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In This Issue
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
* A Libertarian New Year's Celebration!
* The Advocates' New Year's Resolutions -- and Our Promise to You
* Great gifts for you as our thank-you for your year-end support
A LIBERTARIAN'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
By Harry Browne
PERSUASION POWER POINT #338
* A Modest Proposal for New Year's Resolutions By Michael Cloud
President's Corner
by Sharon Harris
A Libertarian New Year's Celebration!
Dear friend of liberty,
Happy New Year!
Have you made your New Year's Resolutions?
In this special short New Year’s Eve edition, I’m pleased to bring you three distinct libertarian takes on the time-honored practice of New Year’s resolutions.
Here is timeless wisdom from the great
Harry Browne -- you’ll want to share this with your libertarian friends. Plus an outrageous New Year’s Modest Proposal from
Michael Cloud.
And first, a few words on what we at the Advocates are planning in the coming year.
Enjoy!
Wishing you and your family a joyful and prosperous New Year!
-- Sharon
* * *
The Advocates’ New Year’s Resolutions -- and Our Promise to You
We've made our New Year's Resolutions at the Advocates, and here is our promise to you:
In 2013 the Advocates will once again play a major role in building a much larger and more effective movement for liberty. We will do this in two ways:
1)
We will provide more libertarians than ever before with the tools and training they need to successfully take the ideas of liberty to the public. Here’s just one example of what I mean: In the past two years we have provided over 600 OPH kits to student libertarians across the country. OPH is the best outreach tool in the movement, and with it, students will identify thousands of new libertarians on campus and turn them into activists for liberty!
2) We will t
ake libertarian ideas ourselves to a million or more people who will take our online World's Smallest Political Quiz; who will encounter the Quiz in the mass media; and to students who will encounter the Quiz in their classrooms.
Please take a moment to read my
online report on the progress we made last year. I think you’ll be excited!
We want to make 2013 the most productive year for liberty yet. And we have some exciting plans to accomplish that.
But we cannot do this without you. Advocates donors like you make our work possible.
Whatever your strategy for liberty, one thing is certain: we need many, many more dedicated, effective libertarian activists! Discovering, training and supplying them is what the Advocates is all about.
We offer proven, tested ways of doing this -- numerous acclaimed programs and tools -- and a record of over 27 years of success.
Your contribution to the Advocates is truly an investment in liberty.
I hope one of YOUR New Year's Resolutions is to invest in liberty. If so, I invite you to make a year-end donation to the Advocates now – while you can still take your end-of-year tax deduction!
Every dollar will go to essential, proven programs to make the liberty movement larger and more effective, and our world a freer, more abundant place.
Can I count on you for a one-time donation? Or will you consider becoming a monthly donor?
Get GREAT GIFTS FREE with your donation!
We have some really nice thank-you gifts reserved for you. You can see them
here.
But the greatest gift we can give to you is this: a promise to continue and expand the great work the Advocates is doing. I hope you will be our partner in making 2012 the best year ever for the libertarian movement.
Remember, you must make your donation by midnight tonight, December 31, to take a deduction on your 2012 tax return. So please make your donation now on our secure server.
"The Advocates is tilling the soil, sowing the seeds that other organizations in the libertarian movement are reaping the benefits from." -- David F. Nolan, Libertarian Party founder and Nolan Chart creator.
Thank you for your dedication to liberty -- and
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Yours for liberty,
Sharon Harris
President, Advocates for Self-Government
P.S. The staff of the Advocates for Self-Government wishes you and yours a very happy New Year -- filled with joy, laughter, friendship, abundance, and LIBERTY!
P.P.S. Thank you for your investment in the cause of liberty. Please make your tax-deductible
donation now.
* * *
The purpose of the Liberator Online is to build a stronger movement for liberty. We do this by providing information about the libertarian movement and how to best communicate the ideas of liberty. Thank you for being a part of this!
Learn more about the Advocates and our work for liberty.
Learn more about libertarianism -- the philosophy of liberty.
-- Sharon Harris, President |
Email
A Libertarian's New Year's Resolutions
by Harry Browne
Editor’s Note: Several years ago, Harry Browne -- 1996 and 2000 Libertarian Party presidential candidate, world-renowned libertarian speaker and writer, and very good friend of the Advocates -- made his New Year's resolutions.
The result was a compact how-to of effective libertarian communication, by one of history's most persuasive advocates of the ideas of liberty.
We are delighted to share this inspiring and uplifting classic with you. Consider adding them to your own resolutions this year -- and share them with other libertarians.
* * *
1. I resolve to sell liberty by
appealing to the self-interest of each prospect, rather than preaching to people and expecting them to suddenly adopt my ideas of right and wrong.
2. I resolve to k
eep from being drawn into arguments or debates. My purpose is to inspire people to want liberty -- not to prove that they're wrong.
3. I resolve to
listen when people tell me of their wants and needs, so I can help them see how a free society will satisfy those needs.
4. I resolve to
identify myself, when appropriate, with the social goals someone may seek -- a cleaner environment, more help for the poor, a less divisive society -- and try to show him that those goals can never be achieved by government, but will be well served in a free society.
5. I resolve to
be compassionate and respectful of the beliefs and needs that lead people to seek government help. I don't have to approve of their subsidies or policies -- but if I don't acknowledge their needs, I have no hope of helping them find a better way to solve their problems.
6. No matter what the issue, I resolve to
keep returning to the central point: how much better off the individual will be in a free society.
