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View Full Version : Deconstructing The Psyche Of A Establishmentist




JordanL
11-09-2007, 05:14 AM
If you are here, then you are also probably out there, trying to bring people around to Ron Paul's message of freedom and liberty. And if you are out there, you run into three kinds of people. Those who have no opinion, those who are attached to the establishment, and those who are anti-establishment.

Those with no opinion usually have none because they feel their opinion doesn't matter, that they don't know enough to form an opinion, and that elections don't affect them. A simply, honest and friendly conversation is usually all that is needed to bring them around.

The establishment shrills are much more difficult. They have grown up since the passage of the New Deal, since the creation of an income tax, in the presence of the IRS, and not only do they blindly accept these things as reality, they are bent on protecting the status quo.

Now very few of these people actually are attached to the establishment as we understand it, even those living off of it's fat. No, most people who cling to the establishment do so out of fear. Fear that they will not be able to function the same if things change. Fear of change is one of the MOST universal fears in humans, and there are two things that help people overcome this fear.

First, provide a clear path from the present to the future. Be clear that the abolishment of the IRS, income tax, etc. is the goal, not a first step, and that electing Ron Paul doesn't magically turn the world upside down. As much as we like his ideas, we more than anyone understand the seperation of powers: he will need to convince Congress as much as the voters. Paul, and the people voting for him, recognize that we cannot simply flip a switch and reset the country. But that does NOT mean we should continue making the same mistakes any longer than we have to.

Second, you must highlight the similarities between the future and the past, showing that these ideas are not a wild-west of laws and such, and that not just any country, but our country, has functioned under similar guidance in the past.

If you kindly and calmly inject these two points into the conversation, any establishment shrill will probably soften. Be patient! Very few people are even capable of shifting a paradigm that far that fast. If you really want to convince an establishmentist, expect to spend at least an hour talking.

The last group is far more tricky. You see, whenever there is a dysfunctional establishment, there are those who reject not the dysfunction, but the establishment itself. These are often young people, and are often apathetic, uncomprimising, and usually a tad rude/arrogant.

Just the other day I was talking to two college women about Ron Paul and they heard the first thing I said and blurted, "everyone says they're 'pro-freedom'". Ironically, considering their loathing of the establishment, they cling very tightly to establishment paradigms, such as bimodal issues and stances on abortion or healthcare. They do not ask "is healthcare something the government should be doing", they simply assume it is.

They also usually believe in shadow government theories, in which some ethereal, inspecific "corporation" controls everything. We are pretty far gone, but we aren't quite that far gone, or this little revolution would be armed instead of peaceful and positive.

All of this means that they are likely to reject Paul on the basis that he is part of the establishment. These people are VERY hard to get through to, and the most successful way I've found at getting through to them is by highlighting his run as a third party candidate, his dissenting votes on things like the PATRIOT Act, or the medal for Rosa Parks (I REALLY like his reasoning here), and the fact that the "establishment" itself is what Ron Paul is targetting in many ways. These types also get rather attached to their positions, and they also will require a long time to reason with.

Above all, be patient and understanding. Be firm without being arrogant or judging. No one really rejects the ideas of freedom and liberty, they just misunderstand them. When you feel like you are getting upset, simply remember: you have truth on your side. You are not trying to prove you are right, you are simply trying to show them how you are right.

Get out there and do some footwork! The internet is a great tool, but its difficult to really reach people on it. Talk to people at the bus stop or in the mall. Carrying little cards like those from LibertyCard.org are great conversation starters.

Spread the word that freedom is back!

johngr
11-09-2007, 05:45 AM
Be clear that the abolishment of the IRS, income tax, etc. is the goal, not a first step, and that electing Ron Paul doesn't magically turn the world upside down. As much as we like his ideas, we more than anyone understand the seperation of powers: he will need to convince Congress as much as the voters.

You are ignoring some of the executive powers Ron Paul will have. For example, he will have what is for his purposes unlimited pardon power which includes the power to pardon classes of people, as held in U.S. v Klein (80 US 128). With this power, coupled with the control of the justice department and US attorney hiring he will effective shut down the IRS by blanket pardoning all tax evaders and making them an extremely low prosecution priority going forward. As I have written elsewhere here, it is the only morally consistent thing President Paul can do.

johngr
11-09-2007, 05:55 AM
He will also declassify reams of material classified only because it was embarrassing to the gov't agents.