In commentaries throughout the opinion pages, we are seeing more ad hominem, ad baculum, ad consequentiam — all the tactics of Alinsky — from both the conservatives and the Marxists.
If Alinsky wins, Marx wins, because speech itself becomes name calling and threats which inevitably lead to violence instead of debate and searching for rational solutions, which inevitably lead to progress.
Fighting Alinsky with Alinsky appears to be the easy way out, but it is not. It is short-term thinking and leads to chaos, destruction, and violence. The tactics of Alinsky need to be countered by focusing, and making the opponent focus, on issues, countering the Alinsky style based on insults and threats with courage, logic, reason and tough, rational argument.
No. Logic, reasoning and debate — thinking — is different from Alinsky. Thinking is not easy, destructive, or fun. Alinsky tactics are because they are based on emotions, not reason, logic or thought. Until you know Alinsky tactics they will affect you on an emotional level. But, once you know what they are, they cannot reach you.
Over the long run reason, logic, facts, and debate are effective and deadly against Alinsky, because it is effective against Marxism.
Marxism is a belief system based on emotions. Marxist tactics such as Alinsky cannot counter logic, reasoning and the solid argument and effective debate based on truth and betterment.
We will have dialogue or we will have a debate. In dialogue, threats, intimidation, and violence has been tolerated, if not accepted altogether. In a debate, threats, intimidation, and violence are unacceptable.
At present we are witnessing the increase of dialogue and its motive force, Marxist dialectic, and it is happening on both the conservative and the Marxist side, because all seem to want to use an easy, emotional tactic that requires little or no thought and obtains maximum apparent effects — histrionics, yelling, and maximum emotional outbursts — but no actual tangible, viable results.
What we are witnessing is the slow death of debate, and we must cure it. Read Alinsky. Learn how to counter it. Practice countering it on every ad hominem, ad baculum and ad consequentiam comment you see. Do not use it to fight.
Alinsky tactics fail by the light of transparency. See it, show it for what it is whenever you see it. Do not engage in dialogue or any other form of dialectic.
Combat it with courage, reason, and DEBATE.
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