The Action is in the Reaction by G. Vance Smith The following is a transcript of the remarks our Chief Executive Officer made at our Southern California Council Dinner in Costa Mesa on February 27, 1993. The John Birch Society is in its 35th year, and, because of Robert Welch, we as members are linked with a common understanding and commitment to some basic principles. Perhaps the deep feelings I have for the members of the John Birch Society stem from the depth of understanding of those principles. While the whole world seems to be running here and there boxing with shadows and dueling windmills, the firmly rooted members of this organization stand on a plane that escapes the imagination of most people. For example run-of-the-mill conservatives think we are fighting the liberals and bureaucrats. But we know that liberals and bureaucrats are not the main enemy. Certainly, they do not make life any easier for us, and most of their busy work is harmful, but they are not the enemy. The enemy is neither conservative, nor liberal, nor moderate. The enemy is a criminal. His ideology is power. Nothing else. He seeks raw, ruthless, total power over the lives and fortunes of all men, women, and children who will occupy this earth. To accomplish this, he uses liberals and conservatives alike. I am not talking about the informed, patriotic conservatives. I am talking about the so-called "respectable" conservatives who see themselves as too smart to be taken in by what they call "conspiracy theories." By referring to conspiracy as a "theory", the so-called "respectable" conservatives give themselves away. They allow themselves to be taken in the very minute they think they are too smart to be beguiled. There is nothing more blinding than human pride, and there are none so useful to the Conspiracy as the haughty and the proud. Such individuals often praise our battle plans and admire the tireless persistence of our members. Then damning us with faint praise they will say, "However, if you folks could just stop seeing a conspiracy everywhere, you would get the support of many millions of Americans." And to this we say, there would be no wisdom at all in our battle plans if we did not know and expose the enemy. It is our knowledge of the enemy - his nature, his tactics, and his goals - that has guided our planning and has made our programs laudable and workable. Our plans are practical because we know the tactics and understand the strategy of our enemy. The strategy employed by our enemy for getting a free people to surrender is really quite simple. He gets the people - acting through their representatives - to legislate away their freedoms while they are caught up in the emotion of some dramatically serious problems. This tactic works because so many of our citizens only see the problem; they fail to realize that oftentimes the problem either does not exist or it has been created by too much government in the first place. How often do we hear voices crying out against this or against that terrible thing with, "There ought to be a law." Our friends rush to the school board, to city hall, to the courts, to the legislature, and ask for laws and regulations. Like the importuning widow, they pound on the doors of our lawmakers and demand that government do something. In most cases, our good friends have been fooled. Those who have engineered the real and imagined problems don't care about the harm and danger they create. They want a fearful condition. In fact, the more outrageous and the more dangerous the crisis, the better. All they really want is your reaction. This tactic has been summarized in these few but profoundly important words: "The action is in the reaction." Or put another way, the action the enemy really wants comes as a result of public reaction to a crisis - real or imagined. The Conspiracy uses this tactic to get people to ask for unconstitutional laws and more government. By this cunning device, would-be totalitarians can and do get free people to supply the chains of their own slavery. Here are just a few examples of how such a strategy has been used repeatedly to cheat Americans out of their freedom: Number One, Civil "Rights" Does anyone really believe that those powerful individuals in Washington, those who feigned so much compassion for black Americans, really cared about what they called civil rights? Did they lay awake at night immersed in sympathy for blacks who had to ride in the back of the bus, or attend separate schools, or use separate facilities? The civil rights fraud had nothing to do with protecting fundamental rights, but it had everything to do with our reaction to all the marching, rioting, and looting. It was America's reaction that gave the conspirators what they really wanted: an excuse to send federal troops into the states, and to break down the constitutional separation of state and federal powers. It also enabled the federal government to exercise control over the voting process. Our founders wanted to be certain that all elections were state elections with absolutely no federal control over the voting process. But by fanning the embers of bigotry, those who sought power obtained it in wholesale fashion. The real movement in the so-called civil rights movement was public reaction, which in turn created the appearance of popular support for the passage of destructive legislation. Number Two, Communism Communism served a purpose