A Simple Case for Radicalism

The first question is: What does it mean to be a radical? I would argue that it simply means thinking outside the box. Very far outside of the box.

George Orwell tells us that simply thinking logically makes us radical. In 1984, he states the most obvious fact, 2+2=4. However, people in Oceania engage in "doublethink." In other words, they believe in two incompatible ideas at the same time, and therefore believe things that cannot possibly be true. Such as 2+2=5.

The protagonist, Winston Smith, is the only person (as far as he knows) who still believes the truth (including, 2+2=4). George Orwell was originally going to call the book "The Last Sane Man in Europe," but the publisher did not like that. By being the only sane man, Winston Smith was a radical.

How does this apply to us? In her autobiography, Assata Shakur uses an example that is as straightfoward as 2+2=5, but that even I didn't know until I read her book.

The 13 amendment to the Constitution is the one that ended slavery in the United States. Or at least, that is what we are taught in school.

Say to yourself the uncontroversial statement "slavery is always wrong."

Now, look several lines below to read the actual 13th amendment.

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

In case you didn't see it, let me highlight the relevant part of section 1.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

In other words, the 13th amendment does not ban slavery, it makes it Constitutional.

I rest my case.