Well since its confession time I can say that I was also a liberal Democrat. My transformation began with Reagan who convinced me that government is not the solution to all of our problems. Clinton's anti-gun agenda pushed me further from the Dems. I think it was in Clinton's second term that I discovered Harry Browne and became a Libertarian.

then you grew a brain.

The saying goes

"Not liberal by 20, have no heart ; not coservative by 40, have no brain"

I add "..not liberal again by 60, had no life"

BTM theme song?

I know people who know people...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK0-bOdXIHs&feature=related

Let's see...high school >>> nominal liberal democrat. College after several political science/philosophy courses>>> Libertarian. Law School>>> Green Party. Working man: Ron Paul limited federal government, low taxes, non-interventionist, libertarian leaning sound money Republican.

Depending on the issue that affected me most at the time determined my outlook. I hated the law & order BS from the republicans while in high school (it was the mid 90's) and was rather uniformed so liked the "other party" for the sole reason they weren't the Republicans. Loved reading and learning the libertarian philosophy during college when exposed to some of the leading thinkers of said philosophy; law school had me learning the law in the run up to the Iraq war which i despised and took to the streets to march against - along with my strong opposition to the War on Drugs (particularly cannabis) so the Green Party seemed to respond to those issues stronger than others at that time and now - - well - - I am here.

And I think I finally found a philosophy of government/society that can incorporate what I was seeking in small portions from the other options into a coherent workable political philosophy that is consistent with the blueprint laid down by the founders in the constitution. And now I am saddned (once again) to see the fraudsters and imposters shun this superior philosophy by paying lip service to it while acting in direct opposition to it and marginalizing (to put it mildly) the one guy who adheres to it. IM TALKING TO YOU REPUBLICAN PARTY MASTERS!! Any change henceforth in political philosophy will likely be reactionary in nature - and will likely move in the direction of anarchy and abolition of the whole rotting corpse that is called 'Government in America.' Let us hope for society's sake it doesn't come to that :)

I can relate to a lot of what you wrote.

Is what it's all about. I have a good joke to tell you, but first I'd like to comment directly to Lisa's "conversion".

I have heard it said that a liberal is just a conservative who ain't been mugged yet! Since most of us now get "mugged" by the federal government on a daily basis, I just had to toss this in.

Now, joke time.

It seems that this fellow who owned a sporting goods store was slowly losing money, and he was afraid that soon he would have to lay off his one and only salesman; a loyal fellow who had worked for him faithfully for years.

In a last attempt to avoid that, the owner sent the salesman off to a fairly expensive motivational two-week seminar.

When the salesman returned, within the first week sales doubled! In the second week sales had doubled again!

The owner wanted to question his salesman about the course he took, but he was busy from opening to closing talking with hunters and fishermen.

Finally, there was a brief lull one day right before closing time so the owner got to ask his question.

The salesman said it was simple really. He would listen to all the "fish stories", and when the angler or hunter finished, the salesman would simply say, "Fantastic!"

The owner was amazed that one word could make all that much difference so he asked the salesman what he used to say!

The salesman smiled and said, "Bullshit!"

I don't worry about nuthin.....
Unless it jumps right out in front of me......
Then I don't worry about it......
Unless it tries to bite me.......
Then I don't worry about it......
I just kill it!
No worries!

While it is true that many Americans (including me) have been pushed around a pulled around by propaganda, I do still hope that we don't morph to the dark side. The movement will be around a lot longer if we set a foundation of rational thought as often as possible (obviously).

Glad you made the change. :) I've always been a conservative, but my major changes have been in my thoughts of what a conservative really is. I grew up in a right-wing, religious family that believed in small government. My father was self-employed and regularly cursed the government for various things, usually involving taxes or "requirements." We had a farm that received no subsidies - mainly due to the stupidness of their requirements around this - geared towards large operations...aka corporate farming.

At any rate, my inclinations have moved from old Republican conservative to more libertarian (for social issues) and now I'm moving into the realms of anarchy.

Government's had a couple of thousand years to get it right... now it's time to try it without it. :)

--Aaron
The Militant Libertarian
http://www.MilitantLibertarian.org

Lisa,

I applaud the fact that you so graciously came out and told us that you were a Liberal Democrat. I considered myself a Conservative Republican turning moderate when I first heard of Ron Paul. I was personally heading towards the line of "Democrat" in which the current Republican party is heading. One quote resonated, and brought me back to my senses. You probably know it. "Any society that willingly gives up a little liberty, for a little security, deserves neither and will lose both. -Benjamin Franklin". A friend of mine showed me that quote, and I was hooked.
-----

As to help Tom, I have been in your shoes many times. However, since I have managed to 'crack open' my Dad to this ideal, it has been easier for me.

