revolutionary

Che Guevara. We see him everywhere on t-shirts and other ironically consumerist products, but 90% of the people who buy that crap have no idea who he was.
A physician touched by the extreme conditions induced by poverty, Che came to a point where he believed that an armed resistance was the only way to adequately reset society. He was known for his tranquility, his penchant for tobacco, his apparent detachment from violence, and his class conflict ideals.
I sometimes wonder if I could get to that point. No one (should) get into medicine without a passion for healing, and people in poverty have a much harder time achieving and maintaining health. Even in our relatively comfortable American poverty, we accept untimely death because of lack of resources as a normal event. If enough children died in my arms, would I lead a revolution? Would I execute traitors in the name of a cause that would outlive even me?
I'd like to think that I wouldn't.
Even though I agree with most of Che's ideals, I think his methods were all wrong. Maybe that's all he had left- but it seems like rocking the Gandhi approach would work better in the end. Even though it takes more death, more anguish, more patience- the effect of peaceful resistance is more lasting and stable than a revolution fed on blood and passion. Blood and passion is better for economics and for capitalism- ultimately furthering the cause of capitalism with t-shirts and iconic prints.
I'll pray for patience, and for the courage to do what is right even at personal harm without even the dignity of a comeback as we seek to rectify this murderous society.