What part of "focus on the mission" is so hard for everyone to understand? Of purges and the "fuhrerprinzip."
General statement of my own personal policy, learned in watching militia groups tear themselves apart since the early Nineties:
I've seen many a "leadership coup" in the liberty movement during the past 20 years based on the ego-driven "my way or the highway" attitude on the part of otherwise gifted natural leaders that often devolves into nothing more sophisticated than the "fuhrer prinzip" in action and I've had about enough of them. The seductive thing for a leader to do when faced with principled opposition in his/her own organization over differing opinions is to enforce "military discipline" and unwilling compliance even if it drives talented and sincere folks away or even splits the group (often because the leader has run out of ideas and simply lost patience). What part of "focus on the mission" is so hard for everyone to understand?
I am currently watching two groups in different parts of the country go through this failure to learn from other people's mistakes, and while I pretend to no sense of control over these groups or their leaders and activists, I can tell you that if such a leader fails to persuade volunteers to a particular course of action and submits to his/her own failure by issuing orders at the risk of defeating his/her own mission, then they do so without my approval or future participation. There should be no misunderstanding about that. It is not my job to pick winners and losers in faction fights. It IS my job to tell folks when I believe they can do better and to warn them that they are endangering the larger cause they claim to be fighting for.
Thus endeth the lesson.
4 comments:
Unfortunately, the majority of "militias" in the country are a joke, and the members are there more for their status as a "Member of the militia", and the "Look, I'm a Kernal" https://masondixontactical.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/rank-duty-position-and-authority-or-not-being-a-colonel-of-corn/ than to really make a difference, and be a speedbump against societal threats.
MDT
Folks focus on the mission,Mike, but they forget WHAT the mission IS. That IS what they end up arguing about!
Focus on TRUTH, always, and the mission will reveal itself. Sometimes, two opposing truths will come to pass, creating a natural dichotomy that must be worked through honestly. Our founders recognize that this happens in life and relented to the fact that there is but one overriding decision that must control.....individual liberty. Of course, in keeping with their recognized truth that all powers must be checked....they entered the personal responsibility factor to check Liberty.
It can be painful to watch two entities fall victim to the corruptive nature of authority over others. Such is the necessary evil of a command structure. This is especially true when multiple entities bring those opposing (seemingly) truths to the table. Unfortunately, when some lose sight of the ultimate truth- that there is REALLY only ONE "commander", Our Creator, and they try to set themselves on par with Him as "above" all the rest and infallible....yet another truth exposes themselves. Whom that "commander" serves comes to light. They become a controller rather than a commander. They just call themselves commanders to hide a truth.
The instant a leader FORCES a directive - against the will of those tasked with carrying it out.....the mission is toast but worse yet the truth is too. Even if followed, the group is then in its death throes. Real leaders understand that people take "orders" because they WANT to do what they are told they just needed to be told to do it. Real leaders are those with courage to TELL the truth. The instant this "advice" turns to dictation- it's over. Respect is gone and ALL missions then fail. Why? Because the real truth has been abandoned at that point. Some just refuse to learn.....
Such is the human nature ... we like to destroy things; even if they are good things
What everyone most understand is that when the shooting starts those that survive will have figured out who was to lead and who was to follow. In the mean time it's really only fun & games.
Post a Comment