The Murder of Rosa Luxemborg
Freedom only for the supporters of the government, only for the members of a party – however numerous they may be – is no freedom at all. Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenter. Not because of the fanaticism of "justice", but rather because all that is instructive, wholesome, and purifying in political freedom depends on this essential characteristic, and its effects cease to work when "freedom" becomes a privilege.
- Rosa Luxemburg
Class struggle: external peace, international solidarity, peace among peoples. This is the sacred slogan of international socialist democracy that liberates nations.
- Karl Liebknecht
90 years ago today, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered by the German Freikorps in employ of their political opponents.
Although the two were Marxists fighting for the rights of the proletariat, and for their own political ideals which most of you probably don’t share, summary executions of people with different beliefs is the worst kind of intolerance and it is severely detrimental to society as a whole.
My favorite band, McDermott’s 2 Hours, has a song about Rosa. It’s more of a sad and slow song than many of their others, but it is a good song with powerful lyrics commemorating a brave woman we can all learn something from, whether or not we agree with her politics.
Rosa
Rosa dry your eyes, you’ll never lie where failure lies
Rosa, your love defies, the fight isn’t over
Did you see her working with the peasant in the field
Wiping the sweat from his brow
Charging at the bosses with a sickle and a shield
Crying, the fight is now?
Rosa dry your eyes, you’ll never lie where failure lies
Rosa, your love defies, the fight isn’t over
And did you hear her singing on the factory floor
Through the grind and the mill and the pain
Bringing out the women and the children of the poor
Crying, we’ll rise again?
Rosa dry your eyes, you’ll never lie where failure lies
Rosa, your love defies, the fight isn’t over
Wherever the poor and the powerless decline
There she will lie like a balm
She’ll put them on their feet and set them into line
Crying now shoulder arms
Rosa dry your eyes, you’ll never lie where failure lies
Rosa, your love defies, the fight isn’t over
The last time I saw her she was on the picket line
Wiping the blood from her hair
Pushing back the law and fighting for the mine
Crying, we’ll not despair
Rosa dry your eyes, you’ll never lie where failure lies
Rosa, your love defies, the fight isn’t over
- Rosa by McDermott’s 2 Hours
January 30th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I was an isolated socialist in Los Angeles one year ago, but hounded by Group Stalking as described by P.I. David Lawson. Because of the harassment in L.A. I moved to Venezuela. On the leftist news radio yesterday, I heard an intellectual say Rosa Luxemburg was killed by moderates who just a few days earlier had treated her in a friendly way. This seems to conflict with Wikipedia´s version of events. Who to believe?