I have a bad knack of getting into politics leading from any discussion. (Recently it started with Ultimate Frisbee and worked on into Ron Paul.) However, if you get to talking to the person and realize you have some similar feelings about stuff, they can relate to you. As conversation moves along, you can start to slowly delve into politics. Don't try to necessarily push it onto to them, but tell them your feelings about it. Generally, when you say something about what you believe (example: Gold Standard), be able to defend your position on it, and challenge them to look into it. Likewise if they tell you something they believe, ask them why, and try to give a bit of what you believe.

I've discovered that by giving common courtesy to others who may be a bit "skeptical" opens up the doors to them to do their own work. If you do it properly, they will do their research, and will be like, "Dang, he was right, maybe I should reconsider." Generally, if they do that, you can give them full access to the world of Ron Paul. Yes, it is time consuming, generally about an hour (sometimes longer), but for the purpose of educating the American public to what we're about, it a VERY good investment. Plus, these will people who likewise will try to spread it to others as well.

Tom, I wrote a piece once called What do Ron Jeremy and Ron Paul have in common?

What I suggested was that if you want "government", you want it where you can yell at it and actually make it work for you.

Left or right tucking individuals always have a complaint because the government sort of splits them and spits on them anyways. If you zero in on the complaints of the person you are talking to and suggest to them they would be able to address the complaint IF government was local and not far off in Washington DC, you might make some headway. It is sort of the martial arts move of taking the punch and steering it... rather than attacking a person head on.

When we talk of government, we've become accustomed to talking about Washington. This was not always the case and should not be the case. Government should be within driving distance and "governors" should be accessible.

the Republicans mastered the slogan - the sound bite, talking points. It's simply a matter of reducing the bulk of what you're saying down to a a few words that can fit on a bumper sticker and still capture the essence of the message. Something, that sounds catchy and then repeating it over and over until everybody's head is ringing with it. (The pop song really) It's really teaching people how to think, because its something that they can remember and repeat. Then they run around repeating it to all their friends.

From the music teaching perspective, it's the difference between dropping a Beethoven sonata on a music stand, and teaching a kid a 4 note Led Zep riff. One puts the person to sleep, the other turns the person into a walking Led Zep riff that wants to play it for all their friends. Same principle really. Guess what, Led Zep is played all over the radio. Beethoven can't get heard without grants and endowments.

It's a strategy and a format so we should be able to fill it with new content. Ron Paul has actually been pretty good at this -- and he's done it without focus groups and ad agencies.

"Freedom brings people together"... and things of this nature,

Though, for detailed, informative discussions this would be limiting.

Anyhow, I don't know if that's the best strategy for this forum, but at some point if something is to have mass appeal---- it needs to be instantly adaptable to whatever mindset people are already walking around with.

Otherwise you'll become the political version of a bitter musician who's angry that everyone sings Brittany Spears and no one will listen beyond 2 seconds to his masterpiece.

perhaps you need to alter your mode of arguing. Have you watched the video on this site called "The century of the self"?

The Matrix has mastered the art of getting their points across without any factual basis - simply by repetition, and other advertising methods that appeal to emotions and the unconcious. I don't agree, with the shrinks, that people are totally irrational beings. But the irrational is an element that shouldn't be ignored.

Lists of facts don't always serve to convince because they only appeal to a particular mode of thought. More often than not, they're just irritating (from the emotional side.) From the rational side - facts are easily manipulated (think of the studies sponsored by tobacco companies etc.) So facts have lost some of their power.

When was the last time you read the fine print in an Ad? When was the last time you noticed the image, etc. that had nothing to do with the product?

is probably what allowed you to "see the light." I run into so many people that want to talk politics (them initiating, not me), but just completely turn off once you start making your argument. As has been my experience in shedding light on fundamentalist religion, I can see a fear-based shutting down when I calmly challenge any of their assumptions. This goes for democrats or republicans, whether you're talking about warfare or welfare. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to have a civil conversation, backing up my argument with facts, but have been repeatedly cut off or shouted down as soon as my facts started to threaten that person's beliefs.

Advice from Lisa or anyone else on this is welcome!

Tom Mullen

www.tommullen.net
www.myspace.com/skepticsongs

more and more people are having an experience similiar to yours

Hello Lisa,
Glad to read more from you. Believe it or not I was a Democrat when I was younger. After getting a little wiser I jumped to the Libertarians. I hope that this election is the start of getting America back on track. I have never seen so much enthusiasm for liberty as we have today. Take care and stay in touch.

I'm glad you're sharing your story of transformation with us this Friday on LifeLine--a ray of hope and cause for optimism indeed. I enjoyed your show last week.

Are your past shows archived for replay?

Thanks, Lisa, for your tireless work on the front lines.

My guess is that you were a Liberal Democrat because two choices were offered, and one of those was the extremely sleezy and hypocritical Republican Party.

I'll even bet you thought "Those people (the Republicans) are crazy!"

Or something like that...