Issue 31.15
Publisher’s Clearing House is famous for telling people that they are one of six or seven people that might have won their big prize of millions of dollars. They do this by printing your name in a list – but what they don’t tell you is that a similar letter is sent to over 100 million other people. Everyone they send it to has their name on a similar list. Most people don’t even know someone who knows someone who has won that sweepstakes.
The savvy people who actually win more than one award (though admittedly they are smaller awards) are those who use a method that is interesting and makes sense. They research contests that are generally only seen by a small portion of the population. To find these, they comb through magazines (especially ones with a focus group like “Utah Vacations” or “Shi-Tzu Owners”, etc.) for contests that only a small group of people will enter. I talked with a person who found a contest offering a Cessna airplane as the grand prize and won it. They found it in a magazine that caters to small aircraft pilots and realized that the circulation was under 20,000 people. Only a few hundred actually entered the contest because it required an essay about why the writer wanted an airplane.
How does this apply to principles of freedom and our political process? It is pretty simple really. Most of us that care about liberty want to make a difference and help people understand the concepts and actions that will bless our country. The relationship with the sweepstakes approach is that you have the best chance of doing something that matters when you focus on the groups where you can make a difference.
Talking with people one-on-one is the most effective way to help someone understand a principle of truth. Next is small groups. You can meet with groups of neighbors at a backyard barbeque. You can engage people in your church group or civic club or PTA group. The Lions, Rotary, Elks, Eagles and many other groups are patriotic and care about our country. They often don’t understand the principles but will stand strongly for God and Country when challenged. In these groups (especially church groups) it is usually best not to preach party politics, but to concentrate on principles that are in keeping with spiritual growth such as freedom of religion, getting the government out of our business when it comes to spiritual concerns and matters of conscience and helping them understand that it is the business of churches and civic groups to give aid and comfort to the poor and disadvantaged, not the business of government.
Being involved in your caucus meetings is a great setting where you can make a difference with a smaller group. Regardless of party, these meetings can give you an opportunity to teach correct principles. Be prepared to be asked to serve as a county and state delegate if you do so. People that understand and live by principles are in demand. You can make a difference in those positions. Smaller groups such as the Constitution Party (which I belong to), the Libertarian Party, Freedom First Society, Loyal 7 and others are active in our area and are a rich source of information. If you join with groups like these, you can be involved in decision making and can influence thinking and action on a larger stage. I have run for Congress and the US Senate because I was willing to work with a smaller group. This has given me the opportunity to speak to large numbers of people and debate the issues on TV and radio as well as in other media.
Regardless of which groups you are part of, you can make a difference by writing your congress-people and writing letters to the editor (be sure to research their requirements and follow them to get published) and comment on local and wider area talk shows. All of it matters. All of it can make a difference.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.