Or Maintaining the status quo of failing election systems.
Since 2003, Congressman Rush Holt has fought to get legislation that would protect the elections of all 50 states.
Now that HR 811 gets closer to passing, has a "pseudo activism" or counter-effort emerged?
What is Pseudo Activism? This is a new definition for an old tactic. It requires the participation of at least some well intentioned activists.
What many people do not grasp is that some people's interest in elections integrity is "tactical". They are really interested in a much more fundamental transformation of society. Their goal is not to create election systems worthy of trust, but to use the untrustworthiness of elections systems as a lever to undermine the legitimacy of our government as a whole.
An extreme example of "Pseudo Activism" is COINTELPRO. This may paint a picture that I hope the most innocent can see and understand.
"COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) was a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States....
The founding document of COINTELPRO directed FBI agents to
"expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of these movements and their leaders."
Is there a "pseudo activism" element in the election integrity movement that purports to adhere to the tenets of democracy, but does the opposite?
"Pseudo Activism" seeks to prevent the strongest avenue to protect civil rights of citizens - legislative remedy. They cry "no compromise no compromise"... all the way to ruin. It attempts to steer the legislative remedy into the ditch.
Legislation is a Tool of Democracy
Legislation (or "statutory law") is law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, which is typically also known as "legislation" while it remains under active consideration.
The "It isn't perfect so it must be evil theory"
The Pseudo Activist points out that legislation is less than perfect, and hence should be rejected. Awful-izing is used to exaggerate and distort: The outcry is this - "its not perfect, therefore it is evil." Never mind that the legislation improves the situation and advances our cause forward. Pseudo activism pushes the flawed theorem of "all or nothing", which results in no positive out come, and further sets back the movement by 10 years through loss of creditability.
Pseudo Activism grows in an echo-chamber, where no other voices are listened to nor are they heard. Different voices are labeled as "anti-democracy". The assumption is that the rest of the world agrees with the pseudo activist - just like the colleagues of the pseudo activist.Not everyone who opposes legislation is a pseudo-activist. This is about the Pseudo Activist movement that diverts well intentioned activists energies into solution defeating efforts.
Pseudo Activism is like crying wolf over and over, and when help is offered, they cry "Your help isn't good enough, so go away."
