A fighting class
In a previous post, I mentioned the idea that a community, or a civilization if you want to think big, takes the political form of those who defend it. The political habits of the fighting class become the political habits of the community as a whole.
For example, lawyers are the fighters in the corporate world, and business practices from top to bottom reflect their influence.
Following the same logic, In a world where bloggers fill the truth seeking gap left open by the MSM, ..., what? Where does this lead? If the fighting class in the world of reporting and media is made up of amateurs, what are the consequences to that world? What are the values of these bloggers? How do they relate to each other? What are their internal social codes?
If The 910 Group seriously intends to accomplish great things, it needs to start by answering these questions. Such self knowledge is a prerequisite to success.
A mission statement that talks about liberty and jihad is nice, but in the context of its goals The 910 Group is effectively a media guild, and it needs to codify a set of first principles for itself that are relevant to that identity.
Some of those first principles are going to be obvious. They're the same principles that one would desire a major media organization to uphold.
- transparency
- truth seeking as an end in itself
- vigilance
Others may be less obvious, perhaps reflecting the advantages that bloggers have over professional media. For example, instead of pretending not to have biases, bloggers begin by revealing their biases. Honesty thus removes the veil, permitting a freedom of thought and exploration that are not available to someone whose personal beliefs are being suppressed.
Surely there's more. But adding items to a list doesn't accomplish anything. Each item has to also be true in the deepest sense.
I'm going to start by getting this blog in line with the first principle listed above, transparency.
I detest secret societies, exclusive cliques, private clubs and all those sorts of organizations that function according to the dynamics of the inner circle. There's my personal bias. Instead I value transparency, particularly for this group that is so much about addressing the failure of media.
I'm going to make a rule about this blog, and one that will also apply to everything that flows from and follows this blog. The rule is simple, and it states that anything anyone needs to say about this blog can be said publicly, right there in the comment section.
What could be simpler, and it goes directly to the heart of the idea that the way we, the bloggers, the new fighting class, behave will become the model for the society that follows us and is influenced by us.
The 910 Group exists to nurture a stronger, more self conscious and self consciously proud western civilization that can withstand attacks on its identity. We should begin, like the Athenian citizen soldiers, by behaving among ourselves according the principles we claim to uphold for all.
posted by Abu Nopal @ 10:07 AM
14 Comments:
Bravo. Without transparency bloggers run the risk of becoming like the MSM themselves.
That is correct. On my own blog I do not edit comments except for obvious spam. Go ahead and hate me, I won't waste my hate on you.
The 910 Group blog and the 910 Group itself is comprised of men and women with an international view. The last paragraph in this post clearly states what we are about. In our new, beginning, spreading our wings way, we can become a strong arm of the new media.
Excellent blog and focused posts.
Sirs
Thank you for your good words on Reconquista.
I will e-mail you this evening after 8pm GMT.
Our Western civilisation is far from perfect, but it is by far the finest thing the human species has ever developed and is worth defending to our last breath.
Speak to you later. I have to read your past posts, digest what I read. I already have 910 Group shortcutted on my desktop.
OK. So in the interest of transparency...Is this YOUR blog? And if it is, if I may be so bold, who are you? You showed up on day on this blog, called the 910 Group, and I haven't a clue who you are.
-David
I couldnt agree more with the views professed in these blogs. We are in the midst of a very old conflict.
I fear our propensity to push multi-culturalism and diffusion of non-western values from groups that have no intention of assimilating.
Reconquista everyone!!!!!!!!!
David,
Yes, it's mine, although I created it and maintain it as a service for the group, in order to do the soul searching that I think any such group needs to do. I've appointed myself gadfly to the 910 group.
I never intended for it to become the public face of the group. I always intended it to be inward looking - Burning Core - if you can remember that far back in the early conversations.
That big mess that's been taking place in the yahoo group belongs here. Here, I welcome the mess. I invite it.
It really bothers me that some people can't stand for there to be any arguments. Considering what this group is supposed to be about, it simply amazes me that anyone would ever tell another group member to shut up, or try to stifle a conversation. Yet it happened. Today, a few bullies in the playground told everyone else to be quiet.
So we have a good deal of soul searching to do after all.
If you think it's bad to have all the dirty laundry aired where everybody can see it, you're wrong (I don't mean you, David. You never said that). We mustn't have only polite conversation in public. We should BURN. There must be fire in our eyes. And it will be good for the group. People will respect the honesty, and want to be involved in a thing that has so much passion, assuming there is any.
No - transparency doesn't include you knowing my real name. You also don't know who Baron, Vic, or half the other people involved in this are. We have private lives.
I am Abu Nopal/sthomes/dt. You can judge me by what I do and say here and there's plenty to go on. What transparency means is that I won't have a secret email conversation with someone about the direction this blog should take and the topics it should cover. If you want to talk about that, we'll do it right here in the open.
I also invite anyone, in the group especially but others also, to contribute articles for this blog. I only ask that they be appropriate the purpose of the blog. Gadfly-ish. Yes, I am the editor and will make the final decision, but that conversation can take place out in the open as well, if you wish it to.
No, Abu, I didn't want to know your real name. I'm assuming nobody uses their real name in here. I only know the Baron from reading his blog, which is how, I guess, most of us got here. And I do remember what you said in your first blogs. It's just that I didn't understand that in the forum you are sthomes/dt, and I didn't want to ask anyone else. Also, all those words flying around on the (new)old forum were starting to get to me. So now we're back on new forum. And yes, we do have our work cut out for us.
sthomes/dt. Got it. Thanks.
