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More About: ActivismBlood letting du jour: Campaign For Liberty on the chopping block for CO contribution.
The scenario: dedicated activists learn of a major disposition of their contributions and are shocked to find a reputed war-mongering neocon as the recipient.
The response: a great hue and cry on the boards, via emails and hastily convened conference calls. A flurry of research from online activists and a torrent of phone calls into CFL HQ asking for clarity. So much so that CFL's phone lines reportedly reverted to a "we're closed for Thanksgiving" message leaving the distinct possibilty that we phone-bombed ourselves. LOL! It was hard-ball on the boards this morning. "Audit the CFL" was one thread that caught my attention. The unmistakable tones I was reading were outrage and betrayal. Inevitably, the old bones of the campaign and it's financial management got dredged up.
The effect: the "Unity for Victory" advocates, bless their tender heads, are now all hiding in various closets and under kitchen tables, sobbing their hearts out because they think this means the dream, that wonderful feeling of the return of Hope For America dies along with this device. That and Dem strategists have finally figured out a plan to exploit this for their purposes.
My take: those familiar with my recent writing (the more lucid stuff) know that I've long seen a rift coming for a long time. It doesn't need to be a bad or good thing, it was just gonna happen. It was in the tea leaves. And none of the issues we're dealing with now are new, you are not the first generation to spill ideological blood.
Factionalization will now occur, not because I say so but because we're a movement of rabid individuals, each of whom are impelled to participate in some sort of effective means of communicating our unique identity and value systems. That we find our most effective means of doing so in collective behavior seems endemic to our species. Without this tendency there would be no Freedoms Phoenix workshop as it's known today. Without the voluntary assistance of many, many skilled and dedicated volunteers, Ernie's workshop would be a big, empty, lifeless space.
Strategically, I think we're doing fine. I hate to say it but I think this is awesome and couldn't have come at a better time. We're in a comparitive lull in between election cycles. This might be the last breather we have. A great time to be self-analytical and get some things out of our system.
Strategically, I think we're doing fine. I hate to say it but I think this is awesome and couldn't have come at a better time. We're in a comparitive lull in between election cycles. This might be the last breather we have. A great time to be self-analytical and get some things out of our system.
I think this internal dialog (or war, take your pick) will absolutely indicate to the nation that freedom isn't monolithic, it's not uniform, it's not the purview of any one party or ideology. Believe it or not just in understanding what our varoius distinctions are, from anarchos to xenophobes, is healthy for a brain dead nation. The dems and MSM will only be helping us if they use us as a wedge. It's a rare example of synchopae.
Hey guys, Americans LOVE choices when they shop. Freedom lovers come in every flavor, shape and size. Come on guys, accept it, see the benefit and go for it. Freedom has the ultimate product line, it's unique to each and every one of us. Work cooperatively or independently, your choice.
The fault lines are presently coming down on individual liberty and anti-militarism. Each individual in the movement will have to go through a process of self-evaluation to essentially pick a side or venue through wich to achieve effect politically & etc. There will be picking of sides, there will be competition. There's already infighting. Think of it all in the context of 3VOlUTION. Unity isn't dead, it's just exploring itself.
Be brave, be yourself, we are the rocks in the river. Time washes
around us, over us, sometimes even moves us but we remain. What you are
hearing is the sound of freedom as people remember they have a voice.
Remember that freedom is like sex: it looks sloppy as hell from the observer's standpoint but it feels great.
-note: on my mental back-burner is what is LPUS going to do? Everything their new methodology proposed to do has been done with Ron Paul. Basically leaving LPUS with nothing to do, no way to gain rellevance but to retreat back to core principles, in effect, to get to the RIGHT of RPR/CFL and represent the purists once again. Strategically, besides just rejoining the GOP or staying with the RPR reformist faction, they have absolutely noplace to go but backward. Will there be a sub-movement to "take back LPUS" or will another expression evolve?
-another note: I hate the term "3rd party" because we have a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth political party out there right now (left and right inclusive). Pressure continues to build for a viable alternative party. I maintain that the greatest potential for us is centrists, new voters and being brave enough to explore coalition with leftist/liberal elements to effect. I think our disintegration into component aspect such as anarcho capitalists, purist libertarians, objectivists, self-reliants, political activists & etc. provide a better gateway to some potential evolution of something truly new. We cannot ignore the "populist sentiment" that is brewing, and populist is just another word for the general masses who have no real idea why they are so pissed off.
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3 Comments in Response to Blood letting du jour: Campaign For Liberty on the chopping block for CO contribution.
