I'm constantly amazed by the reaction I receive when, in casual conversation, I mention that my political convictions tend towards a libertarian philosophy--not even an officially declared "Libertarian," as I've not yet made that committment (although it's likely coming soon). What reaction, you might ask? Well, you may be shocked (or more likely not, actually) to learn that the typical reaction to this statement is usually an explosion of laughter from the other party, something akin to the reaction one might receive when they've just told a really good George W. Bush joke. Believe it or not, this happens to me several times a week in various situations (at work, with friends, at the doctor's office, etc.). This burst of laughter is usually followed by some comment about libertarians just being general screwballs (of differing degrees) and often something about how they "want to legalize marijuana." I am not making this up.
There is definitely some poor marketing going on, in my humble opinion, if this is by and large the idea the general public has about libertarianism and "Libertarians." Just as there are many flavors of Republicans and Democrats, I've found that there are also many flavors of Libertarians (and not all are hardcore "legalize drugs" proponents, although I have to admit that I'm a great fan of Steve Kubby). Sure there are some "wackos" out there with their conspiracy theories, etc. (perhaps we could equate them with octopus flavored ice cream...yes, it does exist) but this does not define the entire LP or libertarians in general, just as "Evangelicals" do not define all Christians or "Neocons" do not define all Republicans or conservatives.
If we ever hope to convince the "mainstream" that we're more than pot-smoking hippies, we have to find some way to change the image conjured up by the mere mention of the word "Libertarian." I think a good place to start is simple marketing...think about your audience. It doesn't take a genius to realize that most people would be nearly instantly turned off by the campaign websites of many of the Libertarian party candidates from this past election. There needs to be a great deal of work on trying to make the libertarian message much less acrimonious and bitter...this simply turns people off. I understand that there is a lot of anger and frustration directed towards the "establishment" but a message that consists largely of whining and complaining is simply not persuasive.
How we do this, I'm not exactly sure but better web marketing and website development is probably a good start. A webpage that looks like it was created by a 12-year old in FrontPage (which I think is called something else now, but I'm not sure what) in both grammatical complexity (have we stopped teaching about using complete sentences and avoiding run-ons??!!) and aesthetic design is just not acceptable. And for heaven's sake...if you use an exclamation mark at the end of every sentence or thought it sort of negates the whole purpose of using it in the first place. I apologize for my grammatical rant (I'd just like to point out that I think it's absolutely vital to be able to clearly delineate one's ideas in writing--particularly for a political candidate) but I've always found it to be wise to follow the advice of acclaimed novelist Elmore Leonard here (yes, I did learn something in English class) when, in his 10 Rules of Writing, he said "Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose." Of course, I've broken that rule here...but I'm not trying to write a masterpiece.
1 comment:
"This burst of laughter is usually followed by some comment about libertarians just being general screwballs (of differing degrees) and often something about how they "want to legalize marijuana." I am not making this up."
Good point!
My husband and me were speaking about this last night. That is EXACTLY what people say. We actually believe that not ALL drugs should be legalized. I also believe, like J.S. Mill, that drugs should be available (alcohol, for example) but that steep consequences should be enforced for abuse of the drug.
But yes, people are seriously misinformed.
I believe that if more people were properly informed about libertarian principles they would find that they were libertarian. Individuals must also be convinced of the need to "waste" their vote for an election or two in order to allow for any kind of real change to happen.
Post a Comment