COMMENT ON ITEM 13 IN THE CODE OF CONDUCT
by G. Edward Griffin, 2005 August 24

A member who was forming a new chapter in Australia asked if it were possible to relax the rule against promoting professional services or products at Freedom Force meetings or through its channels of communications. He said the program he had in mind would be very beneficial to the freedom movement and also would bring members into Freedom Force. This was my reply:

Item 13 in our Code of Conduct is based on many years of experience in organizational work, not just in the patriot community, but elsewhere. I have often witnessed the decay of original purpose in voluntary organizations caused by commercial activity, but didn’t think anything could be done about it. Then I was introduced to the Code of Conduct embraced by Alcoholics Anonymous and realized that they had the answer. Commercial activity, advertising, and tangential ventures are strictly prohibited in AA, and I personally feel this is one of the reasons for that organization’s phenomenal success and fidelity to original purpose over so many years.

Commercial activity is not the only cause of organizational diffusion of purpose. This also can happen when the mission statement is too broad or if it includes more than one mission. When we ask people to accomplish too much, they burn out because goals are too numerous and too varied. That is why, in Freedom Force, we concentrate on one well-defined task. It is to replace collectivist leaders in power centers with individualist leaders. To bring other goals and other projects into the meetings of FF would diffuse our efforts and confuse our members.

This single-mindedness is an important feature of Freedom Force, but that does not mean you cannot carry out the other missions you envision. To the contrary, it is a prime goal of our membership to become active in and provide leadership for other organizations. Members are encouraged to get out into the world where the masses are and to take the message to them, not to expect them to come to us. Being active in other organizations is the strategy of Freedom Force.

You will find that most activist organizations, although they may have good programs and be on the right side of many issues, typically do not have a statement of principles that will insure against becoming sidetracked or even corrupted in the future. They know what they are against, but cannot state what they are for, except in the most general of terms that must further be defined to arrive at hard-core principles. Calling for “freedom” or “lower taxes” or “less government” or “privacy” or “national independence” or “judicial reform” or “peace” will work well to attract supporters smarting under the whip of totalitarianism and war, but it will not carry the day when these movements become targets for takeover by false leaders heavily financed from the collectivist camp. Old words, which everyone thought they understood at the beginning, can be twisted and morphed into new meanings that would be repugnant to the founders. This happens all the time, and our enemies are masters at the tactic.

Freedom Force is the only organization that has a finely defined and immutable statement of principles, and our goal is to have The Creed of Freedom become the ideological gyroscope for other organizations. In this way, indirectly, we can reach far greater numbers than if we tried to do everything directly through Freedom Force. Equally important, we can help to unify the orientation of diverse activist groups and, eventually, to convert the major power centers of society into pillars of support for individualism.

Therefore, what you are saying about your activities in the Upmart organization and your plans for your own new organization is 100% consistent with the Freedom Force strategy. The only potential problem would be if you attempted to merge all these programs together. That, not only would be in conflict with Code 13, it also would be damaging to your other programs as well. You may find people who are enthusiastic about Upmart but not ready for Freedom Force. You may find some that are solid in Freedom Force but not attracted to your new organization, etc. Asking everyone to participate in too wide a variety of activities is a mistake. It may be your intention to allow everyone to choose which programs they prefer, but mixing all their agendas and calls-to-action together in one meeting or channel of communication is, I believe, a formula for failure.

The bottom line is I think you are on the right track and you should proceed with all haste to get your chapter started – and then let events unfold, as they will. As long as you keep the separate programs within their respective channels, all should work well. With that caveat aside, I would like to encourage you in any way I can. There is no way to foresee all possible contingencies. The best approach is to begin, make mistakes, learn from them, make corrections, and begin anew.

Best wishes for success,
Ed Griffin

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