I get asked a lot of questions about how we actually make change happen. Three of them keep coming up, and I want to address them directly.
The first: if we can’t just vote our way out of this, what do we do?
There is much more to civic engagement than just voting. We can’t just show up for elections and expect the system to function well. If every candidate in a race supports dirty money in politics, that hurts us regardless of who wins. The public can and should shape the policy positions of elected officials, and keep them accountable to those commitments.
We do not need to get out the vote as much as we need to educate the masses. Voting is downstream from education. The corpo-oligarchs destroyed civics classes because they want propaganda and brain rot to prevent the public from caring about issues and policies over parties and culture wars. Educating others is a public service, especially when paired with community service and mutual aid. The result is millions more people who understand that we can make our expectations known to politicians. We can build a solidarity machine that makes it clear what needs to happen for someone to achieve or retain office.
The second question: how do we get governors and State AGs to be more aggressive in their opposition to the GOP and more ambitious in their solutions?
The short answer is that any politician will look at where the wind is blowing and support the policies that they believe will help them raise more money and get elected/reelected. It's really that simple.
The millions of single issue abortion voters weaponized this exact mechanism with terrible precision and unrelenting pressure over 50 years to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that had 80% public support when it passed.
Elected officials will never be more ambitious than the public demands. That is the whole answer, but let me explain what it means in practice.
I have confirmation from multiple state level appointees that at least six governors have read my work, largely because thousands of people forwarding them. They listen to thousands of regular people reaching out because that's the litmus test for what might help them gain more public favor. A note, these ideas aren't “mine” or “The Existentialist Republic‘s” because they have evolved and come into focus considerably as a direct result of conversations with our community. We are making this together.
The precondition to get these officials to give these policies more bandwidth is simple: we need to be everpresent and loud. For good faith politicians it signals public support of ambitious actions and for corrupt politicians it means they have less time, energy, and enthusiasm in their tank for evil. Some of that success means recruiting more people. Some of it is developing our tactics and coordinated actions. This is all part of the process of taking up more space in their minds, as weird as that sounds. Wage (legal) psychological warfare on bad politicians and be supportive but persistent to the good ones.
This is a good moment to mention the Educate, Act, Recruit, Repeat booklet and the Soft Secession Policies that Pass booklet, both available for free at BuyMeACoffee.com/TheER. These talk about the vision, specific policies, and tactics for progress.
The third question: what is the best way to spread these ideas? Which formats, which platforms, which audiences?
Every format, persistently, in an escalating fashion.
We are doing the things it takes, but it will probably take a few years of dedicated and coordinated effort, some wins and some losses, some conflicts avoided and others engaged with, to right the ship. Voting and policy are downstream of civic engagement. We need to continue educating, recruiting, consensus building, and crafting the infrastructure of activism that breaks through the oligarch propaganda machine.
For those who want to see soft secession or any real change, there is a principle at work here. We build the capacity first: the education, the civic muscle, the coordination. Then we escalate. Now it is their turn to be the boiling frog, and we are the increasingly hot water. What is heat? Particles moving with more and more energy. That is us.
To make any change we just need to be numerous, coordinated, and loud. That is how we change the world. We are all important here.
If you want to be part of this, join our Discord at https://discord.gg/J5HmNEgg. Everything The Existentialist Republic has put together on tactics, organizing, and pressure campaigns is available for free at buymeacoffee.com/TheER. You go to the shop and every item is listed for free, pay what you can.
If you want to buy an Intro to Soft Secession booklet and mail it to your governor, state rep, state AG, or a loved one, you can find them at TheExistentialistRepublic.com
Be loud with your congresspersons and senators (even Dems) that you do not want to pay for ICE, bombs, and frivolous lawsuits, gold buildings, arches, etc
Speak with your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. When you find a receptive ear, fill them in.