The original opening to this letter was a two-word sentence. Two words that everyone who speaks the English language (and some that speak others as well) know very well:

fuck you.

“Fuck you” was to be the mantra of the Revolution issue. In our attempt to loosely define the word “revolution” the f-word came up again and again.

There are many definitions of the word “revolution” for the 21st century, but the definition we used as our creed was people who say “fuck you” with a cause - those who saw something wrong with their environment and consciously reacted to it. All in all, the dirty words I’ve repeated quite enough already boil down the concept of revolution to something simplistic and cynical. Is this all we’ve got?

Anyone who looks around with one eye closed and the other half open can see that the air is thick with conditions that only 40 years ago would have prompted a molotov cocktail. Vietnam has returned full throttle in the form of the Iraq war. The attack on our civil liberties and right to speech is appallingly evident and the return to McCarthyism with the “please report on anyone or thing that is non-white and middle-class” finger-pointing is just plain scary. Meanwhile, education takes a back seat to state politics. Rights fought hard for, such as the right to an abortion, are constantly being put on trial for a Republican agenda reeking of Orwellian doublespeak: while everything gets worse, we are told it’s getting better and better. Revolutionaries that operated 30 years ago, like the Black Liberation Army, are being put back on trial to send the chilling message that “no good dissent will go unpunished.”

So where is the revolution today? At first glance some would say there is none. Mass protests seem to come and go, as if they never happened. The cops don’t even have to try too hard to keep it quiet. Congress plays its games to keep a safe distance from any real action. The streets are alive with the sound of… commerce.

But after a reading of what the [X]press staff has to offer on revolution, it has to be said that my cynical take on how our own actions affect change might be misinformed. I think we might have more reasons for hope rather than despair. We live in a different age than the radical activists of the 1960’s and 70’s. Things have to be done on a smaller scale and might only affect those in the immediate community, but nonetheless, they can still make change.

In this issue we offer stories on how hard it is to get the protests off of the ground… how the attack on higher education is being fought by those who know most about it, those who work within it… how a group of volunteers work hard to educate those forgotten by the American justice system… how a group of dedicated gardeners are fighting the concrete bleakness of urban sprawl.

And there’s lots more for your anti-establishment mind to feed upon. Our point is that perhaps the revolution hasn’t left, but merely changed (so tough… to resist pointing out the irony here). That’s not to say that I still wouldn’t like to see a full scale clean slate when it comes to social and political institutions, but for now, I’m pretty impressed that what we on-campus, and in the Bay Area, fight the good fight.

But we all need a break sometime, so we have plenty of great stories outside our umbrella of revolution. Want a peek into the world of the young and the twisted? See our piece on youth and plastic surgery. Maybe you want to learn about some of the hot spots in our wonderful city by the bay. Go ahead and check out our photo story on the Luggage Store. And don’t forget the entertainment. We’ve got a school of hip-hop, an impromptu pillow fight, and some kickin’ country music.

Alright, I think my brain is a little worked up from thinkin’ about the revolution. So until next time, comrades, ¡Viva la Revolución!