Assertiveness is not Popular (But So Worth It) Part IV

Assertiveness works -- the world has witnessed this.

From the Tea Party Movement to the Arab Spring, and now Occupy Wall Street, which is now occupying the world, people are getting angry, people are making themselves heard

They are tired of distant governments that refuse to respond to the basic needs of the people.

Yet there is a huge difference in outcomes between being heard and getting things done. It's not enough to shout, you have to respect the authority of those whom you are speaking to. And shouting gets nothing done.

The Tea Party are flexing their First Amendment Rights, speech assembly and petition of grievances for redress. From the outraged trader on the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange to the shellacking of the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, the American people have made themselves heard using proper political channels.

The Arab Spring began with one frustrated fruit vendor, a young man trying to secure justice for himself after the means of his livelihood were unjustly seized by the rogue state power of the Tunisian government. From immolating himself before the local ministry of justice, the inhabitants of the local community protesters en masse. Soon, the gatherings spread to the capital, at which point the county's lawyers got involved. At first the President tried to suppress the protests, even arresting the demonstrating attorneys. This only stoked greater protest throughout the country.

After the rising opposition threatened to undo the entire corrupt order of Tunisia, the disgraced one-party rule of Ben Ali ended with his sudden resignation and departure. The Tunisian people, connected through Facebook and other Internet channels, coalesced around a concerted call to oust their "elected" dictator.

Now, the challenge of replacing unrest and misrule with a stable government respecting the rights of all has yet to materialize. It is one thing to demand the removal of officious officials, it is another thing to reform a political culture. Assertiveness requires not just a refusal and a rejection of the harmful status quo, but a willing replacement to ensure the security of the rights of all. At best, the Arab Spring, from Tunisia to Egypt, and now through Libya and Yemen to Syria, is a challenge for the people. They have made plain their grievances. Are they now prepared to be a part of the solution and respect everyone else's rights to speak, to be heard, and to advance their own interests?

Then there is Occupy Wall Street. Justifiably they are angry, the "99%" who did not get bailouts, while the Big Banks who played fast and loose with the Big Bucks got the taxpayer-funded loans. Yet the crowds blocking traffic from New York to Los Angeles are attacking the wrong people. It's one thing to be angry about sorry and impoverished conditions, but everyone of must be responsible enough to address our upset toward those who are centrally accountable for the stagnant economy and anemic recovery. The frustrated college students and public employees should storm the National Mall, the Capitol, and demand that our leaders do something.

Occupy Wall Street needs to Occupy Washington, and not with raving protesters disrupting the due process of all Americans. The Tea Party resorted to legitimate legal means to make its point: constitutional government, fiscal conservatism, state and individual sovereignty. The posters tenting out in the public square have yelled demanding a change, but they have not articulated what needs to be done, nor have they drawn up a cohesive political strategy. Assertiveness requires not just talking to the right people, not just addressing them with your concerns in a respectful but firm manner, but also declare how they want change to be made.

Just like the Arab States in political turmoil throughout the Middle East, protesters demanding respect must accord this respect to everyone else, even those previously in power. Demagoguing the enemy enslaves everyone, and upends one political tyranny for that of the monstrous majority, whose rapacity knows no bounds.

Indeed, assertiveness on a local, regional, and even a national scale is so worth it, but its worth becomes strained and compromised to the extent that the populace turns populism into mob rule, where raw power alone determines the well-being of the state and its inhabitants as opposed to right and true recognition of natural right, an essential manifestation of the individual, not the crowd.