BY HARIOLOR
In our current state of economic and political turmoil it is easy to lose heart. It would seem that, despite the best attempts of Reason, that fear and myopic selfishness have taken hold of the hearts of Americans. As we march towards political oblivion, let us not believe that it is in lock-step. While the nature of modern weaponry dictates that the days of hard-fought revolution with musket and cannon are well behind us, we may yet fight an asymmetric war for the hearts and minds of our countrymen. For decades we have been assaulted on all sides by the enemies of liberty who discovered much earlier the value of winning a war of the mind. Let there be no mistake that ours will be an uphill battle against apparently insurmountable odds, but such is the American spirit that we shall rise and overcome. Let us no longer believe that we are seeing the endgame in a battle we never got to fight. The day we believe such is the day our cause is truly lost. If we believe, however, that there have been but a few moves made in a grand opening gambit, then perhaps our position is merely weak, but not hopeless.
Our enemy is powerful and determined, they control a vast majority of the media, dictate the terms of all public debate, and are well-armed with the well-tested rhetoric of nationalist socialism. Not too long ago, however, they were in the very position we find ourselves now. Their success grew from three factors: sympathetic minds in academia, powerful grassroots support, and gross missteps by their opponents. We yet have all three of these necessary elements, if yet uncultivated.
Our first goal is to define clearly the terms of debate and the foundation of our movement. We must not be caught up in the petty squabbles of day-to-day issues, though we will discuss them gladly. We will hearken to the words of our founders, and will carry on their spirit in ours. We must do this both with formal debate and powerful appeals to the common spirit of America. We look to Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams for our guidance in this, men who spoke to the common American with simplicity and clarity, but without condescension or self-righteous airs. Our enemy cloaks their own propaganda as appeals to individual rights and opportunity, how much more well-received might our own appeals be if posed with sincerity and humility.
Our second goal must be to grow our network. There are many among us who believe as we believe – who are open to discourse and dialogue about the fundamental principles that founded our nation, and which must be its future if it is to endure. Reach out to the young, who are receptive to the message of liberty and opportunity, and who have been shown to bring overwhelming enthusiasm to any cause. Reach out to the established, who know well our toils and may provide an intellectual and financial base to our cause. Reach out to our opponents, not in the cutting rhetoric of the prior generation, but with an open call to dialogue on common terms. Give no quarter to rhetoric or hollow promises from yourselves or the opponent, and engage everyone you encounter with fierce pride in your beliefs, tempered with solemn patience.
Our final goal is to accept that this will not be a short fight, nor will we easily overcome the great leftward inertia that has captured our country. When prepared, we must be willing to speak in libraries and schools, to hold forums at universities and to participate in media, and also to knock on the doors of our very neighbors and engage them in their own homes. We must keep the discussion civil, and we must not be lured into vitriol or bitterness. Some who join our cause will be faces and speakers, other thinkers and writers. Some will not join, and some may even be hostile to us, indeed this seems a certainty. We must believe that, despite the small failings we will experience along the way, our duty is to continue sowing the seeds of our revolution in the firm belief that there is yet fertile soil in the hearts of our countrymen.
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