Defining Purpose, Defining Leadership

My fellow citizens,

It has been a few weeks from my last post, and we founding fathers continue to be hopeful that this movement continues to have legs that will allow it to run the long race which is before you. In order for you all to understand what I mean by this, it is important to review what we went through during what you now call, the Revolutionary Period:

1764 to 1774-We early colonists started to question, assemble, organize, and wrote petitions to the British government, hoping, and praying, for change in their policies. During this period, after many intrusions on our liberty by the British empire, and our repeated requests for an amicable set of agreements, the British sent their first troops who arrived in Boston in September of 1768 to deal with the 'problem child' to the west. Over the years following their arrival, we endured the Boston Massacre (1770), showed our resolve at the Boston Tea Party (1773), and we held the First Continental Congress (1774).

1775-Lexington & Concord. We assembled on the grass in Lexington to show our principles in action, while British troops advanced toward us. That day, 8 colonists were killed, and 10 wounded. Later that day, in Concord, it could be said that this was the 'unofficial' start of the American Revolution, though such talk had been heard for many years before that dreadful day.

Less than a month after the battle of Lexington & Concord, we assembled for the Second Continental Congress, and later that year, the Battle of Bunker hill further increased pressure on both sides. Even then, many were hoping for an amicable agreement, in fact, in the middle of that summer, the 'Olive Branch Petition' was sent. But all of our pleading fell on deaf ears.

1776-The Congress recommended formation of new state governments, followed by the Resolution to affirm independence, and on July 4, the official Declaration of Independence, was drafted and confirmed. This led us down a path to which there was no turning back.

We would either be free, a new country, independent of British tyranny, or we would not.

1777 to 1786-Bloodshed, destruction, lives lost, treaties with other countries signed, most notably with France (1778), more lives lost, with finally a Peace Treaty was signed (1783).

1787-We assembled the Constitutional Convention and met, over the course of the spring and summer. It was not until December of that year, that the first state, Delaware, ratified the new Constitution. This was followed soon after by Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

1788-With the coming of the new year, many other states followed suit: Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and finally, after much effort through the Federalist Papers, New York. It can be said that no one simply rushed to jump to a consolidated National Agenda, simply because a document was drafted.

1789-North Carolina ratifies the Constitution.

1790-Fully 29 months (more than 2 years!) after Delaware first ratified, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution.

So what is the point of this very condensed history of the revolutionary period?

Looking at the timeline above, you will note all of these events occurred over a 26 year period!

While some historians may say this was an 'inevitable' sequence of events, something which I heard often from my good friend Thomas Jefferson, not all of the founding fathers necessarily agreed. Mr. Jefferson spoke of the inevitability of the United States. But in many ways, we were reacting to that which was presented to us at the time. There was no 'road map' for any of us, no blueprint or set of alternatives that could be identified in which all of the states, could agree, on action.

So I would ask you, those who are involved in the 912 movement, the Tea Parties, I Caucus, Patriotic Resistance, We the People groups:

What is it that you seek to achieve, and how will you do it?

In looking back at the history which we made, we founders believe that what is suggested for your movement, is a basic 'organizational plan' that will help you how to think about organizing your activities as a group. And it no longer is just about one group, it is about uniting around that which you can all agree.

The reason for this is that while on paper (the Constitution) and from a distance, it looked like we all agreed on how to make a new country and that it was easy. I can tell you that it was not. There were many days that I professed to my dear Abigail that I felt the very real despair of 'inevitable' failure that was always close to our door. This is because there were many, many, self serving interests which needed to be appeased and negotiated.

The hope is that you can avoid all of the long and difficult years of struggle that we had to endure in order to achieve our goal. We believe that your reclaiming your country can be done systematically and peacefully, but with determination and resolve. Our job here is not to tell you what you should do, but we can provide some advice based on our own experiences. It will ultimately be up to you as a consolidated group, to chart out and work toward your mission.

But what is the mission? How do you define a mission?

This starts with defining what your objectives are, how you will do it, who will do it, and how you measure your progress. In other words, start by asking what, in the end, do you want to see happen?

For us, the mission was to regain our liberty from a tyrannical British government in which we had no vote, and no voice. By defining that mission, we were able to shape the actions and decisions which supported that mission.

