Toward A New Organizing Model
Ramsin Canon
Chicago
Maybe the only thing Assyrians enjoy more than forming new organizations is complaining about them. This is understandable. However, the purpose of organizations is to organize, and the purpose of organizing is power. There is nothing wrong with an organization, properly run, that wants power. And there?s nothing shameful in wanting power. We all want power in one way or another. The problem with so many organizations is that they long ago ceased to organize, preferring instead a so-called ?service model? wherein they chose specific services to provide in exchange for resources they would disperse according to specific needs. Even where our organizations do choose to organize, they do so by trying to assume control of existing resources, rather than trying to build new avenues to greater resources. In other words, everybody bites at the same tiny little pie, instead of making sure there is a steady supply of ingredients to always increase the pie.
Put simply: we as a nation do not organize. Our self-hatred, apathy, and pettiness conspire to convince us, despite all reason (and no real evidence) that Assyrians are somehow uniquely ?un-organizeable?. That is ludicrous.
To organize effectively, you cannot organize simply for political support, or to fight one issue. You have to start with a value. In our case, that is easy. There is essentially one central value:
?There exists a nation called ?Assyrian? and this nation has an explicit right to self- determination.?
This is actually a specific application of a bigger value you must accept:
?Might does not make right: there are such things as inalienable rights for all people.?
If there exists a nation called Assyrians that has a right to self-determination, then we know, too, something else:
?Currently, Assyrians are denied that right.?
We now have a value, and a reality that conflicts with that value.
What is to be done?
Most basically, we can say:
Those individuals who make up the Assyrian Nation must protect that right to self- determination.
Which means, first, we need to attain it. Easier said than done. Of course it is difficult, but it is certainly not impossible. It isn?t impossible because the process of fighting to attain it?organizing?has its own value. So long as we organize, in other words, even if we lose a fight here or there, our strength grows; our social networks grow more resilient and versatile. Our ability to mobilize resources sharpens.
Organizing around a value, rather than an issue, personality, or party, guides your work. When a situation confronts an organization dedicated to organizing around values, you have only one question to ask: ?Does this conform with our values??
If the answer is yes, then you act on it. If not, you ignore it or in some cases oppose it.
Every indigenous group and human rights organization on Earth has a common value:
There is such a nation, X, and that nation has an explicit right of self-determination.
By making common cause with those groups, we are helping ourselves, because we advance this value among the general population. The current resistance of our leadership to engaging the public generally and other groups particularly stems as much from insecurity as a supposed belief that it is a waste of time. It isn?t a waste of time: by simply lending support?a statement, a delegate, a press release?we can amplify our own righteousness and seriousness, as well as increase our visibility and access to valuable governmental, political, financial, and other resources. Wherever minority rights are trampled, our values are implicitly attacked. Wherever violence is used indiscriminately to achieve political aims, our values are threatened. We do not exist in a vacuum, and are not fighting other ?groups? but a broken international system that needs structural changes.
It?s very easy for the current generation in leadership to build organizations with aims to buttress political aspirations in our homeland, and it is easy for people to criticize them. Frankly, given that we exist in Diaspora, it?s a low-risk hobby. These low-risk debating clubs are reinforced by a mindset that is preoccupied with political machinations ?back home.?
This is a betrayal of our brothers and sisters in the Assyrian Nation everywhere. As citizens of foreign nations?particularly in America, which has a foreign policy that affects the domestic policies of nearly every nation on Earth?we have a duty to raise our influences in our new countries. By simply wielding that influence, we make our entire Nation stronger. We are all co-equal in this Nation?Assyrians in the Nineveh Plains are not ?more? Assyrian than Assyrians in Sweden, India, Australia, or America. The tendency to ?rate? Assyrianness by geography is not only a betrayal of ourselves, but of each other: it makes it possible to alternately shrug off responsibility, or inflate self-importance. What is true is that those in the ancestral lands of Assyrians are on the front lines in our fight for survival. Our job is not to interfere, but to understand that by making the Nation strong in one place, our overall strength increases.
