Leadership 101: THOMAS PAINE

[ROFCB Commander 664]

Today is Day Eighteen of the twenty-day "Leadership 101" series I'll be posting. This series expresses my thoughts on some topics important to the successful leadership of a local unit, and asks other unit leaders to post their thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the same subject in hopes that together we can help those who are starting from scratch with unit-building.

 

These are the times that try men's souls.

 

That statement is as factual now as it was more than 240 years ago, but that's not why I post it here at this time. I want you to consider it's author--who died in obscurity--and the impact he had not only on America but on mankind as a whole.

 

The author of those famous words that we've all heard was Thomas Paine. He was without doubt one of the most important figures of the American Revolution, and in reality one of the greatest propagandists of all time. Not bad for someone who made corsets for a living.

 

Paine was a rabble-rouser, the kind of man who could create trouble merely with his words. More importantly, he could stir men to action rather than just inflaming their passions but leaving them to stew. In fact, the quote above does not come from his most famous work, "Common Sense", which was published just as the nation was preparing to declare it's independence from Britain; no, it comes from "The American Crisis", his second most famous pamphlet, written while the war was ongoing and Washington's army was rapidly being depleted by expiring enlistments and desertions. The force of his words in "The American Crisis" and other editorials he'd written was sufficient to compel men to stay in the fight, and others to join.

 

This is the gift of Thomas Paine--the gift he was granted by his Creator, and the gift he shared with the world.

 

Now this isn't a history lesson (though I encourage you to do some research to learn more about the man who would be kingslayer). This is a practical message to leaders of Militia units who wonder day in and day out why nobody is showing up; why the enemy seems so much better organized, better funded, and able to attract so many more people.

 

The answer is Thomas Paine.

 

Ask yourself a serious question--how are you (as in, your organization) perceived within your community?

 

For most, the answer is "poorly". And for most, the answer to that is, and has been, to essentially hide. Even if you don't outright hide, you probably do make it a point to avoid engagement, to go only where you're likely to have the best of it, and to scurry away when the least resistance to your message is encountered. This is the way not only of our movement, but of our entire class of people. Most of us just want to be left alone. Those who want action don't really want it enough to be aggressive. And those who are aggressive are often subjected to everything from public shame to assault, arrest, or worse.

 

Sounds like the overall situation in the country right now, doesn't it?

 

The reason for that is because we have far too few Thomas Paine's in our midst. And sadly, our opposition has a monopoly on the "printing presses", and plenty of Thomas Paine's of their own to keep them churning out their propaganda.

 

But here's a secret that anyone who has ever been in media or advertising knows, and it's an important one--

 

--for as "influential" as the New York Times may be, it's got nothing on fat Uncle Bill at the Thanksgiving table.

 

Like the quote above, there's another axiom that you've heard a million times but may not have realized how important it is, especially now; "nothing beats word-of-mouth advertising".

 

Nothing beats word-of-mouth. Your neighbors are going to listen to, and trust, you far more than they are going to Brian Stelter or Jim Acosta. The difference between you and the shills on CNN is that they have sway over a wider audience, but you have more sway over the audience you command. If they can convince a thousand, but you can turn ten of those, then all we have to do is have a hundred more just like you and we win the battle...because while their audience is large, it's essentially fixed. They can only talk to so many, and only influence those they talk to. All we have to do is have enough of us out there talking to everyone we know, and the Leftist propaganda machine grinds to a halt.

 

You've probably never heard of Iva Toguri D'Aquino or Mildred Gillars, but they were the Brian Stelters and Jim Acostas of their time. These American-born ladies were propagandists of the highest order, working diligently for the enemies of America, trying to dampen spirits and entice Americans to give up the fight...in World War Two.

 

Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally.

 

Their audience was large, but limited. They were very good at what they did, but no matter how hard they tried they could not overcome the American spirit. Sure, there were people who were affected by their charm and polished routine, but just as often what they said angered people and caused them to work even harder to overcome. Sound familiar? Sound like the situation we have today?

