I’m writing this to our brothers and
sisters from “across the pond.” This
message goes out to both the big-L and small-l libertarians. I see some of the infighting in the UK’s
liberty movement, most notably between activists from the UK Independence Party
and the Libertarian Party of the UK.
Brothers and sisters in liberty, I can
tell you from experience, factionalism and needless infighting took A LOT of
steam out of the liberty movement in America. You would be way better off avoiding it. In no way am I preaching to you. Instead I’m using my experience, even the
mistakes I made in the past, to help you folks steer clear of some bumpy roads
in spreading libertarian thought.
Our biggest problem, especially in the
US Libertarian Party, is when factions arise and say "So-and-So is not
Libertarian; only WE are the true bastion of liberty. Join us, not them!"
Believe me friends, it's counter-productive.
Frankly, if the UKIP proposes ANY ideas
or changes that that promotes liberty in any way, shape or form--even if it's
not as libertarian as we'd like--their activism is still important. Anything
that moves the meter needle away from statism and a little closer to liberty,
is important.
Just think where you were, politically,
10 or 15 years ago. Not everyone becomes libertarian overnight. They NEED an
intellectual/logical stepping stone.
Even hardcore anarchists in the US are flocking to support the “conservatarian”
Rand Paul; they know that his candidacy will be a big push in the direction of
libertarian thought. It's a golden stepping stone for millions of Americans, and we'd be foolish not to support him and build him up. But Rand is just an
example of libertarians and conservatives building coalitions within the
liberty movement.
The BEST hope for success is to not put
a negative spotlight on other groups we should be allied with, but instead put
a spotlight on things you SUPPORT. If you REALLY want to differentiate
yourselves from UKIP, put a spotlight on LPUK stances you SUPPORT (but stances
different from UKIP's).
The most attractive feature of
libertarianism is people who are alive, free, and HAPPY. 100% positivity is far
more effective for recruiting than 90% negativity followed by 'Vote for us,
we're your last choice'.
I truly pray that I live to see the day
a libertarian party wins the majority in Parliament (and the freaking US
Congress, too). Far off, maybe, but certainly possible within our lifetimes.
* * *
British R3VOLUTION flag courtesy of the Advocates dot org.
