The media were right to dismiss our ?Tea Parties? We Declare
*From the blog of Andrew Horning (former libertarian Indiana gubernatorial canidate)
The media were right to dismiss our “Tea Parties”
I shouldn’t say “I told you so.” So I’ll just say, instead, that being right has never done me any good at all. In fact, it’s been a costly annoyance to both me, and to all my loved ones. Being right is no advantage in the voting booth; it seems absolutely detrimental in electoral politics. It’s no advantage in any way I can think of. And it’s downright dangerous to be right when the government and its media are wrong. I hope, in fact, that I’m desperately, completely and astoundingly wrong about what’s coming next. I pray that I am very, very wrong.
So I’ll not say “I told you so” about all the warnings, predictions, admonitions and sermons I’ve written, spoken and kinetically harangued upon my friends in the ongoing battle for liberty and justice. No, I will restrain myself by means of superhuman humility and magnanimous spirit…
But we should admit that the media got it right. They have correctly portrayed the “tea party” hubbub, and the liberty movement in general as undirected, vague, and ultimately, pointless blather.
It pains me to say so, but my allies in liberty and justice are not just wasting their own time and money. Rather they are destroying our combined credibility. They discredit truth, and are, in effect, stealing from us all by spoiling the opportunity for those who’d do the right thing.
What is the right thing? I’ve said it many times on these pages, but maybe it’s just too simple to comprehend. Maybe it’s too basic to seem like a clever tactic or even a pragmatic first step.
We all have to agree to what it is that we want. And there is only one thing that I am aware of that all of us actually want…Rule of Law under existing state and federal constitutions as written.
We’re out of time for all this fooling around. We must stop thinking of tactics and games. We must stop thinking of others as our enemies when we need no enemy other than ourselves. We will never convince others of anything as long as we are ourselves such doddering fools that we can’t articulate for the media just what the heck it is that we want.
Before I go and say again what it is that we should be doing, here’s the setup:
“The media” are not anything other than people. While these particular people tend very strongly toward soviet-style authoritarianism, it’s not their ideology that causes us problems. It’s the usual human laziness, mental weakness and idolatry that plagues us all. Like us, they worship celebrities and disparage those who attempt to become one, and fall back to earth. They kick such people. Trust me.
They love excitement, but see it in all the wrong places (sports, celebrities…and weather). And like the rest of us, it takes the firm administration of a baseball bat to make them change their ways.
So when you get a microphone in your face, “the media” will try to label you as quickly and dismissively as possible. If you offer ten minutes of Patrick Henry-like rhetorical brilliance, they’ll air the one point at which you stumble and say, “ummm…” If you speak convincingly about something they don’t understand or don’t like (Rule of Law under existing constitutions as written), and offer, for example, income tax, you’ll be dismissed as a “tax protester,” and nobody will ever hear what you said about the constitutions, or the sweetness of politics on a leash.
This last point is my whole point.
We must, immediately and without any waffling, converge on a single message and deliver it without any side trips, divergence, hesitancy or missteps. We must simply, firmly, passionately yet reasonably present the demand that politicians, policemen and soldiers keep their oaths to the laws that protect us from them. They must obey the written constitutions, as written. No “interpretation” from the bench, no caveats, provisos, ifs, ands or buts.
You must not protest government spending, taxation, or even overt oppression. Do not mention Ron Paul, though this is his cause too. Don’t talk about central banking or “The Fed.” You must not write letters, campaign or speak to neighbors about the myriad symptoms presented by our collective social disease. We must address only the disease. Quit nibbling at branches; it’s time to strike the root.
What’s the root that we can all agree upon?
The existing state and federal constitutions are still the best, most practical, most proven, most fair and just social contracts ever signed into law. So let’s agree that these are exactly, and only, what we want.
We have easy communication now. We can still move freely.
Do not assume that this will last much longer. And most definitely do not assume that a “revolution” will get you what you want if you can’t even agree now what it is that you hope to accomplish with violence. The hour is late, and our side is losing. Your choice is not up to your enemies. It’s all up to you. Personally. Right now.