How do you take on an anonymous poster? Line by line:
anon: "The "division" is only among those "activists" who all want to be the national leader on "movement" strategy."
Disagree strongly. Divisions seem to be happening along core ideological lines. My article makes this clear.
anon: "All politics is local and even for "street activists" the "movement" is in the streets. Since you cannot be in more than one place at one time, street activism is also local."
Disagree strongly. We have many activists that focus nationally or on national issues. Even street actions are often coordinated at the national level.
anon: The 10,000 national strategic experts commenting on what the (sometimes lame) national HQ have done, I will bet $1,000,000 are doing NO activism: not street activism, not getting engaged in their local political parties, because those of us that do have little to no time to become and implement our national strategic expertise as there is too much work to do right here."
I'd like to see if you can back that up statistically. You keep returning to street activism as if it's the only form. It not even close. One could argue that it's the best form of activism (as could all the rest) but could it have this effect without the rest? In other words, do you go so far as to suggest all other forms of activism are worthless?
anon: "Bottom line: who gives a crap? If you don't have enough to worry about each day here at home, you're not paying attention."
The giraffes of the movement disagree. We can see things coming from a distance.
anon: "Hint: Of the 10,000 activists who are asserting their national strategic expertise, how many do you believe are in fact experts at national political strategy?"
Wait, in your world, all politics is local therefore there is no such thing as national political strategy. Now it's obvious I can't answer your question with a finite percentage. We have MANY, MANY SUCH PEOPLE. In a very wide spectrum of expertise. And it's the same as the rest of the movement in terms of who's popular or supported at any given time is a function of whatever seems to grab the movement's attention at that time.
anon: "If you are indeed a "street activist", then what's next here in AZ or your state?"
Too numerous to count sometimes it seems. But recall that Arizona is very big and not all of us converge at single time/location. However, it seems you are trying to box me into the corner of being a street activist. This is not the thesis of this article. The fact is that over the years, I've done many forms of activism. And over the years, I haven't always my been fulltime, unpaid. I take sabbaticals from time to time. And sometimes I just refuse new projects to spend more time on me, my people, my business. I guess I'm roughly on my 3rd decade of overall involvement, it's part of who I am.
anon: "(BTW, according to C4L national HQ, the money for the CO ad came exlusively from CO. So, what is the issue again for the other 49 states?)"
Yes, I'm relieved to see that. I hope C4L (CFL) weathers this out, it's still a great organization and I'm still a supporter. In my article I'm not criticizing C4L so much as I'm making a point about where this criticism comes from, how it relates to our larger issues and maybe some ideas about how it can be positive. Overall, it seems like you have a clear idea about how you are being effective so it's not necessary to "give a shit" as you say. You have my respect, young Street Activist.
The "division" is only among those "activists" who all want to be the national leader on "movement" strategy.
All politics is local and even for "street activists" the "movement" is in the streets. Since you cannot be in more than one place at one time, street activism is also local.
The 10,000 national strategic experts commenting on what the (sometimes lame) national HQ have done, I will bet $1,000,000 are doing NO activism: not street activism, not getting engaged in their local political parties, because those of us that do have little to no time to become and implement our national strategic expertise as there is too much work to do right here.
Bottom line: who gives a crap? If you don't have enough to worry about each day here at home, you're not paying attention.
Hint: Of the 10,000 activists who are asserting their national strategic expertise, how many do you believe are in fact experts at national political strategy?
If you are indeed a "street activist", then what's next here in AZ or your state?
(BTW, according to C4L national HQ, the money for the CO ad came exlusively from CO. So, what is the issue again for the other 49 states?)
If you do not know the nature of your enemy then, to paraphrase Sun Tzu, you are toast. Here is the nature of humans:
We are pattern seeking organisms, often seeing patterns that are not there --- ie conspiracies. Hey folks, the evil dooers could not maintain for more than a couple of years a secrete involving a dozen or so people involving the murder of three terrorists, in a secure government facility and yet some of you claim that they hid a conspiracy of thousands for 9 years re 911. Yea ... right!
Humans are authoritarian. They tend to be obedient to authority. See any number of studies on the subject. Most humans are afraid of responsibility and liberty.
This behavior is part and parcel of hating to think for themselves and being against facts that do not conform to their beliefs. In other words a refusal to learn new data. IE a built in bias to be stupid. You say you want to be with like minded individuals? Ones who will not challenge your premises? Welcome to the world of STUPID!!
If you have an hour or so visit my article --- and the links at
factotum666.livejournal.com