Tuesday 1 January 2013

A strategy for permanent resistance against superior forces

*

We are losing.

The tide shows no sign of turning.

Reactionaries in general, and those who aspire to be real Christians in particular, will (for the foreseeable future) have to operate in this context: the world as we find it.

Therefore we must do without optimism - do without the expectation of victory; but we must always be hopeful and we must never give up.

*

We will need to prepare for a long and patient fight, a defensive war, the kind of resistance which will not yield up an inch of ground without making it as hard for the enemy as possible.

When forced to retreat a few steps, each of us must immediately turn and dig-in to hold the next defensible position as long as possible.

*

Dogged resistance is much more important than argument.

Silent, unexplained, indomitable resistance is far more to be desired than the fake conflicts of flashy verbal and symbolic posturings of mainstream 'conservatives' and fair-weather 'traditional' Christians; which consists in rhetorical displays of eloquent, lucid, witty argument - inevitably followed by swift surrender and total capitulation (and always somewhat earlier than is necessary).

Dogged resistance every step of the way and without end...

*

This strategy certainly makes life harder for those who seek to impose evil; it forces them to expend energy they would prefer to use in other tasks, they are dragged-down from the heady intoxications and novelties of the easy victory after easy victory resulting from a successful Blitzkrieg; dogged resistance makes 'reform' boring, thwarts feelings of 'progress', and exacerbates their natural and intrinsic impatience; they lose the expectation of a final and complete victory achievable by one devastating blow.

*

Since the enemy are secular, worldly, short-termist hedonists with a short attention span - they  loathe the messiness of infantry warfare and aspire that we will all surrender after a single devastating airstrike has shown that our cause is 'hopeless'.

(That is the key: they seek to overwhelm us by making us give up hope, make us surrender and submit, or make us turn and run.)

But we must never give up hope. We must make them root us out, building by building, trench by trench, foxhole by foxhole; in close combat.

(This need for the enemy to engage in hand-to-hand combat may even bring a greater possibility of repentance and reformation. Probably not; but it might.)

*

We must discard all optimism, we must not expect to see anything resembling a victory in our lives and in this world (at most a temporary stay or cease-fire in which we can recover); but instead live on indestructible hope and in assurance of ultimate victory.

We don't need to say much - just a few battle cries.

We just keep on and on fighting, and make sure they know that we cannot be demoralized, always will keep fighting; inch by inch.

***


Note: this theme is continued at

http://charltonteaching.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/units-for-permanent-resistance-groups.html 

*

16 comments:

Daybreaker said...

This is all very good.

Also (and I know you covered this before), about the worst form of resistance, which is to adopt the language and assumptions of the enemy in the hope of some tactical win.

Daybreaker said...

...avoid the worst form of resistance...

stephens said...

I am already behind enemy lines and heading in the opposite direction, adopting more “traditional” values day by day.
My children’s generation seem to be the main cheerleaders for the Leftist push. Unfortunately for them the Leftist generals plans have resulted in a “scorched earth” of difficult employment prospects and horrendous house prices. The troops will have a little less stomach for it soon, once the reality sets in.
Money is another weakness as it’s needed to fuel the big push.

George Goerlich said...

That certainly seems the message we should head: when things look the very bleakest is exactly when it is most important not to lose hope.

Wurmbrand said...

What would Richard Wurmbrand say?

CorkyAgain said...

Our future, it seems to me, is in the catacombs and samizdat.

So the most important resistance activity right now (besides tending to our own souls) is establishing personal networks of like minds and people we can trust.

...which in turn means developing or improving discernment and judgment of character. Don't be misled by pretty words, pretty faces, or "deep" thoughts! In a pinch, you'll want a Sam Gamgee by your side -- ugly, simple and unlettered though he might be.

Bruce Charlton said...

