Reaching Left while Holding on to our Rights
by Don Meinshausen

Many of those who know my background and previous posts have noticed my strategy on working with the Greens and other non-authoritarian progressives. While there is much to be accomplished here, there is also much to do with the conservative movement even if just to maintain balance.

Murray Rothbard and Karl Hess who together were the mind and soul of the early libertarian movement worked with both. Murray went even further than I would have gone, working with communists in the 60's anti-war movement and then working with paleo-conservatives toward the end of his life.

Political dexterity or ambidexterity is a virtue in our movement. It has also been called political cross-dressing. Be careful of pretending to be something else for too long or you could lose your identity or integrity. Since our numbers are so small it is important to make numerous single-issue coalitions with other points of view not just to prove our worthiness but also to protect our rights.

After many years of attending both leftist and rightist political conferences, conventions, demonstrations, chat rooms, etc., a few observations are in order. The first is that it is always easier to communicate with people out of power. Maybe this is why conservatives (up until recently) have been easier. Maybe being in the Northeast where conservatives will always be outnumbered explains this in my own situation. Liberals are out of power and won't get many jobs out of this administration and go into the private sector. Then there is the observation that people who work for the government are rarely happy and know a lot of inefficiency, waste, and other horror stories that they would like to share.

So where does one go for converts and conversation? Right or Left? Many people are so libertarian they refuse to identify or even talk about politics. This happens a lot in New Age circles and I talk about spirituality, religion, psychology, film, business or technology all of which can be given a libertarian spin. It's usually best for others to bring up politics and to give not too much information so that you leave the person curious to look up more information. It is not good to be authoritarian in your libertarianism.

If you like some aspects of the left go to those left events where you will meet them. Ignore authoritarian types, crazies, or people that even if you could convert them you wouldn't want to be around them. Know when to move on to another group or person. Complete agreement is not essential. A sense of humor is a sign of sanity.

Some people are good to know in that they come up with good information from their own sources that actually buttress libertarian arguments. They might not even realize they are doing this. Ask them what do they know or think of libertarianism, CATO, Reason, or Liberty magazine and you might get some interesting observations from an outsider's point of view. Ask this before you identify yourself as a libertarian. All of this advice is good for rightist events and others. Don't be surprised that their groups have the same problems that we do.

Attend salons, fundraisers and parties where people are people are inclined to be off guard and open to networking. Use OPH cards after you get the conversation going. Dress and act to blend.

Are we having fun yet? If you aren't having fun with them then it's probably true that they are not being persuaded by you. Know what you are looking for and what you will tolerate and remember that it's good to be surprised once in a while. Don't bullshit or accept it but appreciate playfulness. Throw events of your own and ask for help on getting people to attend (entertainment, speakers that appeal to different groups venues, etc.)

Remember that the political process is designed so that it will discourage you. At the very least if you can persuade people that they should not respect politicians, bad laws, or the media that support them you have done something. Encourage tax avoidance, jury nullification and optimism in pursuing liberty. Let us know of your successes or how you became aware of liberty.

Please contact me with your comments at freedonnow@yahoo.com.


Who is Don Chaote?

Don Chaote is otherwise known as Don Meinshausen.  In the June issue of Liberty magazine there is an autobiographical article in which he describes how he invoked the libertarian movement by ceremonial magick.

"Don Chaote" is a 3 way pun.  Don Quixote is a classic romantic tale of an anachronistic (anarchronistic?) hero and fool. "Chaote" is a contraction of chaos and tea. Many psychedelics are served in a tea and chaos theory is well respected in science.  Coyote is known to the American Indians as a trickster spirit who brings wisdom and amusement.

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