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POLITICS
Poking The Bear
The function of a civil resistor is to provoke a response and to keep provoking until the authorities respond or change
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I am not a pacifist in my heart. In my soul, I harbor murderous rage, but I have studied enough human history and behavioral psychology to know that violence begets violence and real change only comes from thoughtful opposition and strategic planning. Wars end when one side runs out of bullets, bodies, or the will to fight, not because both sides suddenly agree.
I have long been a vocal critic of the Democratic Party’s ability to be an effective opposition party. Whereas the GOP has, in recent years, been reduced to the party of chaos, losing all institutional memory on how to govern, the Democrats seem happy to sit on their hands, patiently waiting for their return to power, all the while bemoaning the damage being done while they are gone. They point and say, “See? See how good you had it with us? Give us more money so we can get back in there.” Democrats out of power aren’t in opposition, they’re just temporarily furloughed.
In the meantime, they have become the mirror image of their opposition. “Only we can save you,” they seem to say, and since…