This process of defining the end goal is the foundation of a plan that every successful group should have well thought out. It is my experience that when you know what you want to do, and how you will do it, it is much easier to communicate that to each person, so that they can see where they can fit in and contribute in the most effective way to the goals you have collectively defined. It also diminishes duplication of effort, and it provides clear goals and responsibilities for all involved, at every level (town, state, and nationally).

In order to do this, it will be important first for you to identify your leadership. You already are starting that process; you have local leaders working in small groups in your communities, and some are working to organize your states.

Others are working to organize nationally, however, at each level, there continues to be significant duplication of efforts; there is lot's of energy, but not all of it is directed.

In some cases, and this is a cause of significant worry to the founding fathers, there are a very small number of a few, still making policy directives and decisions on behalf of large numbers of people, without the their input. And isn't this one of the main issues in Washington today? Isn't this what you are all fighting against?

We believe that you should call for elections at every level, set defined periods of service (term limits), followed again by elections to ensure that the agenda of the people, are heard every step of the way.

The process of change sometimes takes a long and torturous route, but this is not a foregone conclusion. Think about what you want to achieve first, and the pathways (the actions), will reveal themselves. But first, start to get your leadership in place, by election, not self appointment.

Then, assemble the Third Continental Congress for all the groups (912, We the people, Patriotic Resistance, Tea Parties, etc.), in short, all of you who share common ideas about the change in America you think is necessary. I wrote in my last blog about the subject of holding the Third Continental Congress.

Respectfully,

John Adams, citizen servant, on behalf of the Founding Fathers

For your consideration on how to unite: The Third Continental Congress

My fellow citizens,

Many of you no doubt are wondering about this blog; in fact, I've heard from more than one of you that as I am not 'real' then I have nothing worth saying and therefore nothing worth contributing to the discussion about how large groups, with many personalities, can ultimately unite.

Others have written me that they are afraid that I may be a spy, subverting and distracting the 912ers and the tea partyers that what I talk about may be disrupt to the unificaton process.


I can say assurdly, that the goal of the founding fathers is pure; we have no desire to assume leadership roles in the united group-we are long dead and gone, our bodies have been returned to mother earth that gave us life, so that life can be renewed in other ways.

No, our aim is to to help you think about the process by which you will ultimately unite, and not to compel you by requirement, any agenda for a particular process. It will be your own to decide. But I have some experience in this matter of unifying under stressful conditions. I do not need to tell you how pressing and how urgent the current state of our country is in; you know it, and this is what has lit the match and now whose flame is growing stronger.

But how do groups from all over this country actually come together? And how do groups, who are organized by one or two people (who basically control thousands of 'followers' behind their keyboards), unite? There are more than a few sites we have discovered:

http://weare912ers.ning.com/
http://wesurroundthem.ning.com/
http://www.the912project.us/
http://site.the912coalition.org/
...

And the list goes on. If I did not list your site, please email them to me, and I will happily post them. Added to that is the fact that there are regional groups, state groups, and individual meetup local sites, with their own domain names and websites. It is a very confusing business. It may seem like this is a situation only reserved for today's internet age, I can assure you that this is not that special. For in our days, we founders found there to be as many individual interests as there were people. So history can indeed repeat. So how did we handle all of these competing interests?

When we founders were working to unite the 13 states, what we agreed was to convene a series of meetings, which we called the Continental Congress. A very good summary I was able to find here. But there are many books that have been written which describe what went on in much greater detail for those that wish a more scholarly path.


The First Continental Congress showed us, after much debate and discussion, how to assemble a coalition ready to act.

It was not enough to simply assemble, for our mission was not much different than yours is today.

We worked first to organize our states, and then came together in a shared pupose: to assemble an army to repel the tyrannical British empire with their Redcoats and hired mercenaries, and later, to draft, and then ratify, the Constitution of the United States.


We founders believe that convening such a meeting, a Third Continental Congress, should be held when the elected representatives, those that are duly elected by the membership, of all 50 states, are chosen.

We are, of course, particular to Philadelphia, but you have access to electronic meetings that we did not. It would be, we believe, an excellent symbolic message however, if the elected representatives did in fact, meet in front of the very steps we walked those many years ago.

