Welcome back to the special weekend edition of The One About...., known as The One About Book Club. Currently at The Book Club I'm taking an in depth look at The 48 Laws Of Power. Last week I offered an over view of the book, and delved into the first two chapters, or Laws. Today I’ll be looking at Laws 3 and 4, and tomorrow Laws 5 and 6.
Law Three: Conceal your Intentions
"Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late."
Well now here's something the Republicans excel at doing. And they don't do it through silence but rather through noise. They talk incessantly about their goals, but usually the goals they are talking about are not their true goals. The invasion of Iraq is perhaps the best most recent example. Frankly I’m not sure besides access to oil what Bushco.'s long term goals, but you can be certain it had nothing to do with the spread of democracy.
The same is true of Obama, but his problem is that he tends to say too little, which allows people to come up with their own stories about what his intentions are, which is dangerous. No action, no statement should be left open to interpretation.
Meanwhile for Progressives while we must figure out our agenda, we must also figure out how best to present our actions. Simply revealing our goals is not wise. Sometimes it is in our best interest only to focus on the simplest, easiest to accept parts of our agenda and build from there. Also it is high time that we start making use of sleeper agents. People within both the Conservative and Liberal wings of both parties who are in fact Progressives. They will have the freedom to do things in the short term that may be counter to our larger agenda, but are meant to set us up to be in a stronger position to advance our goals. Sometimes I wonder if that's not part of what's been going on with things like the bank bailout etc. Decisions that are so clearly anti citizen that it will serve to stir up the electorate. If that is the case though the question is what's the next move? Are there Progressive agents involved in the tea parties waiting to push them in an anti corporate directions? Are Progressives going to launch their own populist movement?
Reversal Of The Law:
This is honestly where Progressives as a group have the greatest strength and the Conservatives the greatest weakness. Generally speaking while we might be too quick to compromise at the first sign of resistance, Progressives generally are acting guided by their principles. Most Conservatives at the higher levels are quite frankly not. That is what has most thinking people upset with them. They see through the charade of Republican "principles" for the naked ambition it is. So when they reject something like Health Care Reform, many people know that they are not doing it on principle at all.
Law Four: Always Say Less than Necessary
"When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinx-like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish."
Ooooh. This is perhaps one of the hardest ones for Progressives and Liberals, and a big part of why we have such a bad image with average Working Class Americans. We love to talk. At great length. And the more resistance we feel we are getting to our message the more we talk. Now there's nothing wrong in the least with talking. But we need to be careful that what we are saying has value, and that we are not wasting our words and our time. Frankly over engaging with those who will not yield in the least little way only distracts and depowers. I see it all the time online, especially on Twitter. Liberal Progressives, who are constantly debating Right Wing Twit Jobs, as if they think they'll win some special prize for being the most patient, the most open minded etc. There comes quite simply a point where you are well advised to having said your piece, to stop talking. Perhaps to even withdraw from the field for a little bit.
Reversal Of The Law:
sigh Sometimes I honestly wonder if Liberal Progressives don't have our heads wired backwards. We seem to be prone to talk when we should be quiet and to be quiet when we should be not just talking, but shouting from the roof tops. The most famous example of this I would have to say is when Gore chose to sit back and act "Presidential" instead of pressing his case in the press as well as the courts. The result was that to most people he came across as detached and disinterested. In our 24 our info culture, too much silence pretty much equals political death.
The challenge is to find the right balance to strike. Not an easy one, but not one that is beyond us.
Alright gang, that's it for today. Check back tomorrow for the next two laws, 5 and 6. Until then.
Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!
(This article originally appeared at The One About...)