Who are you mad at really?
by , 06-26-2011 at 08:29 AM (13763 Views)
'What your daddy did to you was abuse.'
'How dare you talk that way about my daddy?!'
What has it to do with politics? Everything. Politicians piss us off, then try to misdirect our anger 'across the aisle' to people who are fundamentally exactly the same, but wear a different party label. The game is age old, but still works.
People are angry, but they are often in denial about it. They know they're angry, but they don't want to admit they're angry because they got fooled, and they sure don't want to admit that they insisted on hearing the pretty lies that fooled them. So, if they can't allow themselves to be angry at the person who did them harm, they'll be angry at whomever or whatever is handy, and most especially at whomever or whatever makes them see how they have been complicit in their own destruction.
This is no small part of how the powers that be keep us sniping at each other over extraneous matters like gay marriage and abortion while they demonstrate the pure paradigm of bipartisanship in order to rob us blind.
In order to win people over to our side, we must help them see who they're really mad at without making them mad at us--and by extension, Ron Paul--in the process. Tricky business, as we've been seeing.
Many Republicans would love for us to live up to the WWII ideal, and go around kicking ass in order to set people free. This isn't what's happening, but they'd love it to be so. Many Democrats would love for us to live up to the ideal of helping to make lives better here and abroad. Of course, the more they support such things, the more the resultant programs mainly serve to help the rich get richer at the expense of the poor.
And they're both angry. They just don't know who they're angry at. Yet.
If we're to pull off this revolution, we must tap that anger. But we must never tap that anger without giving it the proper direction. And I think the key here is to give them hope. Because hopelessness will piss you off. So, if Democrats get pissy because they want this utopia where everyone's happy, remind them that there are not only charities in the world, but smaller governments than the federal government which are more responsive to the people who elect them (and have a much better idea of just what the local needy really need). And if Republicans are angry that ass kicking isn't leading to a more peaceful and Godly world, remind them that they themselves have been more influenced by those people in their lives who led them by example than by those who tried to beat them into behaving. This is called presenting alternatives, and presenting alternatives is always a positive message.
If there's one thing we should always remember about our salesmanship, it's that we are on the same side as every disaffected and angry voter in the nation. And we had better figure out how to make them see this true fact before we even try to drive our point home. Otherwise, we lose. And so do they.
There is no such thing as 'sheeple'. There is only Yamamoto's sleeping giant, waiting to be filled with a terrible resolve. Well, they're being filled with that terrible resolve. So, the question is, can we help them see who they're really angry at? Or will we merely make them mad at us? Sometimes the best way to help a person who is hurting is to make the sacrifice and be a lightning rod for them--even if it costs you personally. This can help them critically examine their own anger. But in this campaign, we don't have that luxury. We just can't afford to make them mad at Ron Paul for being so rude as to be honest.
We've got to make people see--first, before we do anything else at all--that we are on their side. And in order to do this, we must not only find ways to explain the issues that are inclusive, meaning that we show them how Ron Paul's solutions help them. First and foremost we must remember that they are on our side. No matter how long or how often they've been fooled into being a part of the problem.
It just doesn't matter how often they've aided and abetted our mutual enemies out of ignorance and a desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. It doesn't matter how often they've fallen for pretty lies. If they've finally figured out that what they've tried and tried and tried again just isn't helping (but quite the opposite), the first thing we must remember is that they are on our side, period. And the second thing we must remember is that they're not really mad at us. Mostly they're mad at themselves, and at the people who fooled them. Whether they want to admit it or not.
And if we can give that anger a legitimate and deserving target, we win.
Can we be patient and forgiving enough to make a liar out of Will Rogers?
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