This Third Continental Congress can be used as a forum to discuss how you will establish and govern your national group. It is important to note that we strongly suggest that the word 'elected' is well-defined here. Appointed by a lead organizer of a group does not constitute elected, because an appointment comes from an authority which has been granted by the people. I would submit to you that the organizers now helping to spread the word about the 912 Project, are simply that.

Many of these organizers are working both locally and nationally. But none of them are actually elected by the people. They were simply early in the process, recognizing that they could help assemble people to the cause. And their service to this cause and the tireless hours are very much appreciated by the people. But what we founders suggest is that each state should be represented at the Third Continental Congress, by vote of its state members. In some cases, this could of course mean that the organizers may also be the elected representatives, and this makes perfect sense, because they have been duly elected by the people of the state they reside in.


There will likely be resistance to this by some, and you know from reading our own experience so many years ago in early America, that resistence by the 'leaders' to yield to an approach that is anything but their way should be a strong indication that their motives may perhaps not in line with the motives of the people. So we shall see how those organizers react to this suggested pathway to unity, which again, we share with the people for their due consideration. I again bring back to view the experience we founders had-there is no difference today. Each state had its own organizers, who were resistant to change, and we do not believe it to be any different today.


I look forward to hearing from you about whether you feel this idea makes sense. And when I hear that feedback, I will know whether you, the people, agree with the founders suggestion, or if you reject it in favor of an alternative. We are agreeable either way, so long as the people are deciding, and not one person sitting behind a keyboard. We trust in the citizens of the United States to be able to decide.

If you would like to learn more about how we see this pathway forward, please tell us.

Respectfully, and on behalf of the Founding Fathers,


John Adams
Citizen servant of the People

the912Project…a message from the founding fathers

Dear Citizens of these United States:


I and the other founding fathers are pleased with the grass roots effort now underway to restore these United States to the founding principles and values to which we all hold dear and which have made this country great.


It will be important in the coming days to see how determined the movement is in its desire for true unity. There were many days I feared the fragile coalition we stitched together between the 13 colonies over months and years would unwind through our very fingertips.


I do not say this lightly; we pray that this movement will continue to grow; that it can stand the tests which are sure to come. The enemies of a united people are many. In more than one instance, we can see that those that are assembling 912ers in groups both locally, and nationally, perhaps may have their own agendas at work. I can tell you my friends from my own experience…this can be more potent than any British Redcoat, armed to the hilt, with cannons more powerful than our own.


We have seen new endeavors whose purpose is not principally to unite the people, but instead, for perhaps personal fame, power, or money. Such was the case when we started the process of the Declaration of Independence, and later, the drafting of the Constitution of the United States. There were many who did not want to give up their personal fortunes, and those who wanted to maintain the status quo. But through diligence and hard work, through toil and sometimes, despair, that this fragile republic might melt like a spring snow, we were able to find unity in our goal to let freedom once again ring throughout the land.



We founding fathers have enlisted a growing group of trusted American citizens whose mission is to discover who are the real patriots who support the 912project and what it really stands for. This group has been tasked to find and confront those who are deceiving other 912ers, whether it be for power, fame, or monetary gain.



In addition, in collaboration with the founding fathers, through the foresight and benevolence of a small group of dedicated 912ers, we have already established a central structure, whereby 912ers can accomplish their goal of uniting, under one organization, funded purely by donations of its members and which shall remain anonymous.



We have secured this framework whereby all 912ers can electronically assemble, much in the same way we founders assembled together, without the pressures of competing lobbyists, without pressures of pay-to-play, political favors, without fear of censorship and monitoring, i.e., free of any of the problems this movement, in its purest form, is currently fighting against.


We do these things of our own volition, we will give this central structure freely to the 912project, so that the united group may go about the real work of the912project: uniting as one voice against an oppressive and expanding government now out of control.


We do not ask for anything in return. The united 912 group can use the structure as its members see best fit to deploy it, in a governing body of the united 912 group, duly elected by its members.


I will be writing here from time to time, what I see, and what I hear. In the coming days, I will reveal the structure for your review, and comment. On this site there are no restrictions - we do not approve or remove any submitted post. Meanwhile, the work goes on to become one united voice.


With sincere gratitude, and continued prayers for what your team has started, and to all true 912′ers,


Respectively submitted on behalf of the Founding Fathers,


John Adams