How Not to Become Controlled Opposition
Over the last several years, I’ve seen accusations of “controlled opposition” being hurled at anyone perceived to be untrustworthy, disingenuous, misguided or generally “in the way.” And while I don’t deny that there are very real and deliberate attempts by some to derail our efforts from the inside, we run the risk of perpetuating our own demise by letting our skepticism run the show.
I’m sharing some thoughts about staying on track as I make an effort to root in myself.
Don’t Let Opposition Control YOU
I’d like to propose that we can readily become victims of “controlled opposition” when we allow notions of opposition/enemy to become the main driver of our behavior.
It’s way too easy to find enemies when that’s what we’re looking for.
Activism forces us to examine what it means to be human. That spark that lit a fire in us is part of a powerful alchemical process that transforms our intentions into change. Working together, we can create new laws, impact elections and even shift cultural paradigms. But those changes will always reflect where our hearts and values were in the moments we fought for them. Ignited passion can be fiery and chaotic, and subsequently, difficult to contain. Throw in a little urgency, and things can easily become heated… inflammatory. Add social media and we’ve got ourselves a powder keg. A cytokine storm.
Doing the work means preparing for moments when we will confront our weaknesses, our rage, our insecurities and our self-righteousness. It means grounding into our principles and regularly revisiting our goals. It also means immersing ourselves in the human experience in meaningful ways. In the absence of connection and access to the full spectrum of human nature, we run the risk of blaming the ugliness in the world on humanity itself. That’s the kind of thinking that drives technocracy. In the spirit of healthy cultural immunity, can we channel “love they neighbor” instead of “defeat the enemy”?
Every single one of us is capable of inadvertently annihilating everything we’ve ever achieved. We’re all vulnerable to our fiery passions. The need for shadow work, spiritual cultivation, whatever you want to call it, surfaces constantly in the world of advocacy.
Efforts to preserve medical and religious freedom, parental rights and sovereignty in general are high stakes. To many, the future of our children and our country depend on the success of their efforts, and that intensity lands hard on our nervous systems. Sometimes it’s unhealthy to work that hard and short-sighted to put that much weight on a single outcome. In the absence of proper sunlight, nature, rest, nutrition, human connection and spiritual grounding, advocacy work can put us way out of balance.
Navigating the advocacy landscape without falling prey to our own egos requires both introspection and self-healing practices.
Find a way to nourish yourself and share the responsibilities of this journey. Others will show up to lighten your load and you must both allow them and embrace them. This is not a journey that is lit by one giant sun, but by millions of twinkling stars who are lighting the way through darkness. Let each little star shine its light. Accept those gifts and set your ego aside. You were not meant to be the sun throughout this challenge. You were meant to twinkle alongside others to light a new path. It will take time, but it will be a labor of love and cooperation and you will find your way together.
I rely on folks like Tessa Lena and Barry Brownstien and many others to help me stay rooted. And even then it’s tricky.
Notice patterns
If you’ve been paying attention, you can likely spot old patterns that resurface in moments of adversity. Fear and anger readily show up when threats to our safety and security present themselves. How we respond in these moment can be the difference between progress and derailment, victory and defeat, and the cultivation or deterioration of our own character.
History repeats itself
Right now in New Jersey, a number of families within the Catholic school system are currently facing dismissal from school because of their medical status and the grassroots medical freedom movement is facing familiar uncertainty.
Various groups and individuals are taking different approaches to addressing this problem. It’s another uncomfortable moment for strong-minded advocates, many of whom have invested years in strategies they have worked hard to apply. Some groups have focused on building relationships with legislators and religious leaders. Others have focused on campaigns to educate and empower families to advocate for themselves. (Most do both with a somewhat different emphasis.) Because of these combined efforts, there are always people who can get decision-makers to the table for important conversations AND there are always others who will readily forfeit a seat at that table by mobilizing more vocal opposition to bad bills and unfair practices. In New Jersey, our bases are well covered.
But in moments of uncertainty, it’s very easy to perceive the efforts that aren’t aligned with ours as opposition. We need to recognize this red flag when it arises in each of us. Because our response will answer the question How do people who claim to advocate for freedom treat people who make difference choices?
Taking different approaches to achieve the same goal is precisely how we saved the religious exemption in New Jersey. We benefitted by making room for all kinds of strategies and ideas while finding a way to move forward together.
And if we look carefully, we can recognize similar patterns in the adversity we faced and root into the unified approach we took then.
In 2019/2020, New Jersey’s health freedom movement faced similar struggles. We were floated similar backroom deals and intimidation tactics. And we refused to shrink under pressure.
They offered to grandfather our families in.
They threatened that we were making things worse by making noise.
They selected a few of us and said they’d quietly work with us because we were “more reasonable” than all those other crazy, irrational groups. (This was the most insidious and divisive tactic of all and I experienced it firsthand.)
The looming threat was always that if we became loud and “unreasonable”, we would be to blame for making things worse. Don’t poke the bear.
But back then we remembered that WE were the bears - the mama/papa bears. And they poked US, and our children, with bills that threatened our ability to make important decisions for our families.
It’s critical that we refrain from public shaming and judgement – towards those who raise their voices as well as those who choose to quietly fly under the radar. It can be frustrating that both the voices and/or the silence can foil our efforts at various times, but we need to find our way back to each other.
Don’t let anyone grab you by the ego
We have a lot invested in our efforts to change the world. So do those who want things to go another way. I haven’t yet figured out the balance between vigilance and faith, skepticism and trust, but some awareness of the workings of my ego comes in handy.
Activists and advocates dedicate a lot of time and effort to getting their messages out. These are generally good-hearted people working hard to “be the change”. So when they finally manage to overcome the censors and get public attention and support, they’re usually exhausted and ready to breathe a sigh of relief... and celebrate.
Health freedom is now approaching this precipice.
And while we can celebrate our victories as this movement grows, it’s a good time to learn from history. Civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, children’s rights and environmental activism have all been embraced and subsequently exploited by government agencies, politicians and NGOs who use these causes as platforms to bring in “solutions” that often do far more harm than good…
There’s a fine line between being supported and being exploited, manipulated or coopted. And, thanks to human nature, that line gets really wiggly sometimes…
Unfortunately, political leaders and captured agencies have a habit of using your voice and your value system to manipulate beliefs, drive agenda and control behavior. It’s often very confusing, because ideas with merit that are rooted in compassion can be exploited to promote cultural shifts that can ultimately be harmful.
During times of fear and scarcity, carrots dangle from sticks everywhere. Sometimes the carrot is custom made for you. Pay attention to who’s holding that stick.
Lastly, check in with your gut and your heart. Every. Single. Time.
May the best of all humanity win.
Zooming out with our highest consciousness and zooming in with our most loving heart, may we always be solution-and-humanity-oriented!
Powerful article - thank you much ATR ...