It's the only way to resist. That, and vocally and vociferously insisting on the rule of law. Timely post.
Don't forget that laws are (hu)man-made. Laws reflect the kind of people that make the law. Certain kind of people can make certain kind of laws. At that point, rule of law would appear indistinguishable from lack thereof.
> The rule of law is a political and legal ideal that all people and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers, government officials, and judges. It is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". According to Encyclopædia Britannica, it is defined as "the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power."[0]
Regardless what the laws enacted are, ensuring no one is above them (a president or an entire branch of the US Federal government, say) is a cornerstone of US civil life.
I don’t think all exercises of free speech are OK.
Maybe you’re from a country where obnoxious has a stronger meaning.
But a bunch of Nazis walking down the road demanding human rights violations is pretty obnoxious.
Alienating the people who don’t care is always a risk.
It’s one reason I don’t go to protests, and generally avoid activism, even though I care greatly about many issues and take discreet action when I can.
My representatives know my views very well, as do many government rule-making bodies that must consider public input.
My neighbors know nothing about this. Even though I’m well known to the press, they have no idea what my politics are.
Activists very much have to be activists. There is often very little space for polite activism without the impolite creation of awareness in the first place.
And the progress of a position also depends on the ability to get work done politely when impoliteness is not needed.
You have to insist on a more fundamental source of legitimacy, economic power, and wield a threat that cannot be easily defeated.
Remember: these presidents are elected by about a quarter of the country if that, and the most recent election had a fall in turnout. Even if you base your entire theory of legitimacy in election results, the legitimacy of U.S. elections is looking worse and worse every season. The opposition didn't even have a primary lol
Never once have I heard that WW2 was won by vocally and vociferously insisting on the rule of law
That aside, an argument could be made that if the rule of law had been more forcefully adhered to in their early days, Hitler and the Nazi Party could have been stopped before the gears of war had started to turn.
Not to mention the cdc scrubbing and such that judges are now overturning and demanding information returned to the public.
People did not vote for the Dark Enlightenment nor the Butterfly Revolution. Want to gut USAID? Work with Congress and pass a law. Want to strip Social Security? Samesies.
That is the rule of law. If you are a representative of the people, you follow the law.
Heck, want to get rid of the useless penny (like we Canadians did years ago)? Change the law:
I ask again, where are the adults?
ten-year
.
A bit wordier, but hopefully harder to denounce on the pretext that it's playing dumb.