Thread by @McAdooGordon

I know people are angry & upset. I am also. We face an existential crisis in our governance, our institutions & our values. And, it is made worse because our opponents are in denial about this or they know it & are for it. We must face this moment with courage & conviction./1

One thing we must do to conquer this challenge is renew our own commitments to our republican form of government, to our institutions & to our American values. Do not lose hope; do not lose faith in what we believe in; do not lose courage in the face of these adversities. /2

But we also need to be doing some things differently & be doing some new things. Each generation of Americans has had to adapt our great experiment to its times. We can as well. Our values & our institutions are true & good. They will endure if we defend them. /3

We must be steadfast to do this. We can not expect instant change. We must not confuse “battles” w/the “war.” We must accept that we will lose some battles along the way. There will be sacrifice & loss. We must persist thru it all to achieve victory despite them. /4

We have grown lazy in our republicanism because of our success & power & wealth. We have forgotten the hard lessons of our forebears. Some of our compatriots don’t yet see the battle or the threat. We must bring them along. Not all of us saw it either not so long ago. /5

There are many steps we must take to right our ship. Some are small, some vast. All must be grounded in our constitutional & republican values & our Constitution itself. Now is not the time to abandon them for quick solutions that seem necessary but actually destroy our values./6

Big picture, we need (1) new/reinvigorated leaders w/unwaivering commitment to the Constitution; (2) reform of some of our legal processes, especially concerning election law, which is outdated; (3) much more transparency in govt functions, especially in the courts. /7

Smaller picture, we need to stop being lazy about our engagement w/govt & republicanism: citizenship. We need to be more involved at all levels of governance. We’ve let govt run on auto-pilot too long. We must make room in our lives for this - all of us or as many as possible./8

As people who are right of center, we must speak up more in public life. Despite the cancel culture & the haters, we MUST set forth our views and our values publicly. Those in the middle & those who are uncommitted can’t join us if they can’t see & hear us. /9

If the general culture does not provide platforms for us or discourages us or prohibits us from using platforms, we must find other means to get our message out to the culture, including building our own platforms if necessary. We must refuse to be silenced. /10

Right now, you can do these things:

1. Get yourself a copy of the Constitution. Off the internet if nothing else. Read it. Read it often. Read it to your family. Display it in your home & at work. Read books or articles about it. Steep yourself in the Constitution.

/11

2. Read & learn all you can about counter-insurgency strategy & tactics. Our opponents’ behaviors are effectively an insurgency against republicanism & capitalism. Learning counter-insurgency ideas will help you formulate ways to fight against it. All peaceful. /12

Here is one example resource. 👇🏻/13

cvlesalfabegues.com/search/u-s-arm…

The govt & the Army have created multiple guides on this topic. For example,👇🏻👇🏻 Get these resources. They are free on the internet. Read them. Study them. Read other articles discussing them. Know as much as you can about this topic. /13

The essence of counter-insurgency is to support the existing institutions that people already believe in that support civilian rule, civil life, & peace. Doing that persuads the population not to support rebel groups yelling to “burn it all down.” Sound familiar? /14

The same kind of ideas can prevent a culture from losing its way. We often say it’s a battle for our institutions, but we aren’t actually acting like it is. We aren’t putting our money where our mouth is. We want to be let alone, esp. libertarians. This isn’t the time for it. /15

Learn about counter-insurgency & then pick something- anything - to make it a more republican institution. Join it or lobby it or write about it & insist it comply with constitutional values. Argue against any socialist policies & intolerance. Hold it publicly accountable. /16

3. Organize w/other like-minded folks near you & online nationally. Both. Big rallies in DC are great & part of an overall strategy, but they don’t get the work done by themselves. Form a local republican club. Notice -small r. It’s not a political party, it’s a civic group. /17

We used to be proud simply of having a republican form of govt, regardless of which party was in control at any one time. We need to get that back. It promotes representative democracy itself as a virtue. It causes our people to see we have core common principles & values./18

4. Identify your personal federal & state elected representatives. This is easy to do on the internet. Get their office numbers & email addresses. Put them in your Notes on your phone on one page. Every time something comes up, call & email them. /19

It doesn’t matter if they’re in your party. They represent you. They should hear from you. Even if all you do is say: “I’m concerned about (xyz). What are you doing about it? Will there be hearings?” you’re making a difference. Letting them govern on auto-pilot is a problem. /20

5. Talk to everyone you know about constitutional & republican values. Make it something you talk about easily & are known for. Free speech, freedom of conscience, tolerance, equal protection, due process, election integrity, separation of powers, federalism, etc. /21

You do not have to be a lawyer to know about & talk about these issues & values. These are the virtues of our nation. The citizenry should be discussing them. If a bunch of farmers & blacksmiths & traders & housewives could do it in 1775, what is our problem? /22

6. Read all you can about our founding, the Founding Fathers & Mothers, the Constitution & the Bill of Rights. Learn as much as you can about them. Also, about Lincoln & his views. If anyone ever loved the Union more than he did, I don’t know who it would be. Listen to him. /23

“If the union of these States, and the liberties of this people, shall be lost, it is but little to any one man of fifty-two years of age, but a great deal to the thirty millions of people who inhabit these United States, and to their posterity in all coming time.”

I know folks want to know what we’re to do about the election. What I have to say on that is not yet ready to send out into the world. But, for now, I thought I’d say these things to you & here sum up: Hold on tightly to our Constitution. The answers are there. /25

Side tweet: if you feel you just “have to” be “doing something” right now, then work on yourself. That will benefit you no matter what comes. In that regard I recommend to you retired Navy Seal @jockowillink.

Podcasts & books.

amazon.com/dp/1250274435/…