Accomplishing real political reform will require an enormous amount of work. Unfortunately too many existing political organizations in Illinois actually accomplish nothing besides providing some make-believe relevancy for those who have given themselves a title. We encountered a lot of that last year during the Protect Marriage petition effort. Very few “organizations” could put troops on the ground.
There’s a similar phenomenon in the arena of debate and discussion. In today’s information age there’s a lot of noise out there. Anyone can start a website and increase their list of contributors but at the end of the day no one notices because nothing of any real substance is offered. Those expressing shallow opinions feel better afterwards but the work of changing minds is left undone.
Once in a while a group of people get together and launch something that shows promise of being able to truly impact the public debate in a serious fashion. Salvo magazine seems to be such an effort, and it’s off to a great start with its first two issues. They came out in Autumn 2006 and Spring 2007. Salvo bills its work as—
Debunking the cultural myths that have undercut human dignity, all but destroyed the notions of virtue and morality, and slowly eroded our appetite for transcendence…and recovering the one worldview that actually works.
The premier issue opens with this sentence from its Founder and Editorial Director Richard Moselle: “America is involved in a massive culture war, the intensity of which increases daily.” A couple sentences later he writes, “The division itself can be attributed to a pair of competing worldviews.”
We agree, and appreciate when a writer lays out the situation succinctly. The fact is that this “war” is taking place at several levels — manifesting as an economic and foreign policy debate as well. Salvo’s first issue is a discussion about science and its second issue is a discussion about sex. Its next issue, due out next month, takes on the media.
A few paragraphs later Moselle writes this:
The worldview that so clearly has things right, the one that makes the most sense logically and that has the most evidence on its side—the worldview that actually works—is also the one losing the fight for the public imagination.
This fight is being lost on several levels. One of them is due to the simple fact that too many people who are actually correct in their worldview are wrong in their thinking about what it will take to win. Too many Illinois activists especially are naïve about the motivations of establishment players (and their underlings) who have been a part of the problem in this state for decades.
Those who hold public or party office are the ones with the power to institute change, and they must be held accountable. This accountability, by the way, extends to staff. If we’re not seeing reform, these individuals with the power are to blame. Too many activists in Illinois prefer to avoid the discomfort that comes with holding those with power responsible.
One way for these well-meaning people to correct their thinking is for them to see the example that Salvo is providing. Authority must be challenged. Short-sightedness is a real part of the problem. We’ll never effectively address corrupt acts until we get more people past their corrupted thinking process.
Moselle concludes by writing that Salvo is not a propaganda arm for the “so-called Religious Right or any other political platform. We have no agenda other than to battle at the front lines for the hearts and minds of America.”
We all only have so much time and so we have to choose our reading materials wisely. Gossip and empty opinion is nice if you’re looking to waste time. For those who are seeking the construction materials necessary for building the case for change, we recommend that in addition to our website, serious people should visit the Salvo website. Subscription information can be found there as well as information on how readers can financially support Salvo’s efforts.
As a preview, check out this must-read terrific short excerpt titled: “Bizarro Sexuality.”
Click here to visit the Salvo website.