for the Conspiracy, but you may be certain that that purpose had nothing to do with liberating exploited labor or any of that ideological nonsense about sharing the wealth. The ugly face of communism was intended to be ugly. No matter how hard duped liberals tried to cover it up, its ugliness was blatant and intentional. The worldwide communist menace was obvious to everyone. It was (and in some parts of the world, still is) intended to elicit a revulsion, and a compelling sense of urgency to stomp it out. While the whole free world saw communism hiding behind many fronts, Robert Welch saw the Master Conspiracy hiding behind the colossal front of communism. And because of this brilliant and correct insight, we have suffered intense persecution and opposition, even from many of our friends who ought to have known better. Communism was established as a means to an end, not an end in itself. Its purpose of terrorizing the world was of tremendous help to the Conspiracy in eliciting a massive global reaction. It is a worldwide reaction that has moved us closer to the new world order. For without real blood, terror and atrocities, no free nation would support the United Nations, and no free state would consider giving up its national sovereignty to a world body. The desired reaction would be impossible if the presumed alternatives - communism or nuclear annihilation - were not so blatant and so terrible. World government was the goal in the first place. Yes, even after decades of suffering, the real action of communism was in fact in the reaction. As I said, this is not just any run-of-the- mill comprehension. But it is your depth of understanding that places the members of the John Birch Society light years ahead of whoever is in second place. And it is that quality that permeates this room tonight and accounts for the depth of my feeling towards each one of you. Number Three, the Constitution The plan to destroy our Constitution takes only a slightly different form. That is, the desired reaction plays on the positive, rather than the negative side. Because members of Congress refuse to undertake an ostensible good (such as balanced budget amendment), we are supposed to react by using the Constitution to force them to do good. The plan does not require us to prevent some contrived evil by legislating ourselves to death, but it calls for beguiling us into placing the Constitution in the hands of forces that would destroy it. It is a bit more sophisticated than reacting to a riot. And I might add, it is far more deadly. The Constitution will face grave danger as a result of America's reaction to such seemingly plausible causes as the balanced budget amendment, term limits, the line item veto, the electoral college, and anything on earth that sounds conservative and safe. These problems are being laid before the public in order to stir up the necessary reaction that will come in the form of a constitutional convention. Again, the ostensible goals are not the issue and they are not what the Conspiracy cares about. The reaction, a constitutional convention, will set in motion the very condition desired by the Master Conspiracy. Does anyone really think the Insiders care about ethics in Congress, or about a balanced budget? Again, all they want is the reaction of 34 angry states that will deliver the Constitution into the hands of the Conspiracy. Number Four, the Environment This little gem comes in two kinds, national and global. National: A reaction based on public ignorance is intended to lead to laws that will grind business to a halt. This problem, as applied against America, will lead to regulations so severe that they will destroy our free market system. This, I believe is an intermediate goal which would bring about the nationalization of all heavy industry and energy production. Global: If the environmental fraud can be portrayed as a global crisis, a deception that is certainly well on its way, then the desired reaction will lead to the transfer of U.S. sovereignty to global power. Again, the real action will come as a result of the reaction. So the environmental fraud, if not exposed, will place the United States in double jeopardy: more government and more internationalism - as an increasingly socialistic United States gradually becomes a part of the emerging global government. The John Birch Society is under constant attack, not because of our mistakes, but because we've got it all together. We understand how the game is played. It is devastating to the Insiders when they see that we refuse to fall into their traps. Birchers generally maintain a sophistication that continues to frustrate the Insiders. We refuse to supply the reaction they seek. We do not dash into the streets with rocks or Molotov cocktails. We don't engage in race wars or foster civil unrest. We don't "test laws" by civil disobedience, or refuse to pay taxes, or grab our guns and head for the hills. Why? Because we understand the game. We know that this is precisely what the Insiders want. All throughout history, tyranny has been built on the ashes of anarchy. Anyone who assumes we don't feel like reacting with anger and rage is wrong, because very often we do feel that way. But wisdom dictates that we take the action that counts, not the reaction our enemy wants. Why should we react at all if we are on the offensive? Why should we allow the Conspiracy to keep us busy dodging the darts of dishonesty, when all we have to do is shoot the arrows of truth? Exactly what are those arrows of truth, and how are they being set in motion to hit their targets? 