Young America's Foundation

Rules Not Just for Radicals

3/21/2013 3:56:03 PM Posted by Adam Tragone

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by Grant Strobl

"Change comes from power, and power comes from organization," said Saul Alinsky in his handbook Rules for Radicals. It is no secret that the Left has nearly perfected activism, and has nearly perfected the indoctrination of young Americans across the nation. It is time for Conservatives to stop playing catch-up, and lead -- controlling the dialogue on campus and out-organize the Left.

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky is the activism handbook for the Left, and a genius one at that. But, why is it a handbook just for the Left? I argue that we should use some these tactics as conservative activists and perfect them.

Let's examine a few of Alinsky's power tactics as outlined in his book Rules for Radicals:

· Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.

· A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.

· A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.

· Keep the pressure on.

· The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.

· Maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

· The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.

· Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

· Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.

These are just a FEW of the points and tactics outlined in the book that the left is playing by to this day. It's time for Conservatives to stop re-inventing the wheel; rather, we need to perfect it.

Every YAF chapter in America should be advancing conservatism while utilizing and perfecting these tactics. This shouldn't be too hard considering we have the truth on our side. Using these tactics may actually make a difference on your campus, in your community, and in our nation; because if you don't they will.

Grant is a student at Grosse Pointe North High School and chairman of the school's Young Americans for Freedom chapter

