Kevin Van Horn's Columns
Getting the State Out of Our Heads
"Statist language promotes a statist mindset. We cannot hope to make significant progress in combating the State's power as long as it still has a foothold in our heads. We must uproot the tendrils of State influence from our own minds, and to do this we must also uproot its hidden propaganda from our own speech." Column by Kevin Van Horn.
The Strategic Estimate: First Step on the Path to Freedom
"I just didn't see anything I could do towards achieving that goal that had any reasonable chance of making a worthwhile difference...until I ran across the extensive and detailed literature on nonviolent struggle. Over the last 25 years an impressive parade of dictators and authoritarians have been forced to relinquish power via this technique." Column by Kevin van Horn.
"To carry out a successful nonviolent struggle, we need to understand the specifics of the sources of power for the U.S. Federal government and state and local governments, so that we may work to erode these sources." Column by Kevin Van Horn.
"Researcher Gene Sharp counts 198 distinct methods of nonviolent action. Of especial importance are the methods of political noncooperation, which include civil disobedience, rejection of authority, and boycott of government institutions. These are aimed at weakening the State's power, but equally or more important is their effect on the resisters themselves. Noncooperation breaks the habits of obedience and submission; it reduces fear; it breeds independence, confidence, and awareness of one's personal power. It is the point where the former subject begins to rise off his knees and proclaim, 'I am a free man!'." Column by new Root Striker Kevin Van Horn.