-David
I may have been one of the 910 members that responded in a bullyish manner to another member that stated they were quitting the group because they weren't being heard, and no one else in the group was doing anything, with reading comprehension and ignorance within the group also being questioned. My question is, who was being the bully here? I am passionate when it comes to this endeavor, and have witnessed an amazing amount of passion, and progress in a short amount of time on the part of all involved. Constructive criticism and debate from within should obviously be aired publicly...that principle is very much a part of what we're fighting for. Personal attacks on the group as a whole, or overt acts of sabotage call for what may be considered a strong response. Censorship, never! Questioning the motives of a disgruntled member turning on the rest of us, in my opinion that calls for a strong response in return. I'm not sure I recall anyone being told to shut up...I'm with you on that. That would be the antithesis of what we stand for.
I like reading your posts, and agree with your comment that we should BURN, and have fire in our eyes. We should also have each others backs in the face of those who prove themselves to be detrimental to the group. Not that I am a judge of who is detrimental and who isn't, but I won't feel afraid to fire back in as much of a "gentlemanly" manner as possible in the face of an unwarranted attack on the group as a whole. Debate, constructive criticism, friendly arguments, hell yeah! "I'm taking my ball and going home because I'm not getting enough attention", and "I'm the only one doing anything"...uhh, aren't we all adults here?
Keep up the good work,
Straycat
increasingly, we are adults.
Every group has its "prima donnas" who are either impatient or desirous of more "attention" We are all busy people who have formed around one combined principle which is to take back the culture and to fight for freedom and liberty. It has long been my contention that each of us do that on our blogs where we rant and rave at will.
We have two other blogs that have been started by 910 members to bring the Islamic threat to the public in a clear, concise way.
We can have our disagreements in public as you will but there may be things that we truly need to hash out in the privacy of our e-mail group. We are finding our way and, on purpose, we must speak as one voice. Getting to that one voice can be difficult. But telling each other to 'shut up' is not the way to reach our unified purpose. In that, we need the openness of which you speak.
We have been "working" since September 28th or so, not two months yet. We can't meet at the local coffee shop so it is here and on our forum that we meet to set about accomplishing an ideal - bringing together a group of people who cherish liberty, honor man in that goal, and honor the 'ideal' that brought us together.
For myself, I have always seen our approach as two-fold: how I can take what I learn through the 910 Group and apply/bring it into my local community; and how we as an international group can bring issues/incidents before the international community at large.
From our infancy we are working toward those goals. This blog is just one testament to that effort and to the initiative of one person to seek a way to make that voice heard.
We have lofty goals and they will be attained one post and one blog at a time.
A few points, Beachgirl.
this blog is not about exposing the Islamic threat. I'm sure you know that but I'm taking every opportunity to repeat it. This blog is about holding up a mirror to the west and to the group.
I disagree about both the idea that the group needs to speak with one voice and that there is a fundamental need for privacy for any of its discussions.
This thing we call western civ is not, itself, a single voice and neither should we be. It is not Christian, though Christianity is inseparable from it. It is not all about liberty, though liberty is one of its most cherished ideas. The west is also the source of multi-culturalism and dialectical materialism, ideas that have done a lot of harm, and has certainly endured its own long struggles with its internal war lords and kingdoms and various criminal enterprises.
We are not so perfect and wonderful, but we do have the virtue that we try, very hard, to learn from our mistakes. The moment you start thinking in terms of 'speaking with one voice' is the moment in which you stop listening to others, particularly others who seem to stray from that single sanctioned voice (sanctioned by whom?), and possibly stop learning. That, truly, is anathema to the western spirit.
I also disagree that there needs to be privacy in any of our conversations. I would go so far as to say that any scheme that requires privacy to be discussed is probably childish. And we are not children.
If we want to make a point about what it means to be free and live in an open society, we should lead by example and speak openly about it.
I have a blog on townhall.com entitled bigasrants.townhall.com. I have been popping in and out of this site through Right Truth. I also do nothing to change what commentors have done. If someone wishes to attack me that's alright with me.
Good!
Like you I believe the only way to defeat totalitarianism and thought control like Islamism or political correctness is completely open debate. You have also made the vital discovery that closed societies create more closed societies! It also allow one's enemies to slander you.
My name is Guy leven-Torres and I have always operated on the basis that using my own name i essential to the principle, 'If you don't want others to know how you stand or fear to speak 'its' name then shut up!' The enemy is morte intimidated by those like you and I that are prepared to show oureslves where the bastards can see us and hear us loud and clear.
The more people opnely oppose the terrorists and shout enough in the full view of the public the better it is and the sooner the Islamist lunatics and their Leftwing clowns will realise the enormity and hopefully the impossibility of subduing the intended victim of their intention to conquer.
Hopefully by standing up and using your own name like me without fear will encourage others to do the same!
The secrecy of the 910 Group worried me and so I left. Remember you do not know who is on the other side of the screen and keyboard and I do not like that at all.My experience of secret societies has in the main been unplessant.
As an ex soldier in the British Army I wear my uniform with pride for all to see under the colours of the country and Queen I am sworn to defend and uphold. My enemy know who I am, whom I fight for, even my rank like thousands of my fellow soldiers beside me ready to share my task and I with them!
Well done mate! You have doen absolutely the right thing and that is the first important step to victory. Forget the nutcases and secret societies and stnd up where you can be seen so as to inspire hopefully millions of others to do the same!
I like you have rceived hundreds of abusive e.mails from 'blogger' using silly names. However I have rceived by far many more in avid support. fear and secrecy go together like poison.
Real courage lets in the light and allows the bold to strike at the heart of the enemy and win. An enemy that can see his foe and its determination to do battle and win is a terrifying prospect!
Our parents did nt need sectret societies and names, nor did the knights of old.!
www.guyleven-torres.co.uk
Well done!Friend!
Guy leven-Torres
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