by Ian Tartt
Happy New Year! As in every other year, many New Year’s resolutions will be made for 2017. Here are some ideas for libertarians to think about in order to help make 2017 a great year for the movement.
1. Meet Up With Libertarians From Other States
For all its downsides, one amazing thing about social media is it allows us to keep in touch with people we’d otherwise likely never meet. This makes it a great tool for libertarians to talk, strategize, and just escape every once in awhile from the madness of government. But online communication is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. So if you have online libertarian friends in nearby states, why not make it a point to go see them? Most of the drama within the liberty movement occurs online, so spending time visiting with other libertarians in person can be very refreshing, especially if there aren’t many where you live. Whether it’s for a convention, a party, or just a brief visit, meeting up with other libertarians is a blast.
2. Learn How to Become a Better Messenger of Liberty
If you’re a libertarian, chances are you’re interested in spreading the message of liberty. All of us could stand to improve our messaging ability, no matter how good it already is. There are many incredible messengers in the liberty movement; a few are Larry Sharpe and Austin Petersen. One of my favorites was the late Harry Browne. In addition to appearing in several ads, giving many speeches, and hosting a radio show, Browne dedicated one of his shows to giving us tips on how to get better at selling the ideas of liberty. The U.S. is far from a libertarian country, and we have a lot of work ahead of us in convincing non-libertarians of the merit of our ideas, so we should take advantage of resources that can help us step up our game and become better at persuading people to join the liberty movement.
3. Get Involved in Local Politics
Most people focus primarily on the national scene of politics, and libertarians are generally no exception. It’s understandable, seeing as how everybody in the U.S. is bound by federal laws and therefore changing those laws would have the greatest impact on the greatest number of people. But those laws are incredibly difficult to change due to the amount of attention and money given to them, as well as the fact that the general trend in our society has been to move further away from libertarian principles than closer to them. Oddly enough, the relative lack of attention to local politics compared to national politics can work to our advantage. Less interest in local politics means there are more opportunities for libertarians at the local level to run for office, start petitions, talk to people, work with organizations and groups, and so on. National politics will always be important, but we should also focus on doing what we can to bring about more freedom at the local level.
4. Create Libertarian Content
As influential as it can be, political action is merely one way to advance liberty. Many libertarians create their own content, and thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier to get your ideas out there. In years past, it was mostly economists, philosophers, professional writers, and the occasional libertarian-leaning politician that had the opportunity to share their ideas. But now, you can write articles for a variety of websites (The Libertarian Republic and Liberty Hangout are a couple great ones), make your own videos (Julie Borowski has mastered this), write books, or host a podcast or radio show. These are a just few of the many ways to spread the message of liberty and connect with people you’d otherwise never be able to reach.