*From the blog of Andrew Horning (former libertarian Indiana gubernatorial canidate)
The media were right to dismiss our “Tea Parties”
I shouldn’t say “I told you so.” So I’ll just say, instead, that being right has never done me any good at all. In fact, it’s been a costly annoyance to both me, and to all my loved ones. Being right is no advantage in the voting booth; it seems absolutely detrimental in electoral politics. It’s no advantage in any way I can think of. And it’s downright dangerous to be right when the government and its media are wrong. I hope, in fact, that I’m desperately, completely and astoundingly wrong about what’s coming next. I pray that I am very, very wrong.
So I’ll not say “I told you so” about all the warnings, predictions, admonitions and sermons I’ve written, spoken and kinetically harangued upon my friends in the ongoing battle for liberty and justice. No, I will restrain myself by means of superhuman humility and magnanimous spirit…
But we should admit that the media got it right. They have correctly portrayed the “tea party” hubbub, and the liberty movement in general as undirected, vague, and ultimately, pointless blather.
It pains me to say so, but my allies in liberty and justice are not just wasting their own time and money. Rather they are destroying our combined credibility. They discredit truth, and are, in effect, stealing from us all by spoiling the opportunity for those who’d do the right thing.
What is the right thing? I’ve said it many times on these pages, but maybe it’s just too simple to comprehend. Maybe it’s too basic to seem like a clever tactic or even a pragmatic first step.
We all have to agree to what it is that we want. And there is only one thing that I am aware of that all of us actually want…Rule of Law under existing state and federal constitutions as written.
We’re out of time for all this fooling around. We must stop thinking of tactics and games. We must stop thinking of others as our enemies when we need no enemy other than ourselves. We will never convince others of anything as long as we are ourselves such doddering fools that we can’t articulate for the media just what the heck it is that we want.
Before I go and say again what it is that we should be doing, here’s the setup:
“The media” are not anything other than people. While these particular people tend very strongly toward soviet-style authoritarianism, it’s not their ideology that causes us problems. It’s the usual human laziness, mental weakness and idolatry that plagues us all. Like us, they worship celebrities and disparage those who attempt to become one, and fall back to earth. They kick such people. Trust me.
They love excitement, but see it in all the wrong places (sports, celebrities…and weather). And like the rest of us, it takes the firm administration of a baseball bat to make them change their ways.
So when you get a microphone in your face, “the media” will try to label you as quickly and dismissively as possible. If you offer ten minutes of Patrick Henry-like rhetorical brilliance, they’ll air the one point at which you stumble and say, “ummm…” If you speak convincingly about something they don’t understand or don’t like (Rule of Law under existing constitutions as written), and offer, for example, income tax, you’ll be dismissed as a “tax protester,” and nobody will ever hear what you said about the constitutions, or the sweetness of politics on a leash.
This last point is my whole point.
We must, immediately and without any waffling, converge on a single message and deliver it without any side trips, divergence, hesitancy or missteps. We must simply, firmly, passionately yet reasonably present the demand that politicians, policemen and soldiers keep their oaths to the laws that protect us from them. They must obey the written constitutions, as written. No “interpretation” from the bench, no caveats, provisos, ifs, ands or buts.
You must not protest government spending, taxation, or even overt oppression. Do not mention Ron Paul, though this is his cause too. Don’t talk about central banking or “The Fed.” You must not write letters, campaign or speak to neighbors about the myriad symptoms presented by our collective social disease. We must address only the disease. Quit nibbling at branches; it’s time to strike the root.
What’s the root that we can all agree upon?
The existing state and federal constitutions are still the best, most practical, most proven, most fair and just social contracts ever signed into law. So let’s agree that these are exactly, and only, what we want.
We have easy communication now. We can still move freely.
Do not assume that this will last much longer. And most definitely do not assume that a “revolution” will get you what you want if you can’t even agree now what it is that you hope to accomplish with violence. The hour is late, and our side is losing. Your choice is not up to your enemies. It’s all up to you. Personally. Right now.
