In Defense of "Loose Cannons"

One of the main reasons I remain a "loose cannon " is that people in positions of power rarely listen to reasonable arguments if the person making them doesn't have the power to take them out of their comfort zone, or remove them from power altogether. Don't get me wrong; strong research, passionate argumentation, and a powerful vision of a just society are important elements of all successful social movements. But those movements also must have the power to make the normal functioning of offending institutions difficult if not bring them to a halt altogether. I want people dealing with me to always wonder just how far I might go to bring about the changes I am fighting for. And what risks I might take to make the world a better place. To quote Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who understood this as well as any leader in our history:

"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?"

(Letter From A Birmingham Jail)