. The eyes of
imagination are limitless, and its ideas incomprehensible. If this life were a dream, we
would only be more creative and less analytical as a race. The sun shines much farther
than we see. Our voice carries much farther than we ever hear. Our innovation and
originality breeds incomprehensible ideas of philosophy, politics, art, beauty, and
everything else ever thought of. This is the conception of revolution- an abstract that
in and of itself is revolutionary and idealistic and beautiful and original and fresh and
applicable and confident. Those who are taught their whole life learn nothing, gain
nothing, and give nothing back in return. The human mind is an egg. You can tell it how
to live, or you can help give it life, feed it, show it, and it will give back. The
memorization of facts will die with the mind memorizing, but the intellect who can reason
and idealize and ferment in its own creativity is never unproductive. That is what breeds
ideas and thoughts, instead of mere observations.
The great complication in the translation of ideas is misunderstanding. Revolutionary
ideas are only revolutionary to those who understand them. A misunderstood idea is a
stagnant one, with its powers limited. The relation of the idea to the idealist is one of
relativity. When one thought relates to one mind, the mind is intrigued, and opened. As
one's ideas receive public acceptance, a following is formed, but each man only follows
what he interpreted to be the idea in the first place. If one relativity betrays another,
then the whole idea is destroyed. That is, I may be saying two congruent messages, but if
the connotation of one relates to a particular person as different from the other
message, the message as a whole is changed, and the idea is misinterpreted. Hitler's
followers followed what they believed him to be saying- what they believed he stood for,
but once the interpretation was contradicted, the disillusionment of the mass was
evident. And thus the revolution ended, just as quickly as it sparked. When the
revolutionary idea relates to the audience, the audience becomes a following, and the
idea becomes their prized belief, something to live by, and die for.
Revolution as a philosophy is the perfect balance of self-belief and the relation of that
belief to the follower. Just as one leaf withers and falls off a tree, so do the rest.
Just as one bird chirps in the morning, so do the rest in response. Just as one twig is
set on fire, the roaring forest is set ablaze, then burns out, and becomes history.
Enlightenment is the prosequence of revolution, and tradition is the remnants of
enlightenment. All that once was at hand joins the great melting pot of ideas to be
reckoned with. All that is will one day just be tradition studied and imitated, to once
again be broken. Just one spark, and the ashes reveal themselves.