Even if we were successful in our efforts to interfere with politics in the homeland and Assyrians won some level of self-determination in Iraq, what would we do then? Retire? Stop? Is that what the Jews did after 1948? To the contrary: that when Diaspora political power became even more vital. Organizing is never finished, because you never have enough power.
There exists a Nation called Assyrian.
Meaning all Assyrians, everywhere. For those who deny their Assyrian-ness one of two things will happen: (a) they will shout loudly and watch as an organization builds power, or (b) they will be attracted to that power and success.
Those who are organizing believe in their values. Those who don?t share those values can be won over, but that is not our purpose; our purpose is to win power. Those deniers will come around, swayed by organizing successes. If they continue to deny even then, why worry about them? Let them wallow in their irrelevance.
People see strength, and make it power by supporting it. People see vacillation and mock it.
Break it down: organizing is the process of arranging like and unlike objects in a manner that allows them to act in concert for their shared interests and values. Again, the purpose of organizing is power; the purpose of power is to enact our values.
But what is the reality on the ground?
The reality is that current leadership, despite sincere best efforts, is outdated, generally ineffective, plagued with ancient and more recent schisms, biases, and positive-feedback models that discourage progress. Partially this is because they are constantly dealing with emergency situations. But the fundamental model?of service organizations attempting to build political power?is wrong.
The idea that high-level maneuvering, like lobbying activities, is sufficient to build power is also wrong. Although necessary for advancing our values, it is by no means sufficient. The Chiefs can agree and sign treaties, but if they don?t have the Indians behind them, it?s just paper.
Assyrians are one Nation with a right to self-determination. We have a duty to advance this value by organizing for political power, and the current organizations are too compromised to accomplish this, and are build around individuals, tribes, clans, and specific social networks. We have to always be organizing?wherever we are, and that process of taking power in the name of that value will naturally help Assyrians ?back home?.
How do you organize?
Constantly. Everything must be seen as an opportunity to take power and grow stronger.
Without Dependence. This organization must be member-run and funded. This means dues-payers who power a fundraising operation.
Without Fear. People?s feelings will get hurt, and some people will fight you out of fear, jealously, or ignorance. Expect it. Is that a reason not to organize?
With Developed Leadership. Leadership is developed, not assigned or appointed. Leadership development is a process whereby individuals are challenged with tasks that require problem solving, cunning, hard work, and confrontation. Those who meet the challenges will naturally move into leadership roles. Those who don?t are still made better by the experience.
With Organizational Discipline. Organizations built around values can demand strict organizational discipline?or loyalty to the organization?because there is no cult of personality. Criticism and debate must be absolutely protected so long as it remains internal and open. The former keeps your enemies from exploiting rifts, and the latter keeps back biting and factionalism to a minimum.
Within a Larger Context. At their core, our values are universal. By isolating ourselves from other groups that share them, we only deny ourselves access to resources and exposure.
With Militancy. Believe in your values not because you should, but because you?ve considered them seriously. Accepting that, believe in yourself and your organization and never shrink from a fight or from a confrontation.
Without Entangling Alliances. In organizing, there are no permanent friends, only permanent issues. We may work with other groups, institutions, and parties around a specific issue when that cooperation advances our values. But no friend is more valuable than our values.
Perhaps it is impossible?maybe we are, in fact, unorganizeable.
But even if that absurd statement is true, all we risk losing is our time. And if that?s too big a sacrifice, then perhaps you were never of use to your nation in the first place.
Ramsin Canon lives and works in Chicago as a political consultant and writer. His writing can be found at TimeOut Chicago, GapersBlock.com, among other publications. He can be reached at RC@gapersblock.com. Another article by Mr. Canon appears in this issue of Zinda under the Literatus section.
Anyone?
