Tactics for the Modern Patriot 
Copyright ©2001 Thomma C. Grindstaff

My analysis of the situation... I’m going to put in my two cents, now that I’m fortified by coffee, ooey-gooey chocolate cake, and Rachmaninoff playing on WinAmp.

First, I’ll touch on what we’re up against, IMHO:
I see four big problems in getting The People-At-Large motivated to get off their butts and take a stand for freedom: 1). Selfishness/self-interest, 2). Apathy, 3). Tendency in humans to want to react rather than act; that is, to “follow the leader”, and 4). Disinclination toward choosing critical thinking and logic over knee-jerk, emotional responses. I’ll discuss all four of these separately, their implications, and any prospects for hope of effecting change.

1). Selfishness/self-interest. People are motivated to do what benefits themselves. Now, I’m not saying that people are not altruistic; certainly we can be. And certainly there are people who take strong stands for principle. But in discussing efforts to motivate the People-At-Large, the self-interest component of human nature simply cannot be ignored. As someone stated, it can be exceedingly difficult to motivate significant numbers of people to take action in the name of high principles like freedom, no matter how noble or morally right. Folks want to know, “What’s in it for ME if I put myself out to do this? Where’s the free food? Where’s my dang door prize, dad-gum it?” The self-interest consideration must be taken into account not only on the individual level but on the group level because it can pervert the action taken by such groups as the NRA, which groups can wind up “forgetting” what they’re working for (the furtherance of freedom) and fall instead into an interminable spiral of making self-perpetuation their loftiest goal via a fatiguing and ultimately defeating war of attrition that has as its only result the gradual, continual erosion of our rights.

2). Apathy. People-at-Large tend to be ultimately consumed with the living of their day to day lives and often need an extra prod to divert their energies into anything they sense is “extra work.” They have to care a whole lot to act, and unfortunately, people are encouraged by many segments of our society to care only about themselves or things that they perceive affect them directly. This ties into what I discussed above; that is, the “What’s in it for me?” factor. Often, people tend to allow others to “take up the slack” for them, or they think “what difference could I make? I’m just one person!” Knowledge and understanding of “what’s in it” for all of us and how one person *can* make a difference (especially LOTS of “one persons” working for a common goal) *can* be a powerful motivator to work for freedom (see #4 for more along those lines!).

3). Tendency in many People-at-Large to want to react rather than act, to Follow the Leader, or to be told what to do so as not to have to make tough (or “inconvenient”) decisions for themselves. A personal example will suffice for this one. One day, in the ladies’ room, a coworker and I were talking about banks. She made the comment that her bank was going to start charging a ridiculous amount for ATM withdrawals. Her reaction? “Oh, well...I’ll just have to deal with it.” Horrifying, no? She would just kick her legs in the air, make like a dead, helpless bug, and do whatever the bank requests of her. <begin rant mode> If you don’t like what your bank is doing, then for the love of all that’s holy, *complain*, and if that doesn’t work, then *change banks!* You don’t have to just sit and take it! </end rant mode> Another co-worker, in a similar vein, wheedled about how we “have no choice” in such matters. <begin second rant mode> AAUGH! We *ALWAYS* have a choice! Always, always, *always*! The danged “authorities” do NOT always “know best”; indeed, it is usually quite the OPPOSITE - the authorities tend to have *their* interests at heart, not ours! </end second rant mode> And I have noticed that if but one person shows some intestinal fortitude in fighting injustice, that others are always inspired to follow. Then others will follow those others, and others will follow the others who followed the others. Intestinal fortitude carries the potential for exponential “ripples”.

4). Disinclination toward choosing critical thinking and logic over knee-jerk, emotional responses. The emotional path is always the “path of least resistance”. Critical thinking and logic take work and effort. And many people fall onto the path of least resistance (emotionalism) by default and apathy, climb onto their little bandwagons, and start bleating about how the world must be “made safe for the child-runnn” NOW NOW NOW without having the slightest clue of what in Hades they are talking about. The situation is exacerbated by the idiotic mainstream media and the sorry state of public education in the country today. It’s disconcerting in the extreme how so many media types blather endlessly about guns without even knowing a .22 from a Howitzer, spreading their meaningless little buzzwords, i.e. “Assault Weapon” and “Common Sense” like cow manure through a field, fertilizing all the other ignorant minds out there to develop in a similar inane direction. In a nutshell, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. ALWAYS.
Finally, now that I’ve discussed what we’re up against, I’ll talk about what, IMHO, should be done to further freedom and turn the tide of encroachments upon our rights.

 

What, indeed, can we do as individuals?  Turning the tide must be a grass-roots effort that starts at a strong foundation with We, The People. We must give people a reason to stand up for freedom - we must make them see

1). Why freedom is GOOD for you, not just in the short term but in the long term and for future generations,

2). That yes, you CAN do something effective to help as one person,

3). That you can be active rather than simply reactive and

4). That it behooves each of us to learn as much as we can about important issues rather than being spoon fed ideas by a media and a government who have agendas of control and self interest.

So, how do we do this? What is each of us good at? Web design? Writing? Speaking, persuading, communicating? Art? Politicking? Whatever it is, let’s each of us pull out all the stops on our particular talents and abilities and focus as much of our time and energy as we can on using our abilities to work for freedom; preferably in some manner that will help to motivate people at large, not to mention harelip a not-insignificant number of politicians (and talk show hosts)! And if we’re already doing that, well, we’ll keep at it, won’t we?

And let’s talk, talk, talk! To family! To friends! If you have kids, then raise them to cherish freedom and to value independence. If you don’t have kids, then do what you can to influence the children of your friends or relatives or those of your community. Take would-be gunnies to the shooting range! Develop ideas on the internet with other freedom lovers! Work to keep our differences from dividing us, for we must focus on what is important: the fight for freedom! Never be ashamed of who you are or what you believe!

 

Take back the word Patriot from those who would malign it and say that we are Bill of Rights Absolutists, saying it loud and saying it proud! Let politicians know when they have done something odious and intolerable, and for the love of Pete, VOTE VOTE VOTE!

 

Yes, the two party system is rotten and ineffectual for anyone but the power mongers, but we ain’t gonna change it by sittin’ on our collective tuckuses (tucki?). All we can do is our best, but to do any less than our best is to shirk our duty in these difficult times.

And if, despite our best efforts, the encroachments continue, we cannot turn the tide, and TS has to HTF, then comes to time to Fight the Good Fight - Lexington and Concord Redux ya might say.
 

And whatever may come to pass, whatever you do, burn this concept into your minds: I AM A CITIZEN, NOT A SUBJECT. I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS. I AM A CITIZEN. NOT A SUBJECT.

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"Stand clear, and keep your eye on the ball." - W.C. Fields
“Find me a man so vast an imbecile that he seriously believes that this prohibition would work.” - H.L. Mencken on gun control