In a message dated 8/15/00 1:28:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
frnbulx@worldnet.att.net writes:
<< I for one have little problem with refraining from calling the politicians
myself - "Too many cooks spoil the broth" as they say; but we should all
keep our nose close to the kitchen door to see if something starts to
burn... >>
When I think of politics I am reminded of something Mark Twain said, "You can
straighten a worm, but the crook is in him and only waiting." In politics it
is an ongoing process to keep them straight. lol
Now regarding the above letter. There are times when it is best to use
diplomacy and there are times to use the power of the people, but they are
not mutually exclusive.
I'm not saying the MVPA is doing anything wrong in their diplomatic,
methodical and well reasoned approach. However, I can't help but think this
is the way an employee would approach his boss. You know....cautious and
polite so as not to burn bridges and keep a good working relationship.
Hopefully at some point, given enough encouragement and coaxing, the boss
might take pitty and give-in.
I can play this game and it has it's place, but the real success, especially
in the political arena, is fought and won by highly visible protests while
the humble diplomats work behind the scenes and then seal the deal won by
public protest. News articles, protest walks, letter campaigns, mass faxing,
bulk e-mailing, they all have their place because they are proven to be
effective! They work just as good, if not better than the methodical,
diplomatic approach, but again neither has to be mutually exclusive.
First off, you must recognize that government does not run like a business;
far from it. God help the business that runs like government...any government
! Rather, government is a political machine and in this case "the squeeky
wheel gets greased." A two fold approach, as noted above, often works quite
well. Sort of like good cop - bad cop... ala politics. So I would encourage
the diplomatic approach as contrary to my inclination as it may be. I feel
the government works for us and we make the demands, not the other way around
(don't say it, let me enjoy my delusion).
Consider this, you have your well reasoned, restrained legislative committee,
lead by it's chair. Then you have your political attack dogs, making life
miserable for the opposition and not operating under any banner per se, just
the angry voters speaking their collective mind! They are constantly
reminding the politician his job is on the line! The connection between
these two forces is best done when it's more or less invisible. That is a
lesson in itself for another time, but this stuff works folks. Been
there.....done that!
In US politics we also have our political action committees ( PAC's) that act
auto-nomously, yet on behalf of the larger organization they feel aligned
with or a mutual goal. It then becomes a coordinated strike with the others
of the same bent, all for one goal. These people are the most visible, our
front line, a proactive force, taking up the offensive whenever possible.
They are saying what the main organization would like, but often can't and
they are at the same time magnifying the perception of power. Perception....
such a valuable tool in politics.
Could the MVPA use the help of a "Political Action Committee"? Maybe.
However, a PAC is just one idea among many that are proven to work. I toss
it out now as just food for thought along with letter writing, e-mailing,
etc.. It goes along with the idea of a legislative committee, these are all
just basic tools of the political trade, nothing tricky. They are low
budget, simple, easy to create tools. But, still quite effective means of
accomplishing decent goals, good for the organization.
I would like to take credit for these ideas, but I would be about 80-90 years
too late, even though we are just coming around to talking and learning about
them. This is why when it comes to politics, I see the MVPA as somewhat
vulnerable, a babe in the woods, and we need to get educated fast. However,
for the rest of the rough and tumble world of politics, this is just the
norm, it's S.O.P. It's been S.O.P. for many, many decades for a lot of
organizations from the AARP to the NRA.
If not now, then someday it WILL be necessary to have an organized and
coordinated advocacy along with letter writing campaigns, faxing, e-mails,
even protest marches....... if we are to survive and keep our big green
things. Granted, maybe not now or even next year, but whether you like it or
not, we're are headed that way. At this point we really should be astute
enough to at least think about such things and discuss them at conventions.
We need to do this if we are to keep our present freedoms.
Non-incautious futuri
Jack "Capitalist Pig" Lee
Peoples Republik - Kaliforni
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Sep 02 2000 - 09:32:29 PDT