@Corky - yes, I agree (indeed, I was/ am intending a follow up post to say this - but maybe you've saved me the trouble!). Furthermore, these networks ought to be local (rather than web based!). They ought, also, to be Christian - if at all possible. But I suspect they will be small - we are talking about something more like the scale of the Inklings than a whole college.

rightsaidfred said...

Would you say resistance should/could be organized via a proper church?

Contemplationist said...

This is a bit too abstract. I hope you expand on how this strategy is to be applied in specific 'battles' - would like to see an ongoing exploration.

Bruce Charlton said...

@rightsaidfred - I don't think that is possible for most real Christians; because the major 'proper' churches have become Antichrist organizations - led toward ruin by leaders who are not Christians but instead use Christian themes and distort them to subvert Christianity.

@Contemplationist - you are asking for tactics; what I am talking about is strategy.

There is a single strategic aim but a very large number of tactics (how to achieve that aim) - depending on local conditions and changing over time.

I can't possibly get into all that stuff! - and anyway I am not competent to do so.

Samson J. said...

Dogged resistance every step of the way and without end...

*

This strategy certainly makes life harder for those who seek to impose evil; it forces them to expend energy they would prefer to use in other tasks, they are dragged-down from the heady intoxications and novelties of the easy victory after easy victory resulting from a successful Blitzkrieg; dogged resistance makes 'reform' boring, thwarts feelings of 'progress', and exacerbates their natural and intrinsic impatience; they lose the expectation of a final and complete victory achievable by one devastating blow.


I highlight this particular part because it really is true. Among the things to keep in mind when we get despondent is the fact that our enemies *also* get discouraged, more than we realize, by our resistance. If you want to see evidence of this it's not that hard to find on liberal websites.

Never neglect regular prayer, bible study and fellowship with other believers. Remember the story of Gideon (in which God makes Gideon face absurd odds so that His glory may be displayed).

James A. Donald said...

"because the major 'proper' churches have become Antichrist organizations - led toward ruin by leaders who are not Christians but instead use Christian themes and distort them to subvert Christianity."

Quite so, but it is obvious that this is the result of pressure. For example the Roman Catholic Church in the US preaches the Pauline position on sex and marriage in Spanish, but not in English, presumably because preaching it in English would expose it to the usual PC reprisals - a small compromise, but there is no end to such small compromises, and they add up.

The government makes it difficult, expensive, and inconvenient to resist. Organizations don't have to comply immediately and completely, but incomplete compliance leads to costs and problems, which somehow escalate until the organization starts making progress to progressivism.

The government finds the least blatant violation of freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion that gets groups and organizations steadily moving in the required direction. If any group lags too far, the government will escalate until it gets adequate progress towards progressivism.

Bruce Charlton said...

@JAD - Yes. Except for the Mormons.

Years of research have convinced me that that Mormon exception is *hard data*, and something to be explained - not explained-away.

But, Mormons aside, I don't see any hope in major denominations nor in their general trend.

Hope lies in small groupings within the major denominations (swimming against the tide) and in grouping outwith the large denominations.

My further hope is that these small groupings will recognize each other, and cooperate - rather than slighting and fighting each other, as Protestant evangelicals have tended to slight and fight Mormons over the past century (since they stopped trying to annihilate them).

A.K. Abeille said...

JAD wrote:
For example the Roman Catholic Church in the US preaches the Pauline position on sex and marriage in Spanish, but not in English, presumably because preaching it in English would expose it to the usual PC reprisals - a small compromise, but there is no end to such small compromises, and they add up.

Not sure where you've experienced this; I went through RCIA last year (in Arkansas), and both in the process and since then, I've found the church quite clearly presenting these ideas, in all their uncompromising, non-PC clarity.

Fan of the Wolf said...

Hige sceal þe heardra,
heorte þe cenre,
mod sceal þe mare,
þe ure mægen lytlaþ

Bruce Charlton said...

@FotW - In principle, yes. But in practice paganism does not motivate courage in the modern world:

http://charltonteaching.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/hope-in-context-of-modernity.html