 

No matter how strong the voices on the other side, they cannot defeat us if we won't be defeated. They cannot charm us if we won't be charmed. They cannot overcome the American will, the American way, the American spirit unless we let them. And the regular refrain, the everyday complaint we hear and often utter ourselves is that "the people are sheep".

 

Perhaps that's true, but sheep aren't selective. They'll follow whatever shepherd appears in front of them. If you and I allow that to be Brian Stelter then we will lose the messaging war, and the country along with it. We need a hundred American Patriots--our own versions of Thomas Paine--to counteract the effects of Stelter or Acosta. And they don't have to write a pamphlet, or appear on television. They don't have to climb onto a soapbox in the middle of the town square. All they have to do is "red pill" the people around them--their friends, neighbors, coworkers. But they cannot allow themselves to be shut down, to be afraid. The way the Left is working today is the same as Hitler and Stalin and all the worst of the worst have worked throughout history; they're shutting down their opposition's ability to speak, often through violence and intimidation. They lie, smear, lie some more, shout, vandalize, and when all else fails, they assault and kill.

 

Sound familiar???

 

How many of you own MAGA hats but are afraid to wear them in public? How many of you essentially hide your political affiliation--including your involvement in the Militia movement--for fear of being labeled "racist" or "hate-monger" or worse? If you aren't being called 'racist' by now, you simply aren't working hard enough. You already know you aren't racist, but that's the go-to smear of the day. If you haven't been painted with that brush, you're not near enough to the battle.

 

And if you lead a Militia Unit, all of this applies especially to you, because you simply must get your message out there to the people. They have to know that not only is there an alternative to what they're seeing on television today, but that it's an active and courageous alternative that is willing to stand when all others have fallen, fled, or failed. The people have to see the American spirit in action, or they will fall victim to and fall in behind Brian Stelter...who is nothing more than the paid mouthpiece for George Soros and the other people who hate America and want to see us fall.

 

And we will, unless we all channel our inner Thomas Paine. Paine put his words to paper, because that was the communication medium of the day. We have the internet, we have the lunchroom, we have the dinner table. And make no mistake--it isn't enough to sit on MyMilitia and preach to the choir. Sites like these are echo-chambers, filled with people who already understand and believe our message. The real fight is out there, in the comment sections of CNN news stories, in the realm of Twitter and Facebook and the other public propaganda palaces of the Left. Our message has to be heard there.

 

Consider this--Thomas Paine was the original keyboard warrior. This is why I preach consistently that you have to find and recruit keyboard warriors of your own; and you don't need dozens of them. One or two people who focus their efforts on combating the messaging of the enemies of America, and sowing our message instead, is plenty--because that will be multiplied by all of the units in our movement. And while those digital warriors are busy at work behind the scenes, you can (and must) be out front in the public eye, talking with the people of your community.

 

And what if your community is Portland, Oregon?

 

Then I propose to you this question; was someone from Spain as likely to be receptive to the "King George is the DEVIL" message as someone from England?

 

The answer is no. Your message will be heard best by the people who have experienced the tyranny and intimidation first-hand. If you're in or near one of the hot zones, you're going to take some heat yourself--but you'll be a lot more likely to inspire those people who have had enough, and to round them up to join our cause.

 

Your job as a unit leader is not only to accept and train those people who come to you, but to seek out and recruit those folks who don't even know your organization exists. You can't do that hiding behind a rock. Recruiting is not the work of the sniper; it's the work of the artillery man. Get out there and blow some shit up (I don't mean literally). Make a big noise. Cause some rumbling. Tear down some of the misconceptions, and destroy the lies and narrative of the Left.

 

it's what Thomas Paine would do.

 

Tomorrow--"Upping Your Game".

Edited July 31 by ROFCB Commander

[Cb85 136]

Type now or shot alone tomorrow