Breaking the narrative by refusal

Letters from O'Brien #44

Breaking the narrative by refusal

I want to quickly highlight what may already be obvious by this point. That is; how one can break the narrative spell on the west without necessarily having to venture into spaces outside of your normal life?

The most successful regimes are often upheld by lies. This was demonstrated in the Soviet Union, where living was only possible if one lied to themselves every day. Lenin and Stalin were only individual men, and their ideas - however captivating they may have been at the start - slowly decayed, revealing nothing more than a bleak future for the masses who had been promised so much. At that point, it became apparent that the only way for the regime to retain power was for everyone - in unity - to lie to themselves about the reality they were living in. If the lie was refused, the state would collapse, but sadly this mass refusal would not occur until the late 1980s.

This same issue is presented to us today, albeit in this early, less totalitarian, stage. However, as with the Soviet Union and Maoist China, this will only last for a time. After that, things must either get better, or get worse. If people continue to embody the lie out of fear, then things will get worse. If people refuse, then that path can be avoided.

PEACEFUL REFUSAL

Many successful rebellions are built on peaceful refusal. Gandhi and his followers were told not to turn to destruction, but remain peaceful, even if the response from the British was use of force. The disciples in the Bible also peacefully refused, and it led to greater recognition and a faster spreading of the gospel. Even the socialist hippies during the Vietnam era exemplify this (albeit with very different motives to what I’m talking about), as student protesters refused, culminating in a soldier shooting and killing a student at Kent State university, bringing the issue to national attention.

It may sound counterintuitive, but the idea here is to force a response which cannot be ignored. This tactic is already being used by many across the world, and to great effect. In fact, most public outrage surrounding such things as state authority, mandates, protests, and so forth have originated from videos, articles, or stories in which peaceful refusal has forced the socialist regime to respond with force, usually in a way which oversteps the mark and shows them up as unreasonable.

Western society is still bound (for now) by a loose moral framework. Thus, if peaceful refusal results in an insane overreaction, people will notice, and likely take issue with it. As in the case of Gandhi, the stronger the refusal, the more ridiculous the response. If such a regime can be pushed to do ridiculous and destructive things, then eventually no sane person will be able to remain neutral.

Now this refusal starts with a rejection of lies, but after a while this refusal can spread to any area of society tainted by the effects of a corrupt leadership. For example, some are refusing to send their children to state schools, refusing to partake in regime backed programs such as DEI training, and even (as some have seen recently) children calling out narrative-aligned lies in the classroom. All such things put pressure on the socialist regime since it hinders their ability to control the individual.

There are two preferential outcomes: an awakening on a societal level, and the evaporation of any sort of brute force power (at least one would hope). I believe such an awakening of individuals is already happening and I believe it is a direct result of what I have outlined; insane overreach by a socialist regime attempting to squash people who have done nothing wrong. The military arm of the regime is often made up of working-class people, and as such many will pull away as their eyes are opened to immoral acts committed for the sake of suppressing truth. These ‘boots on the ground’ are the ‘hard power’ of the state, and thus they are what the state will turn to once ‘soft power’ (essentially propaganda to uphold the lie) fails. Yet, the working-class military arm can be converted in my estimation, especially if they are requested to partake in highly immoral acts by the state. If such a conversion were to occur, then the power of the state ceases to exist, and the lie collapses completely.

I believe most people in the west still adhere to some sense of community and Christian morality (even if they wouldn’t admit that’s what it is), and as such, peaceful refusal is a powerful tool in stopping authoritarianism from gaining any more traction. Such a refusal doesn’t even require one to step outside of the normal rhythms of day-to-day life; it simply requires that one refuse to partake in any lies which will inevitably be sent his or her way. At this point in time, more people are realising just how immoral western leadership has become, and if this trend of peaceful resistance continues, then I am convinced sooner or later the lie will collapse completely.