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this was a great article. loved that you cited fiona hill--i've found her analysis to be some of the very best since this war began. eager to find out more about ur proposed solutions. as regards national politics, i wonder who from gen x / millennia will be next. we need someone who knows how to move in a hostile information space. i like jeff jackson.

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Thanks for reading and commenting Joe! I agree it would be ideal to get some fresh blood in leadership that might be more nimble and innovative in the info space. Cheers

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This makes total sense to me; thank you for writing this! I'm sure this makes total sense to Jim Stewartson & others immersed in these ideas too.

Any ideas how to mobilize/engage people from the ground up? How to explain Hybrid World War III/Active Measures?...explain this to everyone we know (including friends, family, but also educators, media, artists, musicians, etc., etc). Maybe a film by Billy Ray or Adam McKay??

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Feb 16, 2023·edited Mar 20, 2023Author

Thank you Jeanne! And great questions/suggestions - McKay movie would be amazing!

Please keep reading - I have some ideas for your questions in the next pieces

Working on persuadable friends and family is key, I think. I talk a bit about that in my next piece on psyche war and appropriate attitudes for healing and strengthening in the following piece, ‘I love this place’ ethos. We need to have faith that doing our part on a small, local level is meaningful - thats democracy after all.

I really like the idea of trying to inspire the storytellers and artists to tell this story in as many formats to appeal to as many different personalities as possible. Obviously my reach is limited here, but trying to do whatever small part I can, even if just one or two carry forward these ideas, they might influence many more. If you continue reading on, you’ll notice this figure Joseph Campbell is a huge influence for me. His work and mythical call-to-arms after ww2 to issue healthy unifying mythology was an inspiration to so many storytellers and artists in the beat and hippy generations and beyond, from Jerry Garcia to Alan Watts to George Lucas and many others - these artists and storytellers have helped inoculate our culture against nihilism/fascism, but not enough more recently. Part of what I’m trying to do with my writing is expose as decent artists/storytellers to Campbell’s amazing work, as it is powerful in its clarity about how these interact with us individually and on the collective consciousness of our culture. Understanding his teaching might help artists and storytellers craft their work more effectively and movingly, perhaps more connected to the spiritual. And Campbell’s work is just really awesome spiritually regardless, truly studying it will help to inoculate individuals against the vacuity of post truth nonsense and nihilism, all that garbage.

Positive messaging and inspiration is absolutely key, we risk losing using only fear of the bad guys. We guarantee winning by being better than the bad guys, demonstrating we’re the team you want to be on, supporting one another, using our strong suits to strengthen our families, partnerships, communities. Most fundamentally, the antidote to fascism is functional democracy and strong community, not more domestic conflict.

For our democracy to be functional and sustainable, the #1 thing that is needed at the moment is earnest application of justice of J6 leadership. So we need to find ways to mobilize to demand this occurs, to demand accountability for Garland’s DOJ, whose failure to take action is starting to reek of complicity. Any ideas on that front? That one makes me so frustrated, but on a more positive note, the further we get from Trump’s presidency, things are starting to seem healthier to me domestically.

🍻

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Accountability, YES!! So many calling for it and we can't let up! Glenn Kirschner & Team Justice, Sarah Kendzior, Andrea Chalupa, Mary Trump and her Nerd Avengers, and so many more...Adam Schiff even -- how do we break through??

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Well written. And this analysis holds up very well with the passage of time. We are observing the same world. It was a good idea to re-post. This has been happening a while. Thanks.

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Thank you!

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I am reading this a year after you published it. Every bit is completely relevant today. Expertly done!

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