New Year's Manifesto
Despite being down with a virus, and taking care of a similarly afflicted child, Amy at The Biscuit Report has composed an ardent manifesto for dealing with the creeping pestilence of fascism in the United States. She was inspired by Milton Mayer's They Thought They Were Free of 1955. I have taken her five points and appended my own responses, but I urge you to read Amy first and then return here. Post any responses at both sites.
1. First, and most importantly, we cannot wait to be
certain before acting, and acting in a way that does put our own selves at risk.
While I agree with Biscuit's remarks dismissal of "waiting for
certainty," I think it's easier to remark that we are already quite certain that
the Administration is reckless and incompetent. There is no need here to argue
that case. But we ought to be prepared to argue it, concisely as
possible, to others. Which is why, upon consideration, I not only didn't remove
the Blog Roster's link to Winning Arguments but wrote to its author, who
has stopped adding posts, asking him not to remove the blog from the 'Sphere.
Another thing that we can be certain of is that the drift toward fascism will involve billions of small decisions - and hesitations - by millions of Americans. This is the tide that we must redirect wherever possible, with whomever possible.
2. We must not waste our time trying to convert those
who now support this administration.
The Administration draws on many different sources of support, much of
it negative. By this I mean to distinguish those who positively support
Administration policies from those who fear the alternative. The latter, it
seems to me, will in many cases be amenable to persuasion.
I share Biscuit's anger, and her determination to do the right thing even in situations where it's not "done." But I'm equally eager to keep my own bounding, sometimes hyperexpressive behavior from driving a possible ally fearfully away. Talking about the Administration can easily infuriate me. Now, one of the strongest appeals of fascism is its intolerance for low-grade violence. (People don't realize, until it's too late, that the peace and quiet that they thought they were voting for is actually an in-your-face police state, where the inquisition isn't far away at Gitmo or Abu Ghraib but right at your desk.) To the extent that we can keep anger and insult out of our behavior, offering instead a firm vision of the good society that we fear is endangered, we will optimize our persuasiveness.
3. Though we need not bother to try to convert the
believers, we must tell everyone we meet that we are enemies of this
Administration.
Biscuit's third point reminds me of how useless the mainstream media
have been as critics of Bush. They believe, probably with reason, that in order
to preserve their access to the White House they must remain on good terms,
personally and otherwise, with the people in the White House. Where they're
wrong, perhaps, is in believing that access to this White House is
important. What do they expect to find out? This administration has no special
regard for mainstream media; it doesn't need them. Karl Rove is a genius at
outsourcing stories, and letting other people, people not in the White House,
get the attention/take the heat. Just scroll through Talking Points Memo.
Now that the holidays are over, it's important to develop a polite policy for dealing with family members - one's own, one's spouse's, one's friends' - so that the news of our political orientation and activism does not come as a surprise. There can be no hard-and-fast rules here. But making a list might be helpful - or just going through this season's Christmas cards. What do the people who send them think about the President? Do you know? Do they? Many of them will no doubt not be visitors to the Blogosphere; perhaps we must all develop our own small "direct mail" campaigns, sending persuasive letters via snail mail. Most of us can probably print pretty spiffy exemplars; perhaps templates will emerge, complete with art and photos.
4. We must not believe that education, that facts,
will save us.
I have nothing to add here. When I see the political bloggers chasing the
scandal that will for-sure bring the Administration down, I want to weep. What
they're doing is important in many ways. But as to inflicting any kind of damage
on the Administration, it's futile. The Bush Administration is living,
lumbering-through-the-debris-Godzilla-style proof of the adage (which doesn't
always apply!) that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
5. We must have the capacity for "calm, consistent
insubordination."
To which I would only add the word, "engagement." We must be walking
exemplars of the virtue and purposefulness of paying attention. The
hidden enemy here is the idea of "news you can use."
