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Join us in the Common Sense Counter-Revolution!

This is an excerpt from my movement book, Discovering Possibility.

How do we, Common Sense Conservatives contribute to the grass roots citizen movement to restore the American community?

Our tactic is using evangelism for truth. We want to be both well differentiated and respectful and we especially want to reach people that are not often exposed to our message.

This is what the American Restoration Movement is all about and there are many of us out here in the trenches fighting for truth, and each doing what we can in our own spheres of influence to be carriers of that change energy. We are fighting some powerful and equally committed forces like the political Progressives, the social justice warriors, the gender feminists, the Marxists, the globalists, the cultural and moral relativists, the European Socialists, and many others who do not believe in Classical Liberalism. However, our numbers are growing and we believe we have the truth on our side. Therefore, we will stay the course until the restoration is complete, and the American community is restored to the original intention of the Founders. We see the process unfolding as below.

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The Unfolding Process

I have written about how I believe individuals will be happier if they embrace freedom, personal responsibility, neighborliness, and thrift. More importantly, I believe our American communities will begin to prosper again when these principles return to the forefront of American life. In this chapter, I want to talk about ways that more people can rediscover these notions and how the community would organize itself differently to create more opportunities for the actualization of these values. As these values are embraced by more and more people, and particularly by people who have not previously been exposed to our American tradition, or previously had not seen themselves as connected to that tradition, I believe there will be a dramatic cultural shift in America. My hope is this book and our corresponding advocacy will inspire Common Sense Conservatives to continue to move forward with a tangible action plan in this important moment of opportunity. I also hope to convert others to join the growing movement.

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Conservatives on the airwaves have teamed up with grass roots citizen movements, using the new media to uncover the insidious socialist advances in the United States, a development that has aroused a counter-revolution in America that I have not seen in my lifetime. There is no stopping the counter-revolution because it is firmly grounded in Classical Liberalism and fueled by righteous anger. The election of a Progressive, Post-American President, Obama and his actions since elected are the impetus this quiet majority has needed to assert itself, and they will in the coming years. Change will happen quickly.

Making America Cool Again

The most important thing we need to do is continue to use our rhetorical and electoral might to stop the political progressive onslaught that currently has momentum in this country and around the world. That agenda caught fire because many Americans were depressed about the war and the economy and a cool candidate came along to offer an interesting alternative, an alternative that in times of better clarity would appeal to only about fifteen to twenty percent of the U.S. population, the amount of U.S. citizens that identify themselves as liberal or very liberal. In addition, President Bush was unable to inspire a depressed silent majority of Americans to stay with his agenda, especially during the economic crisis that came at the end of his Presidency.

Independents blamed Republicans, bankers, and Capitalists for the crisis (which was too narrow a lens) but it was a narrative that empowered the Progressive candidates who were positioning themselves as the Populist/anti-Capitalists. It was a perfect storm on the Conservative Movement that even in a center-right country, led to a huge change of power and allegiance in Washington.

Another factor that gets insufficient attention in my opinion is that the independent middle of the country, especially in Northern states and upper middle class neighborhoods throughout the country is rejecting in your face conservative religious fundamentalism and simultaneously attempting to maintain its common sense conservative ideals. A large majority of Americans still believes in God. Spiritual activism is on the rise, but many folks are tired of the all or nothing exclusion politics they perceive coming from people who espouse a worldview that excludes others from salvation.

There is an especially pronounced stylistic divide that is often unspoken, between Northern and Southern Conservatives, with the former group rejecting the fire and brimstone rhetoric of Southern conservatism while attempting to hold onto core constitutional conservative tenets. In my opinion, this is the primary reason there are very few Conservatives holding national electoral offices from the Northeastern United States, although that trend reversed during the most recent Congressional election in 2010. I know many people from the Northeast who are culturally and economically conservative but feel uncomfortable with Southern Christian evangelism.

As I wrote earlier I am a Deist like many of our Founding Fathers, and I own that perspective here. Many of the Founders were themselves tolerant of, but rejecting the imposition of revealed religious traditions they believed were claiming false superiority. I believe the American Restoration Movement would be wise to adopt a religious pluralist position that upholds Nature’s God without requiring belief in doctrinal religious imperatives that can sometimes lead to division. The Founders created a republic that had its basis in Nature’s God and was tolerant of many different religions and sects and even those people that were not believers. This necessarily pluralistic attitude certainly did not impose religious exclusivity on its citizens in either law or tradition. It might even be said that Deism has always been the de facto “national” religion of America even though the vast majority of Americans are professed Christians as they were at the time of our founding.

I would like to encourage my liberal friends in human services and academia or those that identify with the progressive political tradition because they have distaste for what they see as narrow-mindedness, as in the above critique, to reconsider Classical Liberalism. We need you in the Restoration Movement.

The Progressives are using you to take the country off a cliff so they can rebuild a different nation. They are using the tools of cultural Marxism to co-opt the energy that you feel because of the cultural divide above to foster a transformative agenda, an agenda I do not believe you really want. I am especially speaking to my African-American, Gay, academic and feminist friends and colleagues who are a part of the pluralistic American community our Founders created. Please consider learning more about the American Restoration Movement, remain true to your core values, but also join us in deconstructing Progressivism and restoring America.

The Obama campaign was an ingenious covert sales job that thankfully yielded buyer’s remorse when the middle of the country started to see what it entailed in real terms. Most independent voters had no idea what candidate Obama meant by a “fundamental transformation of America.” Now it is clear it is a Marxist/Socialist transformation.

President Obama's approval ratings are abysmal. Now that much of the Conservative base is activated, there is a powerful grass roots movement afoot to stop and reverse the agenda that the Progressive establishment in Washington lead by President Obama, is attempting to enact. Conservative leaders in Washington and around the country are getting the message. As the above data shows, most independents are no longer expressing support for a blank slate Obama.

