Any successful enterprise that is focused on changing the status quo must be well organized. Organization is even more critical when the agents of change represent a small portion of the affected body. In today’s political environment the “Tea Party” and liberty movements represent an active and determined minority that is working to restore some sanity into the United States’ government institutions. So, it follows that organization….and meetings are vital for planning and executing the blueprint. The clinker is that people of action loathe meetings. The patriots whose coordination and education are most important for advancing the cause are usually the most impatient with long meetings. On the other hand we have meeting organizers who successfully negotiate every detail for conducting informative meetings. As a result of the types of personalities involved, some groups are blessed with highly informative programs but have minimal impact for recruitment or campaigning. Others place yard signs and hold rallies with gusto but their meetings may not have much “meat.”
Clearly the organizations that populate the Liberty and Tea Party universe do not share perfectly matched goals or principles. We do, at least, share the same professed desire for constitutional, smaller government, lower taxes and dismantling of the Nanny State. We may differ on foreign policy, military deployment and a few social issues, but we are united in our fear and distrust of a too-powerful federal government. Common purpose should result in common effort. It seems that citizens who are concerned about the state of the nation will gravitate toward a group who shares their values, or….who invites them personally to participate. The new person’s personality may not be in sync with the approach of that particular group, and she or he will drift away with the impression that most reformist groups are similar. What might be considered is for each group to develop or appoint leadership that can capitalize on the personality strengths of the members. A new potential recruit could, therefore, find that the local group is diverse enough to provide real opportunities for her or him to be fully engaged.
If a group is too small to encompass the various types of effective leadership, cooperating with another patriot group may be fruitful. Forming an action or educational committee whose members span both groups could develop into a proficient organization that exceeds the ability of either group alone to be successful. The cooperative enterprise may attract others from the community who may not have felt comfortable with a particular group but is positively impressed by the activity of the coalition. It’s not necessary that the two groups merge, but merely work together when the individual skills of their members complement one another. We witness this dynamic for larger functions when two or more patriot groups join forces for a major event, so why not consider this strategy on a micro level.
The overriding issue is that our numbers are small and the task is huge. For the sake of the nation and future generations, it is vital that we add more dedicated people or maximize the numbers that we have at the present time. Sam Adams observed that an active vocal minority could prevail. He was correct. Witness the current state of our country. Our situation was envisioned and created by a dedicated minority of leftist zealots who refused to quit. They have been so successful that our energized liberty-loving minority does not have the luxury of decades to re-establish the republic. Yesterday is history. Today is when we must move forward. Tomorrow may be too late. Recruit, educate, train, unite and organize to preserve the Founder’s vision.
