Rules For Patriots - Rule #12: Don't be afraid

This is a continuation of my Rules for Patriots series, designed as a patriot's guide to success in fighting the creeping progressivism infecting America. It's a conservative response to Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. This series is a lengthy read, but it is very important to understand.  This one happens to be a video, so it's more digestible. Being able to use this approach, as a team, will simplify, streamline and expedite achieving our patriotic objectives.

Links to previous rules: Rule #11 (Participate But, Don't Participate), Rule #10 (Be prepared), Rule #9 (Screw purity tests), Rule #8 (Size matters), Rule #7 (Be unpredictable), Rule #6 (Set Objectives, Build Momentum, Succeed, Move On), Rule #5 (Improve your arsenal), Rule #4 (Play Offense), Rule #3 (Don't Do It Alone), Rule #2 (Get Involved, Stay Involved) and Rule #1 (Know your facts).

Rule 12.  Don't be afraid

In many respects, Rule #12 is the most important rule because without it, common sense, patriotism and liberty are all doomed. Rule #12: Do not be afraid.  That might sound like a no-brainer for many, but there are layers of not being afraid.  It is one thing to not be afraid of the progressive nightmare that is happening because you have faith in the American people, or any people, to do something about it. It is another thing entirely to not be afraid to get involved (Rule #2) and do something about it yourself while you still can. That point is as much a sermon to myself as it is to anyone else.  Being unafraid to to talk among like-minded people is one thing, but being unafraid to organize with them and do something that makes a difference will, inevitably, invite criticism and negativity from some quarters of society.  This is where being unafraid matters; be don't be afraid to make the effort to make a change in society. Do not be afraid of resistance, do not be afraid of failure.  The only sure way to fail, is to do nothing.  Do something while you still have the freedom and ability to do so.  The alternative is to accept things as they are, or as they are progressing.  If anything, that is what you should fear.  In that light, your own inaction is the greatest danger.

That is not to say do not have faith in God or in the common sense of your fellow man.  Faith is a good thing when it is backed up by action and effort.  Without action, there is only failure.  Be afraid to not take action, do not be afraid to take harsh criticism and face a backlash.  Those things will come when you stand up.  But so too will like minded voices if you seek them.  Do not be afraid to counter the criticism, wherever you might be able to be heard.  What they call you doesn't matter, when they try to intimidate you it doesn't matter. Call for support, sure, but do not back down, even in the face of what appears to be overwhelming odds.  The odds are not as stacked against you as you think.  One of the tricks the left uses is to appear to have overwhelming numbers even when they do not.  Remember the climate change argument of "the science is settled"?  It wasn't it isn't and so too with common sense patriotic causes.  Sure a large portion of the American people are against those things, but a larger portion, for now, are still in favor of them.

If you do not act civically, if you are afraid, just talking amongst yourselves is not going to accomplish anything except make you feel better.  That's what liberals do, virtue signal to feel better.  YOU are better than that.  Know your facts (Rule #1) and then speak them, out loud, to other people who may not know them.  Yes, it's more gratifying to share with someone who believes them than someone who will ridicule you for them.  BUT, the most satisfying outcome is to awaken someone to the truth who had not previously realized it.  There is a payoff to taking that chance.

Be resolute. Do not waiver or second guess yourself.  Of course you must always revisit your facts or information, and re-assess your opinion.  That's something the progressive left refuses to do.  They are doctrinaire in their beliefs.  But common sense demands you absorb and asses/evaluate new information to see if it changes things.  This is how you avoid pretzel logic. But do not falter when you are sure. Do not allow the tactical arena be the place where you feel the need to second guess your understanding. There is a time for reflection but your principles, based on long standing common sense first principles, are most likely sound.

Andrew Breitbart, a crusader for conservative, patriotic common sense said "run towards the fire".  No truer words have been spoken regarding the political landscape of the twenty first century. The fire is there. Talking about it or running away will not stop the spread.

Lastly, I created these rules to provide guidance on how to confront the political left.  But they are not immutable. So don't be afraid to abandon a rule or tactic if it has stopped producing results. If something isn't working change it. 

Just don't be afraid. You'll feel better for it, and you'll do better for it.

Saturday Learning Series - Superbowl Edition (Part 2)

Earlier today, the Saturday Learning Series turned it's attention to football. Why not, the big game is tomorrow and a lot of people watching will not be familiar with some of the concepts they'll see during the game, and watching like that, the plays can seem like random mad scrambles with no strategy behind what's going on. Nothing could be further from the truth. Football is a highly strategic sport and is as much chess match as it is physical contest.

