“With us or against us…”
Five simple words that draw a line in the sand. Black and white, no shades of gray. As if things were ever that simple.
Those words have been used to describe America’s stance on the war on terror, but I’m not going to talk about that today. I’m going to talk about the Republican Party itself.
My introduction to the Duval County Republican Executive Committee was the meeting of July 21, 2008. What I saw that night appalled me. Republicans were actually telling Republicans they weren’t welcome if they didn’t follow the party line. Change is not an option for them. So those who seek change, despite being Republicans themselves (and truer Republicans, by the party’s long-time principles), are put in the “against us” category. This is absolute nonsense. We all know that.
You would think this was an isolated incident, but it wasn’t. Such an atmosphere – “with us or against us” – grew not only within the Republican Party of Duval County, but it became very noticeable in the Republican Party of St. Johns County, and all across the state of Florida. It came to a head in July of this year (2009) when the Republican Party of Florida held grievance hearings against several Republicans, including RLCNEF Chairman John Stevens and RLCFL Chairman Will Pitts.
One of my first reactions to all of this was anger, that such a division would be sought and forced. But I quickly realized, that isn’t the answer. Instead, I beseech you all to flush any anger you feel over such sentiments. One of the most intriguing things I’ve seen related to Ron Paul was the reversed letters markedly spelling out “LOVE” in “REVOLUTION.” You can’t have love with anger. That is one absolute that does exist.
So then, if not anger, what? I would first suggest sympathy. The ultimatum stems from a lack of knowledge, of understanding of our message. They are uninformed, and that lack of information leads them to fear groups like the Republican Liberty Caucus. Hiding behind masks of false bravado, they try to instill this same fear in other party members, but with messages such as, “They’ll split the party!” or “They’ll drive out the centrist Republicans!” Yes, this is essentially the same politics of fear that the Democrat party uses to maintain its own power.
So show them sympathy and compassion, and seek to enlighten them. If they will not listen, turn to others to enlighten them instead. If they still insist on turning this into an “us versus them” situation, let the situation grow beyond their ability to control it. But never forget, the minute you lower yourself to using their tactics against them is the moment we’ve lost.
We can change this party, change its mentality, and from there change the nation. But in order to do that, we must be truly different. In the meantime, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. A cornered beast fights that much stronger with its desparation. What we’ve seen so far are just the first signs of that desperation.
There is no ultimatum in the Revolution. Conservative or libertarian, black or white, Christian or Pagan, or even none of the above. We will see this one out through a message of inclusiveness, understanding, and enlightenment.
In the meantime, forgive those who do not understand, and seek to help them rather than letting them draw your ire.
-Erik Setzer
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November 17th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Well written Erik!
That is exactly what we are doing. I find it ironic that “change” is a polarizing word. It is a good word for Democrats. Republican hate the word because it truly means something negative with the current Administration. (And, it has proved to be bad so far!)
Internally, the Republican Party fears change and dubs that change “organizational terrorism.” Seriously, a return to libertarian conservatism – the party’s original principles – is considered terrorism? I’m going to have to call the fear mongering/b.s. card on that one. Conservatism is key to winning and to gaining the faith of the people.
But there are many who are starting to see the truth and ignore the misrepresentations about the RLC. We (the RLC) are not trying to destroy anything, rather, our goal is to spread the truth about Constitutional principles and a return to them. We wish to grow in numbers by those who are willing to stand by conservative principles.
That is some good change!
You are right, we must be understanding with those who only know us through myths, lies, and misrepresentations. In the end, the truth will be light and it will be hard to miss it.