The way to real change is neither demonstrations nor the politician election ballot box
Posted by John Reed on
I see no need to demonstrate. I actually do not care for demonstrations and never participated in one.
In his book By the People, Charles Murray set for rules for which regulations to violate. I do not recall Murray saying word one about demonstrations.
The civil rights movement got disproportionate help from whites who DID have a lot to lose, like presidential candidate JFK calling MLK, jr. when he got arrested.
I recall a made-for-TV movie in which whites in a poor neighborhood were terrorized by black gang members. A retired machinist played by Martin Balsam used his machinist skills do devise gauntlets that he wore on his wrists. They enabled him to defeat the much younger stronger black gang leader in a physical struggle and win, at least temporarily, neighborhood peace.
That using your strength against your opponent’s weakness is what I urge in my Succeeding and coaching books. And that’s what I am urging now in this case. If you can write, use your writing skill to bring about the needed change. If you can organize, organize. If you are a legal expert, use those skills for this purpose.
In my Unelected President novel, the President uses obscure laws to achieve sudden radical change—like repealing the entire Code of Federal Regulations. He begins in the book to use the legal doctrine of impossibility to cease government enforcement of some laws on the grounds that the Congress refuses to provide the needed resources. Where the law says he can only fire bureaucrats “for cause,” he creates a huge “for cause” department in the Justice Department. And I’m not even a legal expert. http://johntreed.com/products/the-unelected-president-novel
Almost every career specialty could be turned toward the cause of eliminating politicians from democracy (referendums, grand jury Congress, etc.).
As far as people who have much to lose refusing to take any risks of their status and income for their country, I have been hearing that crap since West Point. Here is a list of quotes from my Web page about why I wrote many critical articles about the military. (http://www.johntreed.com/.../68982979-why-i-created-these...)
Here are some quotes about the need to speak out against wrongdoing.
...the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood. Henry David Thoreau
To sin by silence when [we] should protest makes cowards of [us all]. Abraham Lincoln
Some people have knowledge about the military such that they can recognize the errors, omissions, and dangers in the military information in the media. I am one of them. Sadly, and dangerously for the military and the nation it defends, the vast majority of those knowledgeable, good people choose not to get involved.
If you are among brigands and you are silent, you are a brigand yourself. Hungarian poem
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act. The Talmud: Sabbath, 54b.
The hottest place in hell must be reserved for those who, in the face of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -Winston Churchill
Qui male agit odit lucem. (He who behaves badly hates the light. John 3:20)
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When the shameless meet the spineless, the shameless win. When it comes to physical courage, military personnel do just fine. But when it comes to moral courage, they are almost all spineless.
Like me, you could be unfortunate enough to stumble upon a silent war. The trouble is that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. Either way, you’re accountable. Arundhati Roy
When others do a foolish thing, you should tell them it is a foolish thing. They can still continue to do it, but at least the truth is where it needs to be. Gray Council leader Dukhat, Babylon 5 episode 75 "Atonement"
The Center for Moral Courage says, moral courage is exhibited by,
“A person who is courageous in the face of ethical challenges...does the right thing even if it’s not popular...refuses to stand idly by while others engage in unethical or harmful behavior...”
I also have a brief article about finding ways to win instead of excuses for losing. All the talk above about too much to lose and how hard it is are excuses for losing. Find ways to win instead. http://johntreed.com/.../60945475-find-ways-to-win-not...
In his book By the People, Charles Murray set for rules for which regulations to violate. I do not recall Murray saying word one about demonstrations.
The civil rights movement got disproportionate help from whites who DID have a lot to lose, like presidential candidate JFK calling MLK, jr. when he got arrested.
I recall a made-for-TV movie in which whites in a poor neighborhood were terrorized by black gang members. A retired machinist played by Martin Balsam used his machinist skills do devise gauntlets that he wore on his wrists. They enabled him to defeat the much younger stronger black gang leader in a physical struggle and win, at least temporarily, neighborhood peace.
That using your strength against your opponent’s weakness is what I urge in my Succeeding and coaching books. And that’s what I am urging now in this case. If you can write, use your writing skill to bring about the needed change. If you can organize, organize. If you are a legal expert, use those skills for this purpose.
In my Unelected President novel, the President uses obscure laws to achieve sudden radical change—like repealing the entire Code of Federal Regulations. He begins in the book to use the legal doctrine of impossibility to cease government enforcement of some laws on the grounds that the Congress refuses to provide the needed resources. Where the law says he can only fire bureaucrats “for cause,” he creates a huge “for cause” department in the Justice Department. And I’m not even a legal expert. http://johntreed.com/products/the-unelected-president-novel
Almost every career specialty could be turned toward the cause of eliminating politicians from democracy (referendums, grand jury Congress, etc.).
As far as people who have much to lose refusing to take any risks of their status and income for their country, I have been hearing that crap since West Point. Here is a list of quotes from my Web page about why I wrote many critical articles about the military. (http://www.johntreed.com/.../68982979-why-i-created-these...)
Here are some quotes about the need to speak out against wrongdoing.
...the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood. Henry David Thoreau
To sin by silence when [we] should protest makes cowards of [us all]. Abraham Lincoln
Some people have knowledge about the military such that they can recognize the errors, omissions, and dangers in the military information in the media. I am one of them. Sadly, and dangerously for the military and the nation it defends, the vast majority of those knowledgeable, good people choose not to get involved.
If you are among brigands and you are silent, you are a brigand yourself. Hungarian poem
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act. The Talmud: Sabbath, 54b.
The hottest place in hell must be reserved for those who, in the face of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -Winston Churchill
Qui male agit odit lucem. (He who behaves badly hates the light. John 3:20)
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When the shameless meet the spineless, the shameless win. When it comes to physical courage, military personnel do just fine. But when it comes to moral courage, they are almost all spineless.
Like me, you could be unfortunate enough to stumble upon a silent war. The trouble is that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. Either way, you’re accountable. Arundhati Roy
When others do a foolish thing, you should tell them it is a foolish thing. They can still continue to do it, but at least the truth is where it needs to be. Gray Council leader Dukhat, Babylon 5 episode 75 "Atonement"
The Center for Moral Courage says, moral courage is exhibited by,
“A person who is courageous in the face of ethical challenges...does the right thing even if it’s not popular...refuses to stand idly by while others engage in unethical or harmful behavior...”
I also have a brief article about finding ways to win instead of excuses for losing. All the talk above about too much to lose and how hard it is are excuses for losing. Find ways to win instead. http://johntreed.com/.../60945475-find-ways-to-win-not...
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