From: Mark Hedges <hedges@sirius.infonex.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 06:24:32 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: politics aren't all or nothing
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.96.970918145504.29000S-100000@sirius.infonex.com>
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My problem with the "it's hopeless, politicians are idiots" approach is
the same as my problem with Tim May's approach --- it predisposes one to
think that a revolution and possibly violence are the only way to change
the laws. It is an attitude which constructs an obstacle which may or may
not be there. I get really sick of the inane "nuke DC" talk. Call me a
naive optimist, or an idiot; I believe there's hope to wage and win the
battle politically, and I think there's actually hope for real democracy
without the memetics bullshit and the control and the manipulation. 

I got a personal reply from a Senator to whom I sent that last release
(the one interviewing Michael Wilson of 7Pillars). It wasn't one of those
autoresponders -- it just said "Thank you for your views" with bad text
formatting. At least it did get someone's attention. It might be negative
attention, but dammit, if they're going to look Wilson's reputation in the
face and not at least consider that they might be wrong then they've
obviously all been killed and government programmed clones installed in
their place. They're really well educated people, for the most part ---
somewhere along the line they must have gotten that stuff about
"considering that you are incorrect" and the rest. 

While skimming their web pages looking for information, I found one or two
senators and congress reps who actually offer PGP keys on their web pages! 
Senator Leahy, for one, is a vocal proponent of strong crypto. There is
hope! Some of those people do see "the light" on this issue. It's a matter
of getting the heavy-handed ones to just for a second consider the other
side's view. I think this particular release hits hard because shit,
Wilson's the virtual incarnation of Ares, and the warmongers may listen to
him. I think a lot of them know they're being manipulated, but they get
only a limited set of information from the "authoritative" defense and
intelligence people who give them the "secret classified briefings", and
they simply can't confront the spooks because they think they'd get kicked
from their positions of power in a few years. If they have in their
possession a testimony that a defense and intelligence _scholar_ says that
the spooks are wrong, they may be able to start turning the tide. 

Mostly, I just don't want to get nuked. I don't want the people in
Washington to get nuked. I don't want to be ostracized because a
disjointed group I'm associated with has members who support nuking
political opponents. "Nuke DC" is crap. "Ecash Assassination Politics" is
crap. The loss of faith in one's ability to convince other people with
rational discussion is crap. That whole attitude reminds me of the guys in
early grade school who beat up on me because I was a nerd. I refuse to
sink to their level. 

Mark Hedges


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