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To: knarf
Why do we allow the efforts of those who would overthrow us? Two reasons:

1. Most people don't even know it is happening.

2. And even if they did, they wouldn't know what to do about it.

Okay, three reasons: We have a conflict between two principles we value very strongly in America: Tolerance on the one hand, and self-protection on the other.

When you talk to people about the violent nature of Islam, what happens? People who know nothing about it and who are not Muslims defend the religion. Why? Because it is a fundamental principle in this country that you have a right to worship as you wish. And in their faith in multiculturalism, some go even further than that and feel that no religion is better than any other.

So when you start trashing on Islam, they defend it vigorously.

I hope you persist, though, because ultimately this is where the war on terrorism is won or lost. If we who know about this stuff cannot change enough opinions, we're doomed.

This is a war of memes and we are on the front line.

Below is an article on citizenwarrior.com that begins to approach how this war might be won:

A MEME IS ANYTHING that can be copied from one mind to another. An idea is a meme. A melody is a meme. The custom of shaking hands when you meet is a meme. The word "meme" is a meme and it has just been copied from my mind to yours. Read more about memes here.

The most dangerous kind of terrorism on the planet is Islamic terrorism. The memetic source of Islamic terrorism is a collection of memes called the Koran. Muslims believe the Koran is the word of Allah. They believe this because it says so in the Koran. It also says that a good Muslim must make continual war on all unbelievers until the entire world is Islamic. Quite a few memes within the Koran enhance and support this premise, and those who follow its teachings to the letter are a threat to freedom and democracy everywhere.

But memes outside the Koran also help the terroristsmemes that exist in non-Muslim minds. For example, the widespread belief that Islam is a religion of peace diverts effort and attention away from the real source of the problem and toward things that will not solve the problem. That's where you come in.

If you will help us spread the word about the Koran, international attention can eventually be turned to solving the real problem. But when you do this, you will get resistance. People will argue with you. An argument is a battle of memes and I want to help you win these battles. I'm not talking about arguing with Muslims about their faith. That is probably close to impossible because the memeplex itself has its own protection, its own "memetic immune system." But the people you know who are not Muslims and live in a free society probably think Islam is a religion of peace. And they probably don't know much about Islam. What you can do is learn about it (start here) and then tell others about it, and sometimes they will argue with you. Then you can use the principles below.

So here are some rules of engagement that will help us win the long-term war of memes:

1. Don't argue. Don't even think of it as argument. What you're doing is trying to persuade. The responses you think of when you're arguing are sharp and hurtful and belittling. Persuasion responses avoid that and try to win someone over to your way of thinking. That's very different and much more effective. One of the reasons people don't like to discuss things with conflicting opinions is that they argue. Arguing tends to be upsetting. Persuasion can be fun. Read more about the fine art of persuading others here.

2. Use facts. Give your sources. Memorize key facts so you can quote them and say where you got those facts. Facts are the most important weapon in your arsenal. A good way to memorize facts is to mark the pages with little post-it notes as you read (or copy and paste if you're reading online). Then record those passages onto a cassette tape or digital recorder, and listen to it while you drive. When you've listened to something six or seven times, you will be able to bring the exact facts to a discussion with confidence.

3. Remain calm. Cultivate calmness and tranquility. When you find yourself getting fired up, remember this is not an argument. You are persuading, and you can't force acceptance of your ideas. They have to be willingly accepted by the other. And people are more swayed by calm understatement than intensity and overstatement. In order to truly stay calm, you will have to be calm in your life, not just in the moment. Read more about becoming a calm person here. When you are calm, you are more persuasive.

4. Good conduct. Use social grace. Good manners. Conduct yourself with class. It is more persuasive.

5. Know what meme you want them to accept. People throw in all kinds of sidetracks and diversions into conversations. Keep clear on one or two simple memes you want them to accept and stay on course.

6. Build concessions slowly, piece by piece. Take smaller parts of the meme that they don't agree with, and convince them with facts that the new understanding is better than the old. Build up these concessions until you can get them to accept the meme you're aiming for. The first concession is your source of facts. Say where you got them and get the other's agreement that your sources are legitimate and authoritative.

7. Be specific. Define your terms. This will make it much easier to stay on track and get partial concessions.

8. Tell them your story. When they say they disagree, simply tell them that you once believed as they do (if this is true and it probably is), and that you slowly and with skepticism were convinced by the facts to change your point of view. This kind of story is very persuasive and prevents you from accidentally making them feel like a fool for not already believing as you do.

9. Be humble. Make it clear you know you don't know it all. Insults or sharp rebukes — or anything that seems to imply that "I know it all and you are grossly uneducated" — has no place in persuasion. It puts emotion up as a defense so new memes cannot can get through. It causes hatred, one-sidedness, and self-righteousness. It even causes wars.

10. Work on one point at a time. Ask "Do you agree with about this small point?

11. Concede those points you agree with. Make it perfectly clear you agree with those points. There is a kind of give-and-take in discussions, and a kind of commerce or reciprocity. If you are willing to concede legitimate points they make and say so, they are more willing to concede legitimate points you make and say so, and so your conversation can get somewhere.


What Makes a Meme Successful? This is a technical paper, by a professor at the University of Brussels, writing about the four factors that influence the success of memes.

Read more about memes:

Thought Contagion: When Ideas ACT Like Viruses (The Kluwer International Series in Engineering & Computer Science)

The Meme Machine

Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme


49 posted on 09/04/2007 8:02:44 AM PDT by CitizenWarrior (terrorism)
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To: CitizenWarrior

You have a great web site. Thanks for your work.


50 posted on 09/04/2007 9:17:13 AM PDT by Dan Cooper
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