But perhaps the most important section of the book may be the most obvious. Yet like Sherlock Holmes identifying the culprit, it needs to be pointed out for others to see.
After describing how Thomas Jefferson's background an aristocratic planter had no background suited to write the Declaration of Independence, Charles Darwin's academic record of a medical school dropout interested in natural science because of his fondness for beetle races as a boy, and Benjamin Franklin's resume of printer was "pathetically underqualified to found a nation, kos writes:
"The world is often changed most radically by people who refuse to 'know their place.' So-called amateurs who refuse to rein in their curiosity or acknowledge areas of 'expertise' have made specialized gatekeepers nervous, scornful, and defensive since time immemorial Upstarts who deny that there are boundaries to knowledge and action, who defiantly meld interests and tear down walls, are a constant challenge to the status quo."
His lines perhaps sum up best what I've tried to do founding West Virginia Blue [...]
I went to Netroots Nation in Austin (as a Democracy for America scholar) with the purpose of getting the advice I needed for West Virginia Blue. I had a delightful experience and there were many informative seminars. But I found the playbook I needed in this book.