I am an oathkeeper, and I love to hear Stewart Rhodes speak. However, I believe that most people, even those who consider themselves “Oathkeepers” will not stand in that moment.
It is very easy to see the cliff’s edge in hindsight; and so very difficult to stop just before it.
It is not cowardice that stops the patriot; it is conformity.
We all still live in our communities, regardless of their slow slide into the abyss. The american redoubt movement is a great idea, that may actually be the place that can allow the patriot to stand, even a little early.
Mayer’s book is a great piece of writing, and I’ve quoted from it more than once in past broadcasts. There is some truth in what you’re saying. I covered that in the Episode titled ‘Would Americans Detain Americans?’ The answer is “Yes.” Some will.
I believe (and hope… and pray) that patriots will rise to the occasion when the time comes. It’s not cowardice that stops the patriot, and it’s not always conformity. I believe it’s largely due to the lack of leadership. We need leadership like we had in the days when America was born. Those leaders are out there. Some are ready to lead now. As for others… God is preparing them.
Redoubt NOW!
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?… The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation…. We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Nice to see that you posted the trailer of Gray State! While, most of the world looks forward to becoming a happy slave of the ‘State’ and even those that would never even entertain the thought of giving up their chance for more “Bread & Circuses”. I, along with others that choose to keep their sworn oath (excerpt)-
‘I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;’ .
At the end of Active Service, the question never comes up if one is asked to ‘rescind’ his or her oath. It is one that follows you for a life-time. Wether you choose to keep and uphold it, is one of personal commitment and honor. I’ve never shelved it…
I’ve read and heard comments in the past, about those that would roll over and not stand… remembering the history of; Those in the Warsaw Ghetto…they never took such an oath and yet after seeing what happened to some of their friends & family…took ‘a stand’.
Some folks need a wake-up call to get it, some don’t. I’d hope that those here do take seriously, what could be coming soon like the trailer for “Gray State” depicts. The FEMA Camps aren’t for rest, relaxation, and reminiscing about the “Good ‘Ole days” before they took your weapons & your freedom away…Oh, and lest I forget; your big screen T.V., sports, beer and Doritos…
You are absolutely right about the need for leadership; and the need for a rally point in the redoubt. (We are on our way ASAP.). The difficulty of this leadership will be to determine when we have reached that trigger point. Where is the tripwire? The “FEMA camp” scenario is too easy. It is too late by then.
We need to begin to ask when and why we resist as a group. “If we do not hang together; we will most assuredly, hang separately.”
It will happen in waves and stages. There is no “We” without communications though. Remember that. There are only a whole lot of individuals out there somewhere unless they can communicate.
You raise a good point about the “Trigger Point.” We all know in our own hearts and minds what our own triggers will be, and as you pointed out, it’s the FEMA Camp, or some other obvious event. If the founding fathers were here today, they’d be asking us just what the H*^# are we waiting for! History is rife with examples of the oppressed waiting, and waiting, and waiting to respond, and when they do, their victories come at an extremely high price. If your trigger is too soon, you’re just another extremist who got arrested last week, and everyone goes back to what they were doing. It’s all about the timing. I’m referring of course, to the Gray State Movie scenario.
I also think that in the end, it will be one of those things where one by one, people start saying, “Alright, I’ve had enough.” That will be different for everyone, that’s why it will come in stages. And you have to be encouraged and endure. Remember that it’s only when victory is in sight that the timid will join the Patriot. And most are timid, even in the American Redoubt. Many of those who ‘claim’ not to be among the timid, will be ferociously patrolling the perimeters of their 40 acre ‘retreats’, unwilling to join in the struggle going on outside the confines of their personal kingdoms, and unwilling to help push back the oppressors who will engulf them as well. And they’ll never fire a shot, because their end will come from a UAV-launched missile fired from 12 miles away. Fodder, living in blissful false security. The Zombie Apocalypse is a fun fantasy, but we have no historical precedence for it. For tyranny, the examples are abundant.
