Read it yourself: Eight Stages of the Process of Social Movement Success

GLENN: Here is there is, and we're going to include this in the free e mail newsletter, The Eight Stages of Social Movement Success by Bill Moyer (Link). Now, Bill Moyer is not the Bill Moyers from PBS. I thought it was the other day, but it's not. It's just another socialist freak. But they were trying to stop the United States from building nuclear power plants, and the plan was that we would have 2,000 nuclear power plants in America operating by the year 2000 and, of course, the left couldn't have that. So he met with everybody and said, you know, well, what is the plan? They came up with a plan, and the legend is that he went back to his hotel and he came up with this eight stages of a social movement. And here's the first one: Critical social program or problem exists. Power holders support the problem, official policies and operating policies violate values. Public is unaware of the problem. Public the problem is not a public issue. That's stage one.

Stage two: Prove failure of official institutions. Many new local opposition groups use official channels, courts, government, offices, commissions, hearings, prove that they don't work. They become experts and they do research. Done that.

Three: Ripening conditions. Recognition of problem and victims grow. Public sees victims' faces. More active local groups. Need preexisting institutions, networks available to channel new movement. 20 to 30% of public opposes the powerhouse the power holder policies.

Four: The trigger event. Dramatic nonviolent actions, campaigns. Actions show public that conditions and policies violate widely held values. Actions repeat around the country. Problem to put on social agenda. New social movement rapidly takes off. 40% of the public oppose current policy conditions. This was last year in the 9/12 on the mall. Would you agree? That all of these steps have happened so far?

Now remember this is written by one of them.

Here's where we are today. Five: Perception of failure. See goals unachieved. See power holders unchanged. See numbers down at demonstrations which I don't think that's happened. Despair, hopelessness, burnout, dropout. Seems movement is ended. Then emergence of a negative rebel.

Then it goes on from there, 6, 7 and 8, where you win. But the critical step is Step 5, perception of failure. And if you don't make it past Step 5 and this is where he says everything always, always falls apart because people perceive that they haven't had any real values. Quoting from this report: The intensity of this experience tends to increase despair and unwillingness to accept any short term success short of achieving ultimate goals. What difference does it make that a majority of the American people in congress oppose contra aid when people are still being killed in Central America?

You still see this. "What difference does it make? We have healthcare. We have financial reform. We have all of these things. Everybody, everybody was against it. The majority of Americans were against it, what difference does it make? We lost."

Next thing: Power holders seem too powerful. They have not changed either their minds or their policies but defiantly proclaim them louder than ever. Totally ignoring the protests of the movement and objections of over half the populous.

This could have been written today.

The failure of the central policyholders to change either the minds of policies is a poor indicator of the movement's progress. The central power holders will be the last segment of society to change their minds and policies. The longer the public sees that the power holders are violating values and ignoring the Democratic majority opinion, the higher the political cost to the power holders for continuing these policies.

Next one: The movement is dead because it no longer looks like the takeoff stage. The image that most people have of a successful social movement is that a takeoff stage, giant demonstration, civil disobedience, media hype, crisis, constant political theater. But this is always short lived. Movements that are successful in the takeoff soon progress to the much more powerful but much more sedate appearing majority stage.

Then power holders and mass media report that the movement is dead, irrelevant and nonexistent.

You heard this even from Trent Lott. You've heard this from the Republicans: It doesn't matter. Well, explain to me why Sarah Palin is beating every single Republican in polls. You want to talk about the economy? Mitt Romney is more qualified for the economy than Sarah Palin. That's his expertise. Why wouldn't Mitt if that's the number one thing, job creation, because people don't believe that Mitt Romney is in step with small government. They don't believe that Mitt Romney understands the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party movement is the majority of Americans. Whether you stand with the Tea Party movement or not, the idea of government "Get out of my way" is quintessential, America. For whatever you think of Sarah Palin, there are a large number of people that believe it's going to take somebody who's not in the system, who has contempt for the system. And I don't see that in Mitt Romney, I don't see that in Newt Gingrich, I don't see that in who else is on this? Jindal maybe. The identity crisis of powerless, the belief that the movement is failing, that you're just stuck in protest. People get tired. This is where we are. But there's a warning here. Rebelliousness, militant action, violence are negative effects and feeling of despair and powerlessness. Some activists at this time adopt a more militant, even violent action. They believe the nonviolent methods used to date have failed because they were too weak. New splinter groups are started to carry out militant strategy such as the committee for direct action at Seabrook in 1979. These efforts are often reckless and defiant acts of despair, frustration and rage which stem from the collapse of unrealistic expectations that the movement should have achieved its goals within the first two years. The movement remember this is written by a leftist. The movement needs to make a deliberate effort to undercut this problem. First it needs to reduce the feelings of despair and disempowerment by providing activists with a long term strategic framework such as MAP which helps them realize that they are powerful and winning and not losing. The nonviolent policy must also be enforced by having nonviolent guidelines and training for all demonstration participants and by having adequate peace keeping at all demonstrations. This is why I have asked you to sign the Martin Luther King pledge. It is available at GlennBeck.com. It has on this pledge it has things that I'm asking you to do to prepare yourself for 8/28. I also ask you to prepare yourself to witness miracles and a point in history that very few have actually seen in this country. What is going to happen on 8/28, make no mistake, will be historic. Be there. But understand that they are more frustrated than you are. They just know these things. We do not. We've never been protestors. They know it. That's why I've said they are needling you, they are poking, they are pushing, they are doing everything they can.

You know, Howard Dean is right about one thing, not that Fox made up these Black Panther. The Black Panthers are real and they're serious, but they're jokes. They are jokes. These people will be eaten and spat out by the machine. If the other side eventually wins, they will have no power, no power. Almost everyone in their ranks will have no power. They are useful idiots. I actually feel sorry for the Black Panthers. I feel sorry for the students of the Democratic society. The ones who are working their brains out right now. Because they are being used, just like every other revolutionary.

If I'm not mistaken, it's Venezuela that used the unions and then what did I think it was Chavez that destroyed the unions afterwards because the unions were like, well, now, wait a minute, we have the really? Now, you don't have the power. The man has the power. They will be eaten. They are being used. Pray for them. Pray for them. Because they are the last victims of power. You join me. You read this, you get it available in the newsletter today. It's free at GlennBeck.com. Sign up for the newsletter. We'll send it out. We'll post it on the website. I want you to read it. I want you had to pass it on to all of your Tea Party friends, 9/12 people. I need you to learn this and then also please go to the website and pass around the nonviolence message from Martin Luther King and sign it. If you don't want to sign it on the website because you think, oh, then my name, put your first name. Put your initials. Whatever. But sign it. And live it. Live the steps. Live the steps. Put your feet, as Ephesians says, in the gospel. Gospel, your feet are gospel of peace. Have them move towards peace and make sure others do the same.

[NOTE: Transcript may have been edited to enhance readability - audio archive includes full segment as it was originally aired]