[TRG] An Open Letter to the SFP and the ARP

Day 3,232, 14:43 • Published in USA USA • by 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