Last week I went downtown to get a job working on behalf of the Democratic Party. This job would have required me to fundraise and campaign for Democratic candidates who opposed a lot of people that I know. Great candidates such as Stephanie Watson (candidate for NC Senate 16) and Brian Irving (candidate for NC Senate 17). And, oh yeah, Mike Munger (candidate for Governor). Especially Mike Munger, since getting just 2% in that race would help the party avoid a costly ballot access drive for the 2012 electoral cycle. The fact I’m not employed in no way means that the Democratic Party people didn’t want me. On the contrary, I could have done well and made some quick money in the process. It wasn’t just the money that drove me to such an action. There was also the deep desire to prove myself, make my time in this world worthwhile, do something great. In the end I backed out at the last minute after having a few moments to stare at all the Democratic Party propaganda on the wall.
There was something else that was on my mind at that time. I’d been stressed out for the last week or so reading about all these horrible and treacherous acts that could be committed by any number of mysterious cabals at this past weekend’s Libertarian Party national convention. As a Libertarian, I thought to myself: “Why should it even matter? I mean, most of the Libertarians I know were deeply involved with the recent Republican campaigns of Ron Paul for President and BJ Lawson for US House. Besides most everyone’s had some other political affiliation before joining the Libertarian Party. We even have former Democratic and Republican office holders who’ve spent serious amounts of time in The-Belly-Of-The-Beast, DC, doing who knows what. Why can’t I improve my skills, build my resume, and buy a gallon or two of gas in the process?” Anyway, back to the convention…
The first time I heard the phrase “don’t blow it this time” in a political sense was while serving as a delegate at the 2000 Libertarian Party national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. At these conventions there are tons of fliers passed out for everything — way too many, if you ask me. One of the ones that was left at my seat before the business session was on white paper. It featured poorly-photocopied pictures of candidates for party office with names like George Phillies, Carol Moore, R. Lee Wrights, and Starchild (all of whom I voted for, by the way). At the bottom of this flier, it said “Grassroots works, support ground up, not top down.” At the top it said, among other things, “Don’t blow it this time…” To this day, I still have it posted on my inspiration-remembrance-don’t forget corkboard that sits on the desk of my home-office. Incidentally, the second time I heard this saying was in 2004 when Presidential candidate Gary Nolan was conceding and endorsing Michael Badnarik for the Libertarian Party’s nomination over Aaron Russo.
While I can’t say that I was happy with the results of this year’s Libertarian Party national convention (particularly selecting Wayne Allyn Root as the vice-presidential nominee over a candidates like marijuana activist Steve Kubby), there were a number of things that I was happy about. First of all, I didn’t hear anyone say “don’t blow it this time.” Secondly, I didn’t see any embarrassing moments during C-SPAN’s coverage, except for Christine Smith’s insane rant against Bob Barr’s selection. But the best thing were the numerous calls for unity, most notably in debate and concession speeches by Mary Ruwart and George Phillies.
Now that the convention’s over, it’s time for me to say something of great importance to my fellow Libertarians: Don’t blow it this time… Libertarians, by the nature of their philosophies, are highly individualistic. Thus, unity may be hard. Tolerance may be hard. Acceptance of where other individuals are at in their journey toward realizing the benefits of freedom may be hard. But these are all essential to keep in mind when spreading the message of liberty through engagement with fellow Americans in the political realm.
But beyond these things, Libertarians must be better individuals. In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau states that when people are ready for it, they will have a government “which governs not at all”. If Libertarians desire this as an end, they will never be able to achieve this end without personally being ready for it. If we are able to address the vast majority of our own problems, work with other like-minded individuals to solve those problems that we can’t solve on our own, be more successful, hold positions of responsibility and esteem, demonstrate high levels of innovation and leadership, those people who may not yet be Libertarians (or even libertarians) will move in that direction. That will be the only way the Libertarian Revolution can possibly begin.
I don’t have all the answers, and I definitely don’t have my life all together yet. But I’m committed to this change, and when ready, I will be committed to bringing others who desire this change with me. I’ve been thinking about this concept for awhile. Maybe as I’m working on my journey, a vehicle to communicate what this change will look like can be developed. I sure hope so. In any case, watch this space.
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