A New Direction
by Ron Beatty
ronbeatty@sbcglobal.net

Exclusive to TLE

Over this last year or so, I have become a regular contributor to TLE, and due to some comments made both in personal discussions, and on the Smith-2004 group message board, I have a proposal to make,

For those of us who write in TLE, and other online e-zines, it is satisfying to get our views out, to make our points, and hopefully, to reach a few undecided but open minds. The problem with this, is that we are attempting to go against decades of government propaganda and brainwashing, as delivered by the public school system. Therefore, the only ones we can reach are those few who have already begun to doubt their early indoctrination, and to fight against it.

So how do we address this problem? And it is a problem, if we don't wish to be overwhelmed and enslaved by sheer numbers. The only way to reach enough people, in a way that can even be partially effective, is to entertain them! We have to grab their attention, in a way that will make them start to accept libertarian ideals, even if they don't conciously realize that they are doing that. It has been rightly said that the American people think in sound bites, a result of long training by the media. So, we have to propagandize in sound bites, in easily digested bits.

My suggestion is this: Those of us who can write, do so! Don't just write articles for TLE. Write short stories, poetry, comedy skits. Write in shared universe fiction millieus, such as Kate Graham's Eden universe. (E-mail Kate for details) For those who write lyrics, compose music, or perform, use libertarian themes, such as individual responsibility. For those who engage in visual media, such as mime, film, theater, make sure you present libertarian themes.

Does the whole thing have to be libertarian in theme? Of course not! However, the libertarian theme does have to be catchy, has to have people humming the song, laughing at the comedy, thinking about the ideas. A good example of this that has actually worked is the Firefly TV series, now a motion picture, which will be released in September of 2005. Even though the network executives killed the series, the ideas were catchy enough to have a major studio cough up the cash to make it into a film, and there is even talk of a trilogy.

Don't feel you are creative enough to do any of that, or even to be a regular contributor to TLE or some other, similar e-zine? Everyone has something they have a beef about. If it is city government, tell us about it! Zoning? Everybody hates the idea of someone else telling you what to do with your own property. Tell us about your experience! The more extreme the government is in it's actions, the more ridiculous they look when it is publicized. Just remember how silly that Florida town looked last year when they tried to require a kid to have a city vendor's license for a lemonade stand!

I'm sure that most of you can think of more than one way the various levels of government have been ridiculously stupid and intrusive. Spread the word! The sillier the government looks, the less seriously it is taken by anyone, and eventually, it may spread to the point of causing the government to be laughed out of existence. A pipe dream? Maybe. But so was the original Revolution. If we don't do anything, we lose. If we use violence, unless it is so clearly necessary that even the average brainwashed American can see it, we lose. If we engage in conventional battle, in any way, we lose. Look to Iraq for ideas, look to history. What is the classic way for an outnumbered, under-equipped people to fight back against tyranny? Guerrilla warfare! So let's adapt the principles of guerrilla warfare to our writing, our entertainment, our very lives. Don't try to meet them head on, we'll only get a headache. Instead, circle around, attack from a perspective they don't expect, use innovative ideas, use their own actions against them. Especially, use humor, use song, use comedy. Make them look as ridiculous as they are!

As always, do not ever take my unsupported word for anything, and still less the word of any media or government mouthpiece. Look up the facts for yourself, do the research, prove to yourselves that what I tell you is the truth, at least as I see it.

You, and only you, are responsible for your own safety and freedom. No one else can make you free, you have to do it yourself!