It is critical that the American Restoration Movement accelerates now because this is our opportunity and it may never come again. Conservatives still have a majority in the United States but that majority is diminishing because of demographic changes and other factors, so time is running out to restore the country to its founding ideals.

As I wrote earlier, this effort is already well underway and is best represented by the Tea Party movement, which I believe is the most significant cultural expression in America since the opposition to the Viet Nam war in the 1960’s and 70’s. In many ways, it is an even more powerful expression than the anti-war movement because it is staunchly for a set of core Constitutional values that are timeless and transcendent. There is a renewed excitement for Classical Liberalism and finally, the populist energy to awaken those transcendent values.

Activists in the anti-war movement defined themselves by what they were against, an unpopular war. An amorphous peace became the alternative to the Viet Nam War but the peace principle did not offer the Constitutional fortitude that the values behind the American Restoration Movement do today. Tea Party protesters, and others affiliated with the American Restoration Movement, love the United States of America and they stand firmly with the principles that make up her core identity. Everyone believes in peace, but those of us in the Restoration Movement believe peace can never be achieved without a more foundational societal commitment to freedom. In this respect, we believe President Bush was correct. The American Restoration Movement holds that the United States, with its foundational commitment to liberty, is the best hope for creating a peaceful world.

We are at a tipping point in American history. As I wrote earlier, I believe the misguided election of President Obama will be the impetus the quiet majority in America needs to enact a bold, restorative agenda. As history tells us, it usually takes a bold action to create a counter-reaction and in this case, it has taken the election of an ideological Progressive President, who many see as uninspired by our traditional values, to usher in a rabid democratic pro-American-identity protest. People are waking up to the inspiration and the truth of the American Constitution and speaking truth to entrenched power. I am glad to be a part of that energy and hope this book will contribute to the cause of freedom.

Realistic Optimism on the Rise

The post-progressive years will be led by realistic optimists who have discarded outdated progressive notions of what constitutes human progress. The ranks of the disaffected Liberals will grow and a new generation of common sense realists will continue to assume the center of American political and social life. Pro-Americanism will be cool again and will attract people from all walks of life, creating a pragmatic governing coalition that will set the stage for the Millennial ascendancy in America.

The realistic optimist activists will be Common Sense Independent Conservatives from the producer class, or disaffected Liberals, many of them young Americans, that have become disillusioned at how far the United States has strayed from its Constitutional roots. They will be the modern day common sense philosophers.

The People Rule

There are many independent grass roots groups like A Place for Possibilities emerging daily from the renewed energy in our democratic process. Most are excited about the prospects of a return to limited government with less corruption and with a renewed respect for Constitutional American ideals. Many are ideological but non-sectarian, energized for change based in enduring American truths, but respectful of differences of opinion about how to get there. This patriotic revival mirrors what was happening in the days immediately preceding the American Revolution.

These are exciting times in the United States of America and I am glad to be living in this era. The American community I talked about in Chapter One is not a nostalgic; Leave it to Beaver figment of our imaginations. This is the way life used to be for most Americans even in areas of the country that are now overrun by blight. Families were stronger, neighborhoods were more cohesive, and people acted with more personal responsibility.

I believe we can recreate the American community if we take some bold steps now and have the courage to follow through in the face of what will be very intense, perhaps even violent opposition from the keepers of the status quo. There are many people that have an enormous stake in the government-corporate oligarchy, and those folks will not step aside easily. They will need to be defeated by Common Sense Conservatives in an ideological and electoral war, a war that is already raging.

There is a sea of discontent sweeping across the land that longs for the America it used to know and love. That is the energy that is driving this Restoration Movement, a movement that is weary of illegitimate and misguided attempts to perfect our union. The people’s movement seeks to revitalize the spirit of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, a return to liberty, personal responsibility and reverence for Nature’s God.

Many citizens are learning about our national heritage for the first time and how far we are straying from the core beliefs of the great men that started America. These energized citizens are becoming fearful and angry as they realize we are losing our core identity. Those emotions are driving the desire to stand up and put a stop to the socialist slide.

In 2013, the quiet majority in America is still strong enough to withstand the progressive onslaught that has been creeping forward for over a century, but time is running out. Progressives have been buying votes and building allegiance with public spending and brainwashing for many decades and that strategy is reaching its pinnacle now under President Obama and this Progressive Congress.

Constitutional Common Sense Conservatives must stand up and have their voices heard now in public forums, in the media, in social networking sites, and at the voting booth. This is how the restoration will occur – one conversation at a time, wherever the opportunity presents itself to change hearts and minds. We need to speak truth to power and act in the community interest rather than advocate for our limited self-interests. We must be exceedingly careful to avoid conflicts of interest that will diminish our message and compromise our integrity. At times, we will be advocating for things that will negatively affect our own bottom-lines. We need to stand for what is right and true. This effort is for our children and grandchildren.

In my way of thinking about this strategy, it means speaking up for freedom, personal responsibility, voluntary neighborliness, and thrift at every opportunity. When we assess situations as community leaders, we need to advocate courses of action we believe will lead to the advancement of these principles. That means thinking deeply about the ramifications of our actions so we can implement practices we believe will work. It means we will need to stand up to the inevitable peer pressure from status quo interests who resort to guilt tripping and fear mongering to get what they want. We must ignore the inevitable cries of racism and sexism and the claims that our advocacy will hurt children and other vulnerable people. We must see those accusations as political rhetoric intended to further the self-interests of people who are benefiting from the current illegitimate system or who want to transform America into a socialist state. We must offer sound arguments without bombast and monitor our own emotional reactivity. It will take considerable courage and a thick skin to speak truth to power as it always has.

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