Defiance is Fundamental to Revolutionary Change

From a Daniel Greenfield (Sultan Knish blog) post titled So You Want a Revolution….

Defiance is the fundamental virtue of the revolutionary. The left defied the accepted norms and values of America, and that defiance paved the way for a cultural revolution. The power of the left will never be broken until the right defies their values and norms the same way. Until it publicly destroys, mocks and violates everything that they consider sacred in the spirit of revolution.

Revolutions begin as culture wars against the established order and they connect cultural defiance to political change. The fundamental message of every revolution is a defiance of authority and if the revolution succeeds then those in power are forced to give way and accede to change. It can be done. That populist spirit is out there, it is abroad in the Tea Party, it is there in blogs and social media, and even occasionally on talk radio. But all that goes to waste empowering a political establishment of gatekeepers who sometimes talk like revolutionaries, but don’t act like revolutionaries.

Good post to read in its entirety.

Linked via American Digest’s Sidelines.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/19 at 10:43 AM

  1. Revolution, for those who have lived through it, is not pretty. It involves distasteful actions and difficult times, and has consequences that are hard and very permanent. We are lucky we don’t have that here. We are also not as a nation or as individuals posessed of the necesary spleen to mount a revolution; so long as we can still get reruns of Friends on cable, we’re gonna sit and watch it, instead of doing anything.

    I wish that this were not the case, but it is. Everyone always choses the comfortable and familiar over the difficult and unknown.

    Posted by og  on  01/19  at  10:54 AM

  2. Revolution, for those who have lived through it, is not pretty. It involves distasteful actions and difficult times, and has consequences that are hard and very permanent. We are lucky we don’t have that here.

    Very true, Og.

    I didn’t necessarily understand Greenfield to be advocating violence of a shooting sort, but rather, coordinated and insistent attacking of the Left’s positions (fire for effect) via the utilization of whatever media platforms we are able utilize.  Control of the message, ideas, can be key.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  01/19  at  11:02 AM

  3. “Control of the message, ideas, can be key.”
    Not to be too much of a smartass, but let me know how well that works out for you.

    Posted by og  on  01/19  at  01:45 PM

  4. ...let me know how well that works out for you.

    I know, but there is no doubt that the State and MSM have a pretty firm control of the message currently.

    I’m not under any illusions in regards to the audience reach I may have.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  01/19  at  02:00 PM

  5. It’s all about Tools, John. Knowing which ones work, and which ones don’t. Knowing when to stop using a tool because it has failed you, knowing when to start using a tool despite your personal distaste for it. Choose the right tool, and use it, and don’t fear it, and don’t hold back. I’m pretty sure I’m not telling you anything new.

    Posted by og  on  01/19  at  02:23 PM

  6. ...knowing when to start using a tool despite your personal distaste for it.

    I’m striving to not need to pick up that tool.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  01/19  at  04:49 PM

  7. “I’m striving to not need to pick up that tool.”

    Again, knowing what and when. Violence, by the way, is not the tool we need now, and is in fact a very bad one for the purpose.

    Simply understanding properly what tool to use at what time can take a lifetime of practice.

    Posted by og  on  01/19  at  04:52 PM

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