Duty Now For The Future

There are two emotions we cannot afford at this time:  Rage and Despair.

We can’t afford them because there is no direct action we can take immediately.

Rage, unable to find an outlet, will turn to despair.

And despair, allowed to fester, becomes depression, and depression becomes defeatism and apathy.

There is a difference between refraining from action as a deliberate strategy and being paralyzed.

The latter surrenders, the former waits for targets of opportunity.

We are just at the start of a long, ugly period in our history, the equivalent of the jim crow era after Reconstruction was prematurely ended.

How long it will last, we cannot guess.  How it will manifest itself is vague; we have a general outline of its scope and direction but right now there is nothing solid to work against.

That’s fine.  The battlefield is not defined yet.  This is not the time for sweeping direct action but a time to reassemble, to prepare, to reassure and to boost the morale of our friends, allies, and compadres. 

The best thing we can do right now is support one another while keeping our eyes open for targets of opportunity. 

We are like the Viet Cong, growing rice, raising families, living among the people, but always alert, always mindful, always ready.

When a target presents itself, strike.  When marginalized allies are attacked, respond. 

Until then, live life.

Live it joyously.

Boost one another’s spirits.

Sing and dance.

Paint portraits -- and houses!

Grow your gardens.

Love your children.

Love your neighbors.

Christian nationalists have long misunderstood, misappropriated, and misused Chapter 29 of Jerimiah.  They use this to justify aggression against those who have done them no harm; we shall use it to maintain our humanity in the face of brutality and bigotry.

Today is not the day for fighting; today is the day to prepare not for a single battle but for a long, drawn out war.

Do not despair, be happy to be alive in this time, in this place.

We few, we happy few…

They are the proverbial dog that caught the car.  In their selfish pursuit of power at the expense of others, they have seized all branches of government, all forms of media, all parts of the economy.

Good.

As the legendary Marine General Chesty Puller famously said:  “We are surrounded.  That simplifies the problem.  They can’t get away now.  We can shoot in every direction.”

The opportunities and targets will present themselves in due time.  Aim carefully, hit hard, then resume your daily lives.

We will prevail.

Every dedicated resistance does.

Live.

© Buzz Dixon