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Lever 00
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The Atlanta Declaration: Every man, woman, and responsible child has a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed,
any weapon -- handgun, shotgun, rifle, machinegun, \anything\ -- any
time, anywhere, without asking anyone's permission.
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L. NEIL SMITH'S \LEVER ACTION\ LETTER NUMBER 00b
== SOME TACTICAL REFLECTIONS ==
If you're not a bit uncomfortable with your position, it isn't radical
enough. How can you be \too\ principled? Take the most extreme position
you can. You're claiming territory you won't have to fight for later,
mostly with your "allies".
Let the \other\ guy offer compromises. Think of them as rungs on a ladder.
Keep your own goal firmly in mind and make sure you never move any
direction but upward. That's how the other side got where they are. It works.
Never aim at anything but total achievement of your goal, utter
capitulation of the enemy. Every effort involves inertia and mechanical
losses, so adopting lesser objectives means partial defeat. Total victory
means you don't have to fight the same fight again tomorrow.
Second thoughts, failure of confidence, nervous last-minute
course-changes are all \detours\ and recipes for defeat. The time to think
is \before\ the battle -- if possible, before the \war\ -- not in the
heat of it.
The shortest path to victory is a straight line. He who remains most
\consistent\ wins.
Go straight to the heart of the enemy's greatest strength. Break that
and you break him. You can mop up the flanks and stragglers later, and they
may even surrender, saving you a lot of effort.
Attack in "perpendicular" fashion, from an unconventional and unexpected
(but relevant) direction. The enemy will be unprepared; you can strike with
your full strength while he finds nothing to attack effectively.
Remain the judge of your own actions. Never surrender that position by
default. When the enemy screams "Foul!" the loudest, you know you're doing
him the most damage. Those who \help\ him scream are also the enemy.
If you can avoid it, never play on the other guy's \field\, by the other
guy's \rules,\ or with the other guy's \ball.\ He didn't design \his\ system
to give \you\ the advantage. Remember that organisms defending their own
territory are twice as effective as an intruding attacker.
You may never convince the other guy, but it's often worthwhile to keep
arguing for the effect it has on bystanders, especially \his\ allies.
Well-timed silence is an effective bargainer. Most people fear silence
at a level below conscious analysis and rush to fill the emptiness with
accommodation. A difficult tactic to learn and use, but it works.
The more fundamental position is the highest ground, allowing the most
"perpendicular" attack. If he argues politics, argue ethics -- things
seldom go beyond this stage. If he argues ethics, argue epistemology (look
it up). If he argues epistemology, argue metaphysics. If he argues
metaphysics, you're up against Darth Vader and you're in trouble. Switch
back to politics and accuse him of being out of touch with everyday reality --
or ask him if he's stopped beating his wife.
Conservatives are accustomed to being called fascists and well prepared
to defend themselves on that ground. Liberals are used to being called
socialists. Those labels can be switched, however, and remain valid and
instructive. It also catches them completely unprepared.
Understand from the minute the fight begins that you're going to take
damage. Accept it. (You'll suffer more from idiots and cowards on your own
side than from any enemy.) Keep your overall goal in mind above all. Those
who swerve to avoid a few cuts and bruises defeat themselves.
If you lose, go down fighting. It costs nothing extra, and now and
again ...
Know down to the last cell in your body that \he\ started it. \He's\
the one who put things in an ethical context where considerations like
decency and mercy have no referent. The less pity moves you now, the sooner
you can go back to being a nice guy.
Otherhandwise, the easiest, most humiliating path to defeat is thinking
that to beat your enemy you must be like him. Avoid the temptation to set your
values aside "for the duration". What's the point of fighting if you give up
what you're fighting for? If remaining consistent with your values leads to
defeat, you chose the wrong values to begin with.
Truth is a valuable commodity which you don't automatically \owe\ to
anyone. Remember, however, that lies are even more expensive -- they're
tiring and costly to maintain -- and even a tiny one can utterly destroy you.
Never soft-pedal the truth. It's seldom self-evident and almost never
sells itself. There's less sales resistance to a glib and comforting lie.
Lies can be custom-tailored. Truth comes straight off the rack. One size
fits all.
Those who lead through authority have rivals on whom they must expend
as much energy and attention as they do on their enemies. Those who lead by
example have enemies, but no rivals.
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L. NEIL SMITH'S \LEVER ACTION\ LETTER NUMBER 00b
111 EAST DRAKE ROAD SUITE 7032
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO U.S.A. 80525
L. Neil Smith is the award-winning author of 16 novels including
\Henry Martyn, The Crystal Empire, BrightSuit MacBear, Taflak Lysandra,
The Probability Broach,\ and the forthcoming FORGE OF THE ELDERS
trilogy, beginning with CONTACT AND COMMUNE.
Your contributions to this effort, while extremely welcome, are not
tax-deductible.
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