“A Zulu regiment can run, *run*, 50 miles and fight a battle at the end of it.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Cpl Frederick Scheiss, Zulu, 1964
I have often been asked where I get inspiration for the topics of my musings. I find inspiration everywhere I look as there is no shortage of stupidity in this world. On the other hand, there is a distinct shortage of clear, concise logical thought.
One of the places where I often find concise logical thought is in the writings of Robert Ringer (http://robertringer.com). While his libertarian tendencies do not always match my own, there is no doubt that he understands the world and how it works. If you have not read any of his Voice of Sanity writings, I encourage you to do so.
Of equal interest to me is the comments section. He has one regular commenter, “Reality Seeker” whose ability to always be the first comment is kinda creepy. I suspect he/she waits with baited breath for the next Ringer opinion, so that s/he can get in with the first comment of the day, which is ALWAYS decidedly libertarian and, dare I say, of one note. I can’t imagine being able to equate EVERY problem we face with the existence of the Federal Reserve (while I agree the Reserve is not necessarily a good thing). I find it hard to listen one note songs…and Reality Seeker is just that.
However, on occasion he does come out with some interesting ideas, and today that is my inspiration.
Thank you, Reality Seeker for pointing me in an interesting direction when you said…” We need intellectual warriors, 7ft tall Zulu warriors, lots of them, if lovers of freedom and liberty are going to prevail.”
Well said , my friend…and 100% true.
But then, what is a zulu warrior, and where do we find them?
Of course, pop culture can give us some direction here….with the 1964 movie “Zulu” starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine.
“A Zulu regiment can run, *run*, 50 miles and fight a battle at the end of it.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Cpl Frederick Scheiss, Zulu, 1964
When I first saw this movie, that line struck me as impossible. I knew about marathons…and it was impossible that any man could run 50 miles and still be able to go into battle without resting. I simply believed that this was artistic creation that made for a great line in a movie. A simple way to explain what the English and Welsh were facing.
But I could not have been more wrong.
When I was in Kenya in the ‘80s I visited some historical sites that tried to capture the capabilities of the Zulu nation. One such place documented the growth of the Zulu nation from a number of independent, small, and ineffective tribes into a nation of fearsome warriors who defeated all who stood in their way.
If I recall correctly, it was one man, Shaka who brought together the disparate tribes. One man who displayed the leadership skills to ensure that thousands of warriors would obey his every command. One man who trained his warriors mercilessly.
One man, who was able to strike fear and terror into the hearts of his enemies just at the thought of his name.
Now, Shaka was no pussy. But his men?
My experience in Africa was that while the many tribes were proud and strong, they were not inclined to bravery. They were brave in the face of lions trying to steal their cattle, but when caught thieving, they cried and shrieked like little girls. I could not imagine how Shaka could take these people and build them into warriors.
The answer was simple, and cruel.
He was a tyrant. He forced the men and boys to do things that you and I would not even consider.
For instance, he made the boys dance on acacia thorns, big bundles of them, to toughen their feet. Now, I thought that dancing on thorns was a bit extreme but I could see how it could work…and then I saw the acacia thorns they used. These things could penetrate the soles of my shoes like they were not there….they were long enough to go all the way through the feet and stick out the other side.
And after dancing, with their feet bloody and bruised, and the excruciating pain numbing their minds, they were sent on 5 and ten mile forced marches. Any who fell by the wayside, were killed….on the spot.
SHaka was a cruel, unforgiving tyrant….but if you wanted to live, you did what he required. At the end of the day, he had an army that was nigh invincible.
An army that COULD run across the African ground for 50 miles at a fast pace, and his warriors were as fresh at the end of that run as when they started.
Zulu warriors….
That is what the conservative army needs.
Warriors who have trained, who have endured pain, who know what their objectives are and who know what their leader expects from them.
I am not at all suggesting that the conservative movement is in need of a tyrant like Shaka Zulu as their leader. This is not about leadership….this is about the individual preparing for the battles to come. While I hope the battles will be fought on the battlefield of ideas, and at the ballot box, a small part of me demands that we prepare also for the battle to GET to the polling stations.
But let’s ignore the possible physical issues and concentrate on how we prepare and train for the battlefield of ideas.
The first thing we all need do is to know our enemy.
We know we up against a well-oiled machine that is well funded; a machine that knows how to buy votes, by giving the addicted more of what they desire. More than that, the enemy knows how to lie, distort the meaning of words and recruit the clueless in their attempts to spread an ideology that suppresses truth. This works. Innumerable educated young people believe the unproven theories and failed policies of years of ideological brainwashing. They have been taught to respond, not to think…and their taught response will include demonizing anybody who dares to think differently to them.
Make no mistake, the enemy is formidable.
And the current leadership of the enemy may be weakened, but is definitely not defeated. He is now like a cornered beast, at his most dangerous…and being the narcissist ideologue that he is, he will use anything, do anything, say anything ….and sacrifice anyone…in order to keep power.
Know your enemy, for he is indeed a very capable and dangerous foe. His lack of conscience will allow him to do anything without remorse.
Know you enemy is the first step.
The second is to know your history.
I am not talking about the history that you learned in school, a history written by the victors and amended by the ideologues.
I am talking about the history that you find only when you research deeply from many sources. Understand the history of America, the history of the Western World. Understand the history of the socialist and Marxist movements. Read the writings of your enemies…know in your heart what the truth really is.
Without a deep knowledge and understanding of history you will fall at the first hurdle when your opponents tell you that socialism is not bad, that it is not bad to feel compassion for the poor and ill, that it is not bad to take care of the sick….that society has a responsibility to help those that are unable to help themselves. You must KNOW what these statements are…and know how to argue against them. Education in history will give you those answers.
Do not restrict yourself to western history but also study the middle east. Learn about that false religion, Islam…learn the truth about the Muslim expansion in the dark ages….understand why there was so much death during the Crusades, death the left likes to link to atrocities performed in the name of God. Understand the intricacies of Middle East politics.
It all matters….history, and truth in history, is where you must start in preparing for the idealogical battle that is coming.
I find this study to be akin to dancing on acacia thorns…but if we are to mount an army of warriors, we must prepare.
The third step is perhaps even more difficult. We must understand the truth of money, the truth of economics and the truth of capitalism. Just as there are natural laws that define the universe, there are natural laws that define economics. Discover them. Learn them. Understand them. They do not change, and no matter how often we try to create systems that avoid these natural laws, they fail. You cannot ignore the truth of gravity…it is there and always will be…and the same can be said for the laws of economics. No amount of wishful thinking will change them.
Understand them well…for they are indeed a huge weapon in your arsenal.
And finally, know who you are electing. When you go to the polls on voting day, you must know exactly who you are voting for and why. You must be convinced that this person has much the same view of life as you do. You must be certain s/he holds your moral values. You must be assured that s/he will represent YOU in congress or the WH.
If we all prepare in this way, if we all do the training, we will field that army of Zulu warriors that “Reality Seeker” speaks of.
And just as history shows us that the proud Zulu nation could defeat all that stood in its path, our nation of Conservative Zulu’s can change the course of history.
But we have to be prepared to dance on acacia thorns…all day, and then march 5 or 10 or 20 miles. We must be prepared to run 50 miles just to get to the battlefield…and we must never fear for we have the most powerful weapon of all on our side.
Truth.
Let us each encourage each other to:-
1. Know the enemy and let it be known that we know him
2. Dance on the acacia thorns of history
3. March through the rough ground of economic learning
4. Fight the battle at the polls, electing only those people you know are right
Conservative Zulu’s…has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
…..devereaux
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