Well said. I think I need to add something, though:
At the end of the day, this sort of struggle is more about ‘hearts and minds’ and not about bullets. I think a big issue that may hold people back from joining in when they are needed is not so much lack of courage, but doubt. Doubt that things are as bad or dire as some claim. Doubt that “extreme” measures are called for right now. This is understandable. The solution is education. Get the facts out in front of people. Don’t exaggerate, even if you think its or a good cause, because the most valuable commodity we can have is credibility with the general population.
Become the group that people trust more than TPTB, or the mainstream media. When you achieve that, you have strength. To do this, you use the modern equivalent of the printing press – the Internet, email, blogs, radio, etc..
Hearts and Minds actions
It’s likely that the government ‘safety net’ is going to become unravelled. This is an opportunity for some patriot group to step in and create some good will through food drives for the hungry, or delivering firewood to the elderly, or even something as simple as giving someone a lift into town for a doctors appointment. It doesn’t need to be flashy, it just needs to be real, and it needs to be visible to those being helped. If after you’ve established good will at your local level, TPTB continue to make claims about those ‘dangerous patriot groups’ they will be destroying their own credibility, as the people listening will know better from their own experience.
It’s the nature of government to want a monopoly on all things it does, even if it does them badly. If you become successful at helping people, it’s likely that local government may try to stop you with some sort of code restriction. If it’s a reasonable issue, fix it and get back to work. If it’s absurd, then they have given you a gift – the means to show how feckless and “anti-people” they are. Work with local press and radio to publicize the issue to show how counter productive the local officials are. You will have improved your credibility and damaged theirs. If you embarrass them badly enough, they will compromise.
If they offer you a special deal to get around the problem, don’t take it. You’ve got the moral high ground, don’t give it up. Instead, challenge them to why they should be in a position grant waivers when the law it self is wrong. The exact approach will depend on particulars, so I can’t give any further advice on that.
I am an oathkeeper, and I love to hear Stewart Rhodes speak. However, I believe that most people, even those who consider themselves “Oathkeepers” will not stand in that moment.
Consider the book “they thought they were Free: The Germans 1933-45 by Milton Mayer”
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.html
It is very easy to see the cliff’s edge in hindsight; and so very difficult to stop just before it.
It is not cowardice that stops the patriot; it is conformity.
We all still live in our communities, regardless of their slow slide into the abyss. The american redoubt movement is a great idea, that may actually be the place that can allow the patriot to stand, even a little early.
Keep up e good work; and God Bless
Mayer’s book is a great piece of writing, and I’ve quoted from it more than once in past broadcasts. There is some truth in what you’re saying. I covered that in the Episode titled ‘Would Americans Detain Americans?’ The answer is “Yes.” Some will.
I believe (and hope… and pray) that patriots will rise to the occasion when the time comes. It’s not cowardice that stops the patriot, and it’s not always conformity. I believe it’s largely due to the lack of leadership. We need leadership like we had in the days when America was born. Those leaders are out there. Some are ready to lead now. As for others… God is preparing them.
Redoubt NOW!
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?… The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation…. We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Nice to see that you posted the trailer of Gray State! While, most of the world looks forward to becoming a happy slave of the ‘State’ and even those that would never even entertain the thought of giving up their chance for more “Bread & Circuses”. I, along with others that choose to keep their sworn oath (excerpt)-
‘I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;’ .
At the end of Active Service, the question never comes up if one is asked to ‘rescind’ his or her oath. It is one that follows you for a life-time. Wether you choose to keep and uphold it, is one of personal commitment and honor. I’ve never shelved it…
I’ve read and heard comments in the past, about those that would roll over and not stand… remembering the history of; Those in the Warsaw Ghetto…they never took such an oath and yet after seeing what happened to some of their friends & family…took ‘a stand’.
