The the last decade and a half, the www has made all sorts of information possible and has created online communities. The gatekeepers no longer have a grip on information like they used to. Because of this, people have been developing new ideas and beliefs but keeping it to themselves to keep from “looking crazy” to members of their “non-online” communities.
I’m suspect to believe that there are many of these people.
Maybe people already know more about libertarianism and they don’t think it’s all that crazy, but they just don’t feel like they can vocalize and live what they believe because of social pressures?
Education about issues sure is important. As is getting people to not only to learn what to preach, but also to preach what they know, and to practice what they preach. Learning can be hard. Preaching, harder. Changing practice to be in line with beliefs is the hardest.
I’m pretty sure some of the people I’ve reached out to are just scared to learn more not only because they are used to what they already believe, but they may be worried about how people would view them differently if they expressed different beliefs. Wouldn’t their co-workers in government schooling look down on them if they were to be actively against government schooling?
Before last summer, I kept my views about liberty to myself. Something happened last year, and I’m not sure exactly what, but I realized that my education consisted of mostly statist propaganda. I decided that a free society would never come into existence if nobody knew that people could live more freely, happily, and prosperously than they do now. After having my epiphany, I began a libertarian organization on my campus to try to save as many people before their minds were permanently lost to the state. Now, I wear my libertarian and Austrian t-shirts and engage other students in discussion. Some people dismiss me as a loon, but I try not to waste my time on close-minded people. Even though I may only be able to engage one of every ten people in a decent conversation, I know that I have helped others through their struggles with accepting liberty.
Despite how tough it can be to espouse liberty in places where liberty is often under attack (some college campuses, especially from some professors and they can be the most belligerent at times), the rewards can often be great. I’ve made new friends, sharpened my logic, and my mind is freer than it ever has been. Supporting liberty requires the courage to be willing to accept that one may make enemies or be thought of as crazy.