Bearing that in mind, let's now take a look at the basics on the offensive side of the football, starting with the offensive formations:

Because there are so many types of plays that can be run on offense, it's impossible to provide a compact explanation. But let's start with the really basic notion that in order to advance the ball down the field to score points, an offense can either run the football by carrying it, or by making a forward pass and catch to cover more ground in less time (theoretically). There are different styles or approaches on offense and these styles are what you are more likely to hear about during any football game. The common types we are going to look at are the Vertical Offense, The West Coast Offense, The Option (or Read Option), and The Pistol.

Unfortunately, there aren't as many clear and simple videos on offense to the highly fluid nature of the options available as well as the interpretations as to what qualifies as what. So if you are keen to learn this stuff, you'll have to sit through some verbiage.

The Vertical Offense

The vertical offense (a type of spread offense) is one designed to spread the defense out so that they have to cover the whole field. That means deep and shallow, passing and running. Luckily there's video for this one. Firstly there's the vertical passing game, then the accompanying vertical style run game (in a spread focused offense).

The West Coast Offense:

From the NFL itself, the West Coast offense was one of the Top 10 things that changed the game.  Here`s a brief but basic comparison of the West Coast versus the Vertical offense.

The Read Option Offense:

This offense relies on the Quarterback reading the defense and selecting which option to sue depending on how the defenders react;

The most common option scheme in the NFL is run out of a one-back look from the shotgun or pistol alignment with the running back on the inside zone and the quarterback “reading” the initial path of the edge defender (defensive end, outside linebacker) through the mesh point.

With zone blocking up front, the quarterback can give the ball to the running back (dive) or keep (pull) based on his “read” of the unblocked edge defender.

If the edge defender crashes on the dive, the quarterback will pull the ball and press to the outside. If the edge defender stays up the field or “slow plays” the mesh point (lateral shuffle to play both dive and keep), the quarterback can hand the ball to the back.

The Pistol:

Here`s what Bleacher Report says about the Pistol Offense;

...Chris Ault had installed himself as head coach two years before and his new "Pistol" offense one year before. Ault wanted to combine the passing strength of a spread-out shogun offense with the power running game of a traditional I-formation.

Ault shortened the shotgun snap, placing his quarterback four or five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the running back directly behind the quarterback...

The short distance between quarterback and center allows for a much faster snap, and the short distance between running back and quarterback allows for quick handoffs and fast-developing run plays. The quarterback still gets an eagle-eye view of the defense, though, without standing so far back that he doesn't pose a threat to run.

And here's a video breakdown.

And there you have it, a brief primer of some of the basics of football offenses.

Slur. Then slur some more.

The best defense is a good offence, so goes the old saying. That seems to be the strategic imperative for the Obama campaign. They really can't mount any sort of credible defense on the economy, so they have to slur their opponent, Mitt Romney as long and as hard as possible until the election.

The slur becomes the truth if left unchallenged.

Team Obama has tried a stunning array of defenses on the economy - blame Bush, recovery summer is really this year (again), blame Bush, blame earthquakes, blame Bush, blame the Republican Congress, blame Bush, we've got more to do still, blame Bush... Clearly, none of those has gained any staying power as a credible excuse, let alone a defense  If anything had taken hold, the polling would not look like a horse race because with a general perception that the economy is okay and headed in the right direction, Obama should cruise to victory.

Conservatives: Now Is The Time To Start Playing Offense!

One of the greatest tricks the Democrats have in their arsenal, an offshoot of Alinsky Tactics, is to keep conservatives playing the political game defensively.  Whether it's trying to malign conservative intentions via baseless attacks of racism, sexism etc., or trying to move the political center ever leftward, conservatism is always under attack. The left is always trying to push it backward, trying to keep conservatism playing defense.  Why has America been transformed, over decades - not just on Obama's watch, from a powerhouse of liberty, and self-reliance into a country that is debt-riddled, apologist, and a growing nanny-state? While still wealthy in resources and talent, why is America seemingly in an accelerating decline in terms of prestige and power?  It's because those values, those freedoms, that energy and desire and right to try to succeed as embodied in the Protestant Work Ethic, have been slowly leeched away as progressives kept piling on with just one more thing.  Guess what - that list of one more things, will NEVER stop.  What's the solution?  Start playing offense.