2025-11-09.3_humility, fragmentarity and revolution

solidarity,
care,
empathy,
humility,
freedom,

fragmentarity is a philosophy of humility. fragmentary ethics are humble ethics. fragmentary ontology is humble ontology. fragmentary revolutions are humble (but endless) revolutions.

the question is not why is it so, but how could it not be? to be a fragment is to be radically incomplete, and to be incomplete in a wholesome manner, one must be humble about said incompleteness.

you are and will always remain a fragment. this is the first mantra i repeat to myself every time i bow towards the south to pray to-with-for solidarity, care, empathy, and freedom,

humility is the reason why. to remind myself that to practice solidarity, care, empathy and freedom, i must always remain in touch with m(y) existential partiality: m(y) fragmentarity. and if i don’t, i’ll eventually cross limits that are harmful to cross, usually first my own, then those of others.

and the same applies to our political and social movements. no matter how big or powerful, they/we will always remain fragments of the world. and if we do not approach this reality with humility, we will not be able to practice solidarity, care, empathy, and freedom, for any extended period of time. grand claims and slogans can only take us so far. attempting-chasing perfection/completion can only take us so far.

to be clear: when i say humility, i do not mean docility, i do not mean silence, i do not mean going along to get along and avoiding necessary conflict or even violence. the ‘humility’ the oppressed have been taught by the oppressors is not the humility i mean. many of us have a staggering amount of right to demand so much more from life than what we have been ‘given’. but no single one of us can have it all, nor can a single community or nation have it all. that would once again be oppressor thinking and behavior. therefore our revolutions cannot be ‘perfect’ or ‘complete’. and they also cannot end. the incomplete, fragmentary, endless revolution is what i believe in. not in a defeatist manner, but in a humble revolutionary manner.