Some folks need a wake-up call to get it, some don’t. I’d hope that those here do take seriously, what could be coming soon like the trailer for “Gray State” depicts. The FEMA Camps aren’t for rest, relaxation, and reminiscing about the “Good ‘Ole days” before they took your weapons & your freedom away…Oh, and lest I forget; your big screen T.V., sports, beer and Doritos…
Stay Zeroed.
JJS,
You are absolutely right about the need for leadership; and the need for a rally point in the redoubt. (We are on our way ASAP.). The difficulty of this leadership will be to determine when we have reached that trigger point. Where is the tripwire? The “FEMA camp” scenario is too easy. It is too late by then.
We need to begin to ask when and why we resist as a group. “If we do not hang together; we will most assuredly, hang separately.”
TNT
It will happen in waves and stages. There is no “We” without communications though. Remember that. There are only a whole lot of individuals out there somewhere unless they can communicate.
You raise a good point about the “Trigger Point.” We all know in our own hearts and minds what our own triggers will be, and as you pointed out, it’s the FEMA Camp, or some other obvious event. If the founding fathers were here today, they’d be asking us just what the H*^# are we waiting for! History is rife with examples of the oppressed waiting, and waiting, and waiting to respond, and when they do, their victories come at an extremely high price. If your trigger is too soon, you’re just another extremist who got arrested last week, and everyone goes back to what they were doing. It’s all about the timing. I’m referring of course, to the Gray State Movie scenario.
I also think that in the end, it will be one of those things where one by one, people start saying, “Alright, I’ve had enough.” That will be different for everyone, that’s why it will come in stages. And you have to be encouraged and endure. Remember that it’s only when victory is in sight that the timid will join the Patriot. And most are timid, even in the American Redoubt. Many of those who ‘claim’ not to be among the timid, will be ferociously patrolling the perimeters of their 40 acre ‘retreats’, unwilling to join in the struggle going on outside the confines of their personal kingdoms, and unwilling to help push back the oppressors who will engulf them as well. And they’ll never fire a shot, because their end will come from a UAV-launched missile fired from 12 miles away. Fodder, living in blissful false security. The Zombie Apocalypse is a fun fantasy, but we have no historical precedence for it. For tyranny, the examples are abundant.
John Jacob,
Well said. I think I need to add something, though:
At the end of the day, this sort of struggle is more about ‘hearts and minds’ and not about bullets. I think a big issue that may hold people back from joining in when they are needed is not so much lack of courage, but doubt. Doubt that things are as bad or dire as some claim. Doubt that “extreme” measures are called for right now. This is understandable. The solution is education. Get the facts out in front of people. Don’t exaggerate, even if you think its or a good cause, because the most valuable commodity we can have is credibility with the general population.
Become the group that people trust more than TPTB, or the mainstream media. When you achieve that, you have strength. To do this, you use the modern equivalent of the printing press – the Internet, email, blogs, radio, etc..
Hearts and Minds actions
It’s likely that the government ‘safety net’ is going to become unravelled. This is an opportunity for some patriot group to step in and create some good will through food drives for the hungry, or delivering firewood to the elderly, or even something as simple as giving someone a lift into town for a doctors appointment. It doesn’t need to be flashy, it just needs to be real, and it needs to be visible to those being helped. If after you’ve established good will at your local level, TPTB continue to make claims about those ‘dangerous patriot groups’ they will be destroying their own credibility, as the people listening will know better from their own experience.
It’s the nature of government to want a monopoly on all things it does, even if it does them badly. If you become successful at helping people, it’s likely that local government may try to stop you with some sort of code restriction. If it’s a reasonable issue, fix it and get back to work. If it’s absurd, then they have given you a gift – the means to show how feckless and “anti-people” they are. Work with local press and radio to publicize the issue to show how counter productive the local officials are. You will have improved your credibility and damaged theirs. If you embarrass them badly enough, they will compromise.
If they offer you a special deal to get around the problem, don’t take it. You’ve got the moral high ground, don’t give it up. Instead, challenge them to why they should be in a position grant waivers when the law it self is wrong. The exact approach will depend on particulars, so I can’t give any further advice on that.
You get the picture.