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Libertarians need to become Super Saiyans! I don’t know if you have ever watched Dragon Ball Z, but I think we can learn a few things from this childhood obsession of mine.
What is a Saiyan?
Many of the characters on the show are part of a race of alien warriors called Saiyans. What made the Saiyans unique and eventually the most powerful beings in the universe, was the way they recovered. Saiyans would lose battles, but every time they did, they became 10 times stronger. Then the next time you faced them it was a one-sided fight.
How do we become Saiyans?
Libertarians, we do our fair share of losing battles so let’s at least become stronger when we lose them.
We do that by taking a real look at why we lost.
We always assume it’s the strength of our arguments, but I’m hard pressed to think of an ideology that has thoroughly vetted and debated its ideas like libertarianism. Point being, our ideas are pretty solid, yet people still often embrace inconsistent and counter-productive beliefs of how society should organize.
The reality?
The difference is presentation. Instead of trying to change the values of every individual, we should craft the libertarian message to appeal to the values they already hold. This is not just a matter of how to verbally present the ideas but also the optics and perception of the messenger. I know we like to believe the message is enough and it should be, but why do we leave so much opportunity on the table.
So ask yourself:
– Is the messenger someone people would want to aspire to be (if I don’t want to be you in some way, why would I want to adopt your ideas)?
– Does their appearance communicate authenticity and authority to their target audience (no outfit works for everyone, but find the right uniform for whoever your talking too)?
– Does the framing of the ideas present them in a way that welcomes people to question their existing beliefs without judgement or presented as immediate judgement for being late to the game?
– Does the messenger have shared experiences or values that’ll help then connect to their target audience?
If we work we can:
– Segment: identify audiences of shared values and experiences.
– Find a messenger: find someone who can connect to that audience.
– Support: provide the support necessary for the right messenger to deliver the right message.
If we wonder why libertarian demographics such as women and minorities are so low in numbers, it might be because we are sending the same messenger, sending the same message to the same audience over and over again.
Some food for thought.
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