Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 19:31:59 -0000
From: gonzolawyer@comcast.net ("maywood2008")
Subject: [lpaz-Pima] Re: Western Libertarian Alliance
To: lpaz-Pima@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: lpaz-Pima@yahoogroups.com
I'm going to respond to a couple of different ideas expressed on this
list in the last few days in explaining why I think WLA is a good
thing.
Jonathan suggested that we have neither the numbers nor the unity to
support Joe and/or Scott. David Green said that attendance at the
protest was indicative of the individuals who valued being there. I
think that of these two statements, DG is more correct.
LWV silenced the Libertarians. Absent any other ideas, Jason and I
decided to organize a sign-holding protest and asked other
libertarians and Libertarians to come and show support for the LP.
Such an action did not require a vote by PCLP or ALP Inc., therefore
there was no need for unity as a broad concept. Even if some of us
disagree with others on a number of issues, we can choose to work
together on the issues where we do agree.
As for support, the protest gained additional attention with every
additional person who showed up to hold a sign. We got attention
initially because there were a dozen of us; we would have gotten less
if we had only 2 people and we would have gotten more if we had more
people. This is not the kind of action where if you must have 100
people or else it's not worth anything.
We were asking for individuals to come in their own capacity. And as
DG rightly pointed out, individuals were asked to choose for
themselves whether to come.
Which leads nicely into Western Libertarian Alliance.
The one thing that libertarians do better than anyone else out there
is grassroots activism. It's about education and outreach - we have
the right ideas, and therefore we make for good teachers. We will
affect the political system only after we affect the culture.
Electoral success on a major scale will only happen when there is a
culture of freedom among the voters. WLA is nothing more than a name
to describe libertarians who believe, among other things, that we
have to get out there and affect the culture.
There is a reason why there are no officers and no bank account. We
want every individual to do as much or as little as he/she wants. We
don't want to give anyone the idea that "Person X holds Office Y in
Organization Z and therefore X will take care of it." If it is
something that you believe needs to be done, and you don't see anyone
else doing it, then you can make it your job and get as many people
to come along as you are able.
It was in this spirit that Jason and I organized the LWV Debate
Protest, and it is in this spirit that we organized the Sept 13
meeting, and it will be in this spirit that we will organize other
events in the future that we consider important. But at the same
time, Jason and I don't "run" WLA; it's a nationwide alliance
("Western" signifies our culture, not our geographical location) and
there are no "animals who are more equal than other animals." Feel
free to call your own meetings if you don't like the day or time or
you just want to do something else.
Everyone else should feel equally empowered to suggest and organize
activities and ask others to come along. Jason and I considered the
protest to be the best thing to do, but others with better ideas
could come along and suggest and do other things. And if someone with
another suggestion for Sunday had followed through, maybe we would
have had TWO events running concurrently; and that probably would
have been quite interesting! :-)
With regard to Joe's case, one of the agenda items for the WLA
meeting will be what to do on September 16, which is his court date.
Some have expressed disagreement with pursuing this course of action,
and in some situations I'd have to agree. But in this case, Joe was
completely in the right. He was not being civilly disobedient,
because he broke no law.
In fact, it is my understanding that Scott Stewart deserves credit
for putting into place a policy that allowed Joe to do what he was
doing. So Scott, credit given where credit is due.
And since Scott is on the PCC Board, and is concerned with protecting
the PCC assets from being drained by a possible lawsuit, Scott might
want to sponsor a resolution to the PCC Board stating that the campus
officers acted contrary to published policy and that their actions
were not approved by the Board. This way, the officers can hang out
to dry along with LWV.
Joe might be getting more "government numbers" befre the end of this
campaign. Of course those decisions are his, but I know that he will
ask for our support on whatever course of action he takes. Each of us
will decide whether to support those actions with our own voices.
But I think it is self-evident that libertarians in Pima County need
to be doing SOMETHING to get into the public eye - preferably
something that is principled and will not have much (if any) negative
backlash. For example, we won't suggest that a Libertarian make a
protest by selling drugs on elementary school property. But we have
to keep our eyes open for any and all opportunities.
When we were deciding on the date of the first meeting, we thought it
would be best for it to be after the primary (so we knew who the
nominated candidates would be), and before Joe's hearing, and this
was the only day that worked. Future meetings will likely NOT be on
Friday nights, but this was our best option given the circumstances.
When we decide when to hold metings, we will do everything possible
to find a consensus - we won't be taking a vote :-)
And just because we'll be discussing anything and everthing on Friday
the 13th, that does not mean that we are precluded from discussing
things prior to that time. One thing in particular that I'm happy to
see is the heavy increase in traffic on this list. Earlier in the
year there were 15 messages a month, and now I'm seeing 15 a day
sometimes.
To paraphrase Barry, we're not trying to tear down the building of
PCLP. We're trying to build a new building that does different
things. And we're trying to keep the channels of communication open
so that there is optimal interaction among individuals interested in
doing things to advance the cause of freedom.
If you can, please put aside that Friday night to come. If you cannot
attend, please do not hesitate to make suggestions either publicly or
privately.
David Euchner
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