[TRG] An Open Letter to the SFP and the ARP
J.A. Lake
Please discuss in the comments section, let's finally get this sorted out. Here's what I have to say:
To the SFP:
I have nothing but the utmost respect and the highest regards for those of you reading this. Since 2014 many of you have been my friends and worked with me on many projects, from articles to legislation.
For those of us who yet consider our party the SFP, this is a perilous time. Our elections for the Chairmanship were tampered with, prompting Tom Cauchon to remove himself from the race. We've seen our name changed, our identity twisted into something new, our Congressional primary was in some cases disregarded, our Constitution in many cases disregarded, our customs called anachronistic, and our community torn apart over this situation.
This is in no way ideal. In fact, it is unacceptable. For years we have governed ourselves democratically, and that democracy is now being undermined in exchange for being "viable" on a national scale. None of us can deny that we've wanted to be able to push our members towards their goals, be they Congressional seats or cabinet positions. Indeed, we must accept that in many cases we've made this vastly more difficult for ourselves.
We did so democratically, however. At no time have we ever embarked on a course of action the majority of the party disagreed with. There have been disgruntled minorities, to be sure- I recall distinctly the minor exodus of members after the December Revolution. That is, I believe, what lies at the core to opposition to the current regime. We, the members of the SFP, feel marginalized within our own party for many of the reasons above.
Never let this outrage burn out. True revolution begins and ends with the individual. We must each feel that fire within us, that yearning for change and that insatiable desire for equality and opportunity free from the toxic, stifling atmosphere that has dominated national politics for years.
That said, we must listen as well as talk. Don't get me wrong- what's happened in the past week is unacceptable. However, change is not a bad thing on its own. Perhaps its time we did revise the Constitution, the Revolutionary Committee, many of these things. We cannot double down on things that don't work or work less efficiently than the alternatives simply because the idea came from outside the Party. Take what we've experienced this week and learn from it. We can grow from this.
To the ARP:
I'm aware there are some who take hope in the changes, some that feel that changing to the American Revolution Party is a blessing. There is hope that we may at last be allowed to join the ranks of the national politicians.
I have a confession to make. I could not vote for the ARP today. The façade being bolted on to the face of the SFP in exchange for the opportunity to join the political community is not the party I have been a part of since almost the beginning. How could anyone expect a longtime SFP member to vote for this thing that no longer even has the same name?
Guard against ambition for ambition's sake. History is replete with stories of people who sacrificed everything to get what they felt they truly wanted only to find the victory to ring hollow. Would it be worth becoming a T5 clone for a medal and the stress of dealing with the Presidency? What good is it to have a massive slate of Congresspeople if we agree with the other parties for the sake of viability?
Change must be undertaken in the SFP as it always has been undertaken in the SFP. We discuss, we consider, and we reach consensus. We do not do it like this. The SFP is not a party lead around like a beast of burden, we are a collective that makes decisions as a group. Change can be ponderous, but it happens nonetheless and with the full support of the Party.
I understand frustration with the Party. Last fall I was frustrated with the SFP- we were running a pro-dictatorship candidate, an action I felt was unconscionable considering our stance on dictatorship. So blinded were we by the possibility of an SFP CP that we were willing to compromise that core tenant of our party. Given time, though, we have coalesced, we have discussed, and while we still oppose the dictatorship we are not going to shatter the party over it.
I propose that the SFP will reach that point with the changes proposed today. A top-down approach will only meet resistance. We must work on a bottom-up approach. We can do all these things together.
I urge our PP once again to reset the party name, the party info blurb, to remove this undemocratic endorsement for the CP race, and to return our logo to the rightful one. In essence, wipe the slate clean.
In exchange I ask the Revolutionary Committee to cease antagonistic behavior towards the PP. If the above conditions are met, consider it an olive branch. Agree to work together.
The problems we face are born of a joint inability to communicate. I am not privy to the Revolutionary Committee's discussions this month, but I have heard that the Committee has dug its heels in and ceased to communicate just as our PP has ceased to communicate and embarked upon a program of rapid, unilateral change.
To the PP directly I say: You can have the changes you desire, but only if you work with the Party.
To the Party directly I say: Only by speaking can you make your voices heard. If the PP is willing to work with us, I say we should be willing to work with him.
Thank you for reading, my friends and comrades.
J.A. Lake
Comments
[TRG]An Open Letter
https://www.erepublik.com/en/article/2614581/1/20
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You guys are going to give me carpal tunnel 😛
Well done JA!
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Well said, J.A., well said. I have been communicating directly with the PP. I have volunteered to help with any Democratic change. Democratic changes brought on by a consent of the WHOLE party. What I have seen is an uncompromising, unilateral, unconstitutional and undemocratic change. While some citizens find it easy to accuse Wooky Jack and believe he tampered with the vote, they become insulted if you point out the same could be suspected of them. The moment the PP got any resistance from some of the oldest and most active members of the party he took his ball and went home.
Without discussion, there can be no change. I personally have discussed but apparently was not heard. I am still willing to talk but compromise is a two-way street.
I hope for this letter to start this whole sordid mess over again and hopefully reunite everyone into the SFP proper. We can work together, we must work together!
URSA FI!
SFP Solidarity!
well written
o7
It seems the SFP/ARP is a dying party. If anything, Cerb came to power because of systemic issues in the party. There is always room in the Feds.
P/H
No, this issue arose because of a screwed up election and a PP who knows nothing about how the SFP operates as a party. Come October 16, if all goes well the SFP should be restored to its former glory.
I'd aim a little higher.
At this point restoration is ideal. We can work from there. Whatever is happening now is going to fracture the party.
We found a stray dog once but got rid of him because he'd always eat cat shit from the litter box. I advise you do the same.
Solidarity ❤
JA Lake for Chairman?
JA Lake could do fine, but Tom Cauchon could do very well too.
Tom is not going to.
I'll run if yous guys want me to run 😛
Well said! Change is not a bad thing, but we must do it together. Without consent changes won't last.
Cooperation must come from two sides. Cerb doesn't answer my private messages, despite I am constructive. I am done with Cerb now, but when he would wipe the slate clean I am up for cooperation.
You can't say you didn't try, then.
OhFU was denied guest Congressional candidates by the ARP for the same reason as the Feds gave-- we couldn't guarantee bringing enough votes to the table.
ARP tallied 67 votes-- just over half its own membership number.
NOT ONE vote came from the OhFU. that's not only 15 down for ARP (or Feds), but 15 up for WTP.
so, yeah.. maybe we're only good for a small supporting vote, our vote of no-support is substantial.
Hey! I thought the Feds were supposed to be the terrible elitists that don't help small parties!!!
Up yours, ARP. Get your own thing
Sorry to hear that he did that to you. Personally I like the OhFU gang and this just makes me sadder about our current situation. Once we fix this mess be assured that SFP will be friendly again.
Custer, that's only half the story.
You were denied SFP listing because you didn't even give tokenistic support to SFP ideals and principles.
You were denied SFP listing because we never saw your minions anywhere. They didn't sign-in. They didn't vote. They didn't speak.
In exchange for giving slots on our roster we got...nothing really. This election was the third, I think, where we did not run OFU candidates. The vote drop is unrelated to the OFU issue.
well, that doesn't much help future OhFU/SFP relations..
Maybe not, but the first step towards fixing a problem is acknowledging it and open discussion of the key issues.
I don't know what sugar pills people gave you, but the two points I wrote above were the two key issues that settled the matter for the RevComm when it came up for discussion.
Well said.
And with all that said, I believe the only recompense for this is restoring the party name and Cerb drops from this month's race. This was a domestic PTO of a long standing e American party.
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