Readers' Comments
Grant, you hit the nail on the very head; let's play ideological/praxicological jiujitsu on the Left. By the way, remember that the Left is composed of democratic Left --nominally "bleeding-heart" liberals and doctrinaire Keynesians, two sectors that Lenin christened with the pejorative "useful-idiots"-- and the anti-democratic Left, ranging from fascists, social-democrats, democratic-socialists, Marxists, Marxist-Leninists and communistic-anarchists. You see, "bleeding-heart" liberals accept and even promote that government infringe at will on individual rights "for the common good" and that accept government largesse on spending. John Maynard Keynes preached that government SHOULD ''tweak" the economy when indispensably necessary and in a fine-surgically manner by spending very carefully, selectively and never on a perennial basis on public works. Doctrinaire Keynesians up the ante; they adhere to the notion that government MUST continually spend massively not only on public works but also on the public sector at large. Both, "bleeding-heart" liberals and Keynesians adhere, however to the practice of democracy. Now, regarding the anti-democratic Left pay attention to the differences among the sectors of the Left that compose it: In fascism --expressions of which are, for example, Mussolini's fascism, Hitler's Nazism, Primo de Rivera's Falangism, Haya de La Torre's Apriism, and Peron's Justicialism-- government must CO-own, or cozy up to, or control tightly (to either boost or bust them) SELECT ways and SELECT means of SELECT production and SELECT distribution of SELECT goods and SELECT services in society, so that the government becomes the most prominent owner and employer and, at the same time, the kingmaker and the Grim Reaper of private sector enterprises. Fascism is half-baked socialism and a convenient stepping-stone toward full-fledged socialism. In fascism, sheer "democratic-centralism" is practiced to the max and flagrantly. BEGINNING OF A LONG NOTE ABOUT DEMOCRATIC-CENTRALISM: "Democratic Centralism" proper, as nowadays known, is the nauseatingly odious contraption shaped by Lenin whereby the practice of democracy is centralized very tightly among those at the cusp in government who "...sacrifice themselves by way of assuming the burdens and drudgeries of democracy, so that the masses can cope with their daily life, particularly in all those aspects related to the construction and perfection of socialism...as a steppingstone in the glorious towards communism...", By "Democratic Centralism", Leninists mean their most duplicitous contention that, in a socialist state --inherently in transition to communism, absolutely every Marxist sustains-- the few at the cusp of political power arrogate upon themselves, and only upon themselves, the practice of democracy. "Democratic Centralism" has its deepest roots in tenets by the Bavarian Illuminati (founded on May 1, 1776), an elitist group founded in Bavaria, Germany that assigned to themselves the task of becoming the drivers to move society away from whatever they deemed ignorance, bigotry, superstition, and other similar societal maladies. "Illuminated" as they were, they knew better how society should be, and sustained also that they had to shepherd the masses in that regard. Upon the United States of America Declaration of Independence, they felt invigorated when misinterpreting --nolens volens-- the leadership exerted by the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution and War of Emancipation as "well-intentioned enlightened decision-making by a few for the masses". A few years later, the Illuminati cabal was disbanded by the Catholic Church. The French Jacobin Club --who were one of the ideological and praxicological dynamos of the French Revolution-- the borrowed from the Illuminati in this regard, and upgraded and updated the ideas of the Illuminati, particularly regarding what eventually would come to be known as "democratic-centralism". Upon the tapering off of the wakes of the French Revolution, German socialist Ferdinand Lasalle rekindled the idea of the Jacobian elitism, keeping it still in a generalized, non-partisan perspective, thinking of a clique of notables (i.e., highly educated and cultured individuals with statesmanship qualities) guiding, ushering society to betterment. In circa 1874, the German Social-Democrats picked the thoughts of Lasalle, but applied it to the Social-Democrat Party as the "elite" that would do the heavyweight thinking and action for the masses. The German Social-Democrat Party was in reality, despite its deceiving name, a Marxist entity, that is, a communist political party that used socialism only as a stepping stone toward what Marx referred to as "the ultimate aim": communism. They called the abomination of their creation by the euphemism of "democratic-centralism", something that even Marx would have rejected violently. Enter Lenin, who gave his spin to the notion of "democratic-centralism", nut-shelling it in the expression "Freedom of discussion, unity of action." In real practice, however, freedom of discussion meant discussion only within the Communist Party, and actually at the top levels of the Party, with any decision made by the leadership becoming mandatory and inappealable. Upon the death of Lenin in 1922, "democratic-centralism" became "centralized" on the highest top-dog within the communist parties not only in the Soviet Union, but also in all its satellites and allies. Why is this relevant to the enormously grave juncture that the Left has cornered America at? Simply, because Leninism percolates and suffuses through all strata of the entire spectrum of the Left. Hence the mild to heavy to extreme tropism of the Left at large --from relatively innocuous bleeding-heart liberals and doctrinaire-Keynesians (aka "useful idiots" and "progressives") to fascists, social-democrats, democratic-socialists orthodox and heterodox Marxists to Marxist-Leninists of all hues and veneers-- toward statism. In America, "democratic-centralism" is practiced by the ruling strata of the Democrat and Republcan parties, and now, since 2009 upon Obama "occupying" the White House, Hence, in America’s case, the monarchical attitude of Democrats in general, once in public office, and of Obama, once squatting on White House premises. END OF LONG NOTE ABOUT DEMOCRATIC-CENTRALISM Back on track, In social-democracy --the most prevalent current in Europe-- government must OWN SELECT ways and SELECT means of SELECT production and SELECT distribution of SELECT goods and SELECT services in society, so that the government becomes the most prominent owner and employer in society and the strongest competitor to the private sector. In social-democracy, "democratic-centralism" is practiced masked behind a Potemkin Village --a façade-- of democracy. In democratic-socialism, where full-fledged socialism is adopted and sustained via "democracy" that in reality is but full-fledged "democratic-centralism", government must OWN ALL the ways and ALL the means of ALL the production and ALL the distribution of ALL the goods and ALL the services in society, so that the government becomes the only proprietor and only employer and the destroyer of the private sector. Obama moves more of America's life in that direction when, for example, nationalizing the student Direct Loan program (called "Direct" as to emphasize that those loans come "directly" from --in the minds of the likes of Obama-- the "true owner" of our, taxpayer's, money: the federal government.)
Posted by Maria-Erlinda on 03/25/2013

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