Vocabulary lessons

Listening to military and former military talk about their exploits, one often hears some variant of "We were a highly disciplined unit." Listening to current demonstrators we far too seldom here that adjectival modifier. Too often we hear much more about anarchistic, spontaneous decisions and behaviors. This is in no small measure exactly why social movements in the US are weak. They are unpredictable in a negative way and frequently either flee or fight when the going gets tough, something successful social movements do not generally feature.

Looking at successful movements for lessons, we can learn much from the movements of half a century ago, and here is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. discussing discipline, training, and even the involvement of children in Birmingham in 1963 in particular. It is an astounding contrast to today. The movement there, according to MLK, featured children as young as seven participating in both the trainings and the demonstrations.

Contrast that with today, when parents are fearful of bringing children to demonstrations and when, instead, they permit the military to take these children to military bases for the Starbase "science education" (a.k.a. brainwashing and military enculturation). We so clearly live in a war culture. We so clearly need to listen to Dr. King and ask ourselves how we, as adults, can work on developing our own vocabulary amongst ourselves and including the children?

Public commitment=recruitment

In his volume on Kingian nonviolence, philosopher John J. Ansbro (emeritus, Manhattan College) preserved the Commitment Card, signed by all the civil rights actionists in the Birmingham campaign in the summer of 1963:

"I hereby pledge myself--my person and my body--to the nonviolent movement. Therefore I will keep the following ten commandments:
1.Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
2.Remember always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation--not victory.
3.Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
4.Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
5.Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
6.Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7.Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
8.Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
9.Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10.Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration."

Imagine the effects that this pledge would have had, amongst them, likely, but not limited to:
~The commitment, made publicly and collectively, was much more serious than just a vague set of guidelines
~Each individual would feel much more beholden to the movement to abide by these conditions
~These standards, the same for all, gave the movement an independent and objective set of criteria that transcended personalities or political power
~Observers were essentially invited to compare this strong commitment to a groundtruthing reality
~Media were predisposed to accept this tone and tenor of each demonstration once the movement both committed and demonstrated adherence to these elements
~Anyone not acting in compliance with these commitments would not logically be regarded as a part of the movement, and their conduct would not so easily tar the movement

In any campaign for which I train I introduce a pledge, differing in many ways from the Birmingham pledge, but with the same general purposes and, if the movement is well run, the same successful results.

By tightening up the standards within any movement the sympathy will grow and thus political recruitment will follow, as well as actual recruitment of more participants. This lesson is a key component of many of the most successful campaigns and really enhances chances for victory much sooner and with more sustainable outcomes.

References
Ansbro, John J. (2000). Martin Luther King, Jr.: Nonviolent strategies and tactics for social change (2nd ed.). Lanham MD: Madison Books.