Slogans, Bumber Stickers, and Talking Points

There have been a number of threads lately regarding these things and I thought I'd share my views on various parts of this idea. I'm no expert, but I do pay attention to how I react to campaigns, propaganda, and the like.

As with any campaign, we need slogans and talking points that get people's attention, but we need to remember they're not aimed at ourselves, but those that are still sleeping. There were a few callers into C-SPAN after the nomination process that were obviously RP supporters, but they were in too much of a hurry to get out a complete brain dump of everything they knew regarding their point. They stumbled over their thoughts, and ended up not coming across too well, in fact coming across rather poorly. The host was obviously not interested in these calls. Every good book has to catch your interest right up front and keep it until the end. So does any campaign...

Whether it's a slogan, bumper sticker, or conversation starter, there are a few qualities I think are important:

1) it should have a distinct point. "Go Liberty!" is a nice battle cry for those of us here, but it doesn't make a point to someone new.

2) it shouldn't put anyone off. Think of the proverbial honey instead of vinegar. How many people still turn off their ears when you say "Well, Ron Paul ..."? It's unfortunate, but it happens.

3) it should be personal. Otherwise they don't care. Which constitutional amendments are unconstitutional or unratified may be tremendously significant to all Americans, but if you have to struggle to make people see why it should be important to them, your point gets lost.

4) it shouldn't come from left field. I was in line behind a couple the other night and the guy asked the clerk "So, do you like paying taxes?" Innocent enough, and I immediately knew where he was coming from, but the two clerks were obviously caught off guard and weren't prepared for such a conversation. This short conversation was pretty awkward (the reason she "liked" paying taxes was because she likes having well-maintained roads) and after the couple walked out, the reactions of the clerks were very much like "what a kook!".

5) it should leave the listener/reader with an interest in knowing more. My first RP exposure was a simple "Google Ron Paul" banner hanging over the expressway, so of course I had to find out what I was missing (plus, I share the same last name, so I had an extra bit of personal curiosity).

6) if possible, leave the reader with a feeling of empowerment. How about "How'd you like to be debt free? Then, just DO IT!", "Freedom: Use it or lose it", "Your government is working against you -- just look around", and such. The biggest hurdle we have to get over is the "Sure... but I can't do anything about it..." attitude. Also, a slogan of this nature doesn't have to make its point immediately, as long as it gets remembered later at the right time, such as when thinking about financing anything.

Obviously, every slogan can't accomplish all at once, but the more, the better.

Additionally, the idea of Liberty is so different from any other idea (that requires a campaign, at least) in that it encompasses so many other intertwined ideas at once - taxes, wars, the constitution, states' sovereignty, education, crime, illegal immigration, free markets, wire-tapping, police state, inflation, etc. Way too many people don't get it because of that, but at the same time, you can't start the conversation where it all comes together in the middle. I've had a few conversations where I'm accused of talking in circles because it seems to another person that I'm not staying on topic.

In order for each of us to be effective individually, we should have a small arsenal of handy slogans, bumper stickers, and talking points for each strand of the liberty idea so that each by itself can become someone's personalized wake up call. Then our consistent collective use of these ready made points will start to reverberate and we'll know the caffeine drip we've started is working.

~~~ Citizenship is not a spectator sport! ~~~