Path or Goal?

What do motorcycles have to do with political power?

It's an easy enough question. Most bikers rights activists would probably say EVERYTHING! That's why we have poker runs, protests, parties, and the venerable SMRO to pull it all together.

That's also why we strive to get better at it. And to accomplish this, we recruit more people, seek better participation, and provide more motorcycle-oriented activities to restore our rights. It would only make sense for us to work harder at going in the same direction we've been going all along.

But wait a minute, and think about it...

If motorcycling was genuinely the path to political power, then why are WE the only ones going in this direction? And why have we been losing ground, year after year, helplessly watching our rights get attacked and eroded with each new legislative session? And why have some of our most motivated and dedicated activists thrown in the towel, never to return?

The truth is that we rely on becoming better bikers because that's what comes naturally to us as bikers. We like motorcycling activities, so that's what we do. In other words, we automatically think that with a Better Bikers Bureau, we'll get what we want from our legislature.

This is far from the truth.

The logic behind this is that we LOVE motorcycling. And if we can somehow convince more people (like our legislators and their constituents) to love motorcycling too, we will somehow prevail in the political arena. But if motorcycling was really the path to political power, then everyone seeking political power would simply become a biker.

The truth is that bikers need to become politically powerful first. Not by getting better at motorcycling activities, but by getting better at political activities. And political activities have NOTHING to do with motorcycles.

So ...

Instead of trying to change your legislator's mind on bikers rights, find a candidate who supports bikers rights and change the legislator. There is no way a nanny-crat will ever defend our rights. But there will always be a few close races, and it is up to us to find them ... and then to take down our most vulnerable opponents.

Instead of recruiting as many motorcyclists as possible to do everything imaginable, recruit the right kind of motorcyclists, and then focus on what gets the most results. So rather than beating the bushes to motivate apathetic bikers, rely on the self-motivated activists that we already have (that's us) to restore our rights.

Instead of asking your legislative candidates to come to your meeting, ride with your fellow motorcyclists to their meetings. And then volunteer. Once bikers become a reliable part of the political machine, only then will it make sense for candidates to come to us ... when they believe we can help them win.

Bikers rights is the goal we seek, but motorcycling is not the path to get there. Only political power can deliver everything we want, so building political power is what our first and foremost activity must be.

The Repeal Machine connects biker activists with biker-friendly candidates. Nothing more, and nothing less. So if you want to restore your rights, don't expect your motorcycle to get you there. Instead, take a ride on the Repeal Machine.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com