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political leadership, just as (for example) the leadership of the antiwar movement of the 1960s-70s did not come from Congress, or, for that matter, the leadership of 1776 didn't come from the court of the king.
Here's how to find a local leader: Go to your nearest copier and start making copies of some of the fine leaflets that have been written about this issue (or write your own). Add a date when all of you in your area can get together and A) discuss the formation of a local democracy group or B) demonstrate or C) raise money for the movement or D) some other useful activity. Adapt this process as needed to whatever is appropriate to your community. Do this, then look in the mirror. You'll be looking at your neighborhood's leader of the democracy movement.
That's how leaders are made. Some of the people who are stepping forward now to play important roles will someday achieve national recognition as leaders of the democracy movement (Bev Harris, I believe, is one such person). In fact, many of the people who we wish were leading us right now, but who aren't, became leaders in almost exactly this way, back when the crisis was civil rights or war and the established progressives of their day were either timid or silent or complicit in the problem. And some day people will look back on what we are saying today about leadership, and laugh about how it was we couldn't see the greatness emerging from among us today.
Something that's true in times like these, that is not true during normal times, is that leaders don't need permission from anyone before they can act. Indeed there is no way to get permission before the fact. Crisis politics is entrepreneurial. Just think through what needs to be done, then act. If you act well, political legitimacy will follow.
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