7. I resolve to
acknowledge my good fortune in having been born an American. Any plan for improvement must begin with a recognition of the good things we have. To speak only of America's defects will make me a tiresome crank.
8. I resolve to f
ocus on the ways America could be so much better with a very small government -- not to dwell on all the wrongs that exist today.
9. I resolve to
cleanse myself of hate, resentment, and bitterness. Such things steal time and attention from the work that must be done.
10. I resolve to speak, dress, and
act in a respectable manner. I may be the first libertarian someone has encountered, and it's important that he get a good first impression. No one will hear the message if the messenger is unattractive.
11. I resolve to remind myself that
someone's "stupid" opinion may be an opinion I once held. If I can grow, why can't I help him grow?
12. I resolve
not to raise my voice in any discussion. In a shouting match, no one wins, no one changes his mind, and no one will be inspired to join our quest for a free society.
13. I resolve
not to adopt the tactics of Republicans and Democrats. They use character assassination, evasions, and intimidation because they have no real benefits to offer Americans. We, on the other hand, are offering to set people free -- and so we can win simply by focusing on the better life our proposals will bring.
14. I resolve to
be civil to my opponents and treat them with respect. However anyone chooses to treat me, it's important that I be a better person than my enemies.
* * *
Harry passed away in March of 2006. His last speech was given at an Advocates’ convention. He was a great friend of the Advocates, and a great friend of liberty.
If enough of us follow Harry's advice above, we can make 2013 the best year yet for the libertarian movement.
There could be no greater tribute to Harry -- and no greater gift to America!
Editor's Note: To learn how to follow Harry's example in being a great communicator for liberty, get a copy of his fabulous book
, Liberty A to Z: 872 Libertarian Soundbites You Can Use Right Now! Now
30% off! For a limited time, simply enter this coupon code at checkout to take 30% off anything in our
Liberty Store:
DEC2012
Persuasion
Power Point
#338
by Michael Cloud
A Modest Proposal for New Year's Resolutions
New Year's Day is coming up. If you're like a lot of people, you're thinking, "I ought to make some New Year's Resolutions."
"Let's see. I ought to lose 10 pounds. And I probably ought to stop smoking. Oh yeah, I need to spend more time with my spouse," you might say.
So you write down these items. New Year's is a good time to improve yourself. And this time you'll really keep your resolutions. Uh-huh.
Why did you pick these resolutions?
They're hard. They're important. They're uplifting. And you'd feel really proud of yourself if you actually accomplished them.
So you start out with the best of intentions. The highest of hopes. And a grim determination.
Then you break one of them. You forget another. Before you know it, your resolutions have you on your back, all four feet in the air, another victim of resolution road kill.
You feel guilty. You get a funny-looking grin on your face when your friends ask you, "How are your resolutions coming?"
Your self-esteem plummets. Until time lets you forget all about the resolutions.
Frankly, this isn't good for you.
It isn't good for the people you spend time with.
But I have a solution.
It's bold, breathtaking, and BIG.
It feeds your need to be uplifted. It gives you a steely look and the calm confidence of a poker player holding four Aces.
THE BIG TRUTH: Most of your problems are caused by other people.
Your life would be a whole lot smoother if other people were way more considerate of your wants and needs. Of your hopes and expectations.
Your life would be a whole lot better if other people would stop being so selfish.
Always putting themselves first. Always thinking about their problems. Always wanting things their way.
Most religions teach that it is better to give than to receive.
So what is the greatest gift you can give to others?
The opportunity for them to give.
THE MODEST PROPOSAL: Write New Year's Resolutions for other people. Tell them exactly how they can make your life better, and nicer, and happier.
Why should you lose 10 pounds? After all, how many times do you look in the mirror each day? They should lose 10 pounds. You look at them more often than you look at yourself.
And they should learn to say, "You're not fat. You're snuggly."
Why should you stop smoking? They should learn to appreciate the fragrant smell of burning tobacco. And enjoy the process of scooping up ashes that have fallen in the wrong place. And cleaning out ashtrays.
Why should you spend more time with your spouse?
She should appreciate the spare moments you ration out. After all, the rare is the precious. If diamonds were commonplace, who would value them? If your time were commonplace, would your wife really appreciate you?
Remember, most of your problems are caused by other people.
That means that most of your solutions can be provided by other people. Unless they insist on selfishness.
Maybe your friends don't call you often enough. Or invite you to dinner regularly. Or listen in rapt attention when you repeat your story for the 11th time.
It is better to give than to receive. Help them give. Write their resolutions so that they can learn to give and give and give.
Write their resolutions so that they can grow and grow and grow.
So they can be more worthy of being your friend.
So make up a list of your friends. Write out their New Year's Resolutions. The resolutions that put you first. The resolutions that make them better friends. Resolutions that let them live to give.
If they keep those resolutions, they'll become stronger and better.
If they fail to keep the New Year's Resolutions you wrote for them, they will feel frustrated. Guilty. They will suffer plummeting self-esteem.
Help your friends become better people. Write their New Year's Resolutions today.
Some day they'll thank you.
* * * * * * * *
Michael Cloud's brand-new book Unlocking More Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion is available exclusively from the Advocates, along with his acclaimed earlier book Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion.
Now
30% off! For a limited time, simply enter this coupon code at checkout to take 30% off anything in our
Liberty Store:
DEC2012
In 2000, Michael was honored with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America.
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