1. We are exposing the design, strategy, and background of the master conspirators whose ultimate goal is the reduction of the United States to a colony in a world dictatorship run by them. Recognizing Bill Jasper's book, "Global Tyranny...Step by Step", for the dynamite that it is - we are not going to stop short by setting off a few scattered firecrackers; we are going to get the biggest bang we can by launching a massive promotion and distribution campaign. And the resulting explosion, we expect, will rock the Establishment to its core! 2. We are protecting the Constitution by circulating powerful documents in the state legislatures of this nation, holding off a public reaction intended to deliver a constitutional convention. But that is not all. We are now developing a video documentary geared to helping the average citizen understand the subtle tactics employed to destroy our form of government. Our final victory can come about only through a ground swell of public understanding. By holding off any new con-con calls since 1983, we have won some valuable time to build a more firm base at the grass-roots level. 3. Since 1974, arrows of information have been aimed at Congress in the form of TRIM Bulletins. Organized committees and dedicated individuals have worked tirelessly to inform the electorate using these great tools. Within the last two years, the influence of TRIM has increased dramatically with National TRIM Bulletins having become available in all 435 congressional districts. But we have only scratched the surface of the TRIM potential. This is not the time to go into a full description of the far-sighted, vastly expanded, TRIM 2000 Program. but the positive and realistic new goals we have set can produce a constitutional Congress by the year 2000. 4. Through our magazine, "The New American", we publish the truth. It is not always easy, but it is a trademark of the John Birch Society. We would not deserve the respect we receive if we were to play politics or try to win popularity contests. Because of the standard we have set, "The New American" will endure. During the past few months, thousands of new subscribers have been added. We have received numerous notes of praise and appreciation for this outstanding magazine. While we are extremely pleased with the results of our recent subscription campaign, we again know we have only scratched the surface. Ambitious circulation and advertising goals for "The New American" are a key part of our strategic plan for victory. 5. The Insiders have always proven proficient at providing leadership for both sides of any issue, neither of which is correct. The John Birch Society, on the other hand, has illustrated over and over how this strategy of working both sides of the street has been used to confuse and to confound the American people. It has always been, and still is, our responsibility to expose false leadership. Today we see a billionaire candidate now posing as the poor-man's bastion of common sense, a national talk radio entertainer who ridicules conspiracy while bashing liberals and Birchers, Insider-approved authors of popular books and magazine articles dealing with the financial doomsday of America, and other-would be conservative leaders who disguise their real intentions with the Cover of some well chosen John Birch Society language. 6. We are often asked, "How many warriors will it take?" Our answer: As many as there are. Every one of us has had the experience of feeling alone at certain times and on certain battlefronts. How many will it take? It will take every soul who is willing to stand. An army of one million can win quickly, save lives, and secure the land. But if a kind providence so chooses, it can be done with 100,000, or 1000, or 100. He has honored our struggle and our candor and our prayers. When everyone who would enlist IS enlisted, the victory will come. Our duty is to make certain that every red-blooded American has enough information and knowledge to enlist in the John Birch Society and to be a part of Robert Welch's "epic undertaking." Ladies and gentlemen, we will continue to go on the offensive, and we will teach Americans to recognize the crisis calculated to elicit their reaction. We will continue to act wisely, and to speak honestly. And we will cut our way to victory with the sharp and terrible arrows of truth. ========================================================================= contributed by: Richard Dudzic 4501 Brownfield Dr #322 Lubbock, TX 79410 E-Mail 71034,555 ========================================================================== Note from contributor: Come join us in the fight for preservation of our liberty and help us return this nation back to the governing philosophy which made this nation the greatest one on earth. Membership of the John Birch Society includes Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Blacks, Whites Jews and members of various backgrounds. For $5. introductory packet call 1(800)JBS-USA1 or write to: P.O. Box 8040 Appleton, Wisconsin 54913 To subscribe to "The New American" magazine, or to get "Global Tyranny... Step By Step" book - call: General Birch Services (414)749-3783 ==========================================================================