Quotation of the Day:
“I love the direction you guys are going with the ZAP and heuristics. Keep up the good work!” – A.R., from Georgia (a Downsize DC supporter)
Our goal? Create a system that can…..
- Discover people who already agree with you
- Recruit them and mobilize them to work for what you want
- Persuade people who disagree to move in your direction, in measurable increments
- Empower you to track the changes you cause
New Software
Last Fall we asked you to test new software designed to meet these objectives. If you never got around to looking at this new system, you can still do it now here.
This new system was tested under the banner of Deny Consent, but what we learned from that test has sparked a big decision. To better serve you……
We're merging Deny Consent into the Zero Aggression Project.
There will be only one new website (in addition to DownsizeDC.org), not two, as we had planned. That one new website will be……
The Zero Aggression Project
This means…..
- The Deny Consent Founders Committee will be merged into the ZAP Founders Committee.
- If you contributed to both sites then your Deny Consent contributions will increase your rank on the ZAP Founders Committee.
We're making this change because…..
The Zero Aggression Principle is the key heuristic we want to promote.
Remember: A heuristic — pronounced hyoo-RIS-tic — is a simple principle that leads to quick, accurate decisions.
The more you can persuade people to think in terms of heuristics — sound principles — the less vulnerable they'll be to the regime media and political con-men. And……
- The Zero Aggression Principle is the most important heuristic because people already live most of their lives by it. So…..
- You only need to take the small additional step of persuading them to also apply this principle to politics and government too. Make that happen and…..
YOU will win, INSTANTLY, on EVERY issue.
- This is why the ZAP concept is more important than the Deny Consent concept
- And this is why Deny Consent needs to be subsumed under ZAP.
We believe our movement has failed because it has constantly neglected key moral principles like The Golden Rule and the ZAP. We have allowed ourselves to be seduced into endless debates about practical claims. But…..
Such debates can never reach accurate conclusions if they ignore moral costs.
We don't ever want to lose sight of these moral costs again. So having one new website, rather than two, will help us to maintain the focus we need.
In our next strategy message we'll share details about the new software tools we plan to deliver next. In the meantime, please consider joining the ZAP Founders Committee, or increasing your rank on that committee by making a new donation to support our work.
Thanks for your support. More news coming soon.
Jim Babka and Perry Willis
Co-Founders
Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project