REvolutionary Leader
Around the globe, in areas where people suffer from oppression, images of Dr. Ernesto (Che) Guevara can be found printed on shirts, graffitied on walls, used as stickers on any surface possible, and even tattooed onto flesh. But what do they represent? And why is the message universal, even as Che as a model is rejected by many?
Che’s face is a symbol of revolutionary change, freedom from oppressive regimes, and social justice. Today, the most famous image of Che is as the bereted fighter with the look of a determined revolutionist. His face is waved on flags by groups seeking freedom – and used as a shield against reprehensible injustices; on banners used to voice the woes of the oppressed and a weapon against the most powerful of foes.
Che Guevara was born to a middle-class family of Spanish-Irish descent. His father often said of him: ‘in his veins flows the blood of an Irish rebel.’ At an early age Che expressed intellectual interest in the competitive spirit of chess as well as literary intrigue. His childhood home contained more than 3000 books fostering his enthusiasm for reading. He took interest in the works of Karl Marx, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vladimir Lenin amongst others – works that influenced his revolutionary spirit and political ideology.
In the late 1940s, Guevara’s introspective motorcycle treks around Latin America changed his view of the socio-economic conditions of people living under capitalism. He blamed capitalism more so than evil rulers for this. While in Chile he met and described an extremely poor couple as "the shivering flesh-and-blood victims of capitalist exploitation." He wrote about what he witnessed – notes later published posthumously as The Motorcycle Diaries.
Witnessing the plight of people living under oppression led Guevara to become one of the most famous guerrilla leaders in history. In his actions and writings we see his aristocratic background transformed into a man ready to help the people. A medical doctor, he left medicine to help and lead armed struggles of resistance. He later went on to play major roles in the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In our books we stand firmly on the promotion of bloodless revolution. But we reject Che Guevara’s choice of communism over the good that can be achieved by vibrant and growing free markets. As Churchill once said: “Capitalism is the worst of all economic systems, except for all of the others that have been tried.”
In Adam in Taoland, Adam and Tariana witness in Kamyabi poverty and oppression, and were horrified, as was Che in Latin America. Adam learns through this and other trials that true purpose and inner joy are found in selfless service. In Homeland Rescued, Adam returns to Novana to lead a revolution against AI domination of his people. Finding himself sort-of in Che’s shoes, he leads a bloodless revolution by which the people drive out oppression and seize liberty in its place.
Let us remember the struggles and sacrifices of history that today allow for freedoms in much of the world. In a spirit of non-aggression, let us pray for all good people who stand united in nonviolent struggles for individual liberties.
