"The Power of Listening: Making Allies Out of Perceived Enemies" - speech at 2016 LPWA Convention

I was invited to speak at the 2016 Libertarian Party of Washington State Convention. My speech was more-or-less (ashamedly less) this:

Who here likes debating politics? [To which the majority of the room raised their hands]

Well, that's because this is a roomful of libertarians. Many people don't enjoy debating politics, whether it's because they're indifferent or they just don't like debating. This is where many libertarians go wrong when trying to get people to join them.

How would you feel if a conservative came up to you and tried to convince you to support Ted Cruz by telling you that all of your viewpoints are wrong? Understandably, probably most of you would feel very uncomfortable, and you would either try to get away or tell them that their viewpoints are wrong.

The problem in this scenario from the Ted Cruz supporter is that they made an enemy of you from the beginning. You can’t assume a person’s views, nor should you point out flaws in viewpoints if you want to politically appeal to them. Having a debate because both of you want to is fine, but you are not going to convince anyone to join your side if you antagonize them.

Now let’s bring this back to libertarians. If you are trying to win votes for a Libertarian candidate, you’re going to positively attract very few members of the voting populace talking about how all drugs should be legalized. If you do happen to engage some people, but you find out that they believe drug abuse would become rampant if all drugs were legalized, you don’t tell them, “Do you even read?? Drug abuse is very bad today because of the criminalization of drug use, and when drugs are on the black market, they usually become worse because they are cut with other substances!” And while a lot of us here have accepted that as our truth, saying this will only scare most people away.

We have to face it: many libertarian views are nutty in the eyes of the general public. A lot of these are beliefs people have never heard of. Never even fathomed of. Using a condescending tone when speaking to nonlibertarians only makes it worse. So…How do we fix this?

As Michelle Darnell said last night and as well as many other Libertarians at the convention in the past few years: we listen. Learn what interests the person. “Oh, you believe in ending corporate welfare? So does my candidate!” “Yeah, income taxes suck. My candidate actually has this idea for tax reform…”

It’s also about giving and taking. If the person is receptive, listen to their points, then share some of your own. This is a great time to provide sources to back up what you’re saying. Unfortunately, I’ve seen libertarians run into problems in this area as well: “Wow, you really don’t know anything at all, do you? Go read some Hayek.” “What? I didn’t know Salma has such extensive knowledge on…”

Me with James Holcomb

Whether these nonlibertarians you’re speaking to are conservatives, socialists, or liberals, there are bound to be some issues you agree on. Learn what matters to them and why. This is not about convincing them to change their worldview. Wouldn’t it be awesome if that happened? If everyone you preached the gospel of libertarianism to became libertarians afterwards? Sadly, that’s not going to happen. The way to win these conversations is to make sure everyone wins. Cheesy, yeah I know, but it is a huge win for libertarianism when a nonlibertarian says or thinks, “I will consider what you told me” or  “Yeah, I will look into that topic” or “Steven Nielson, was it? I’ll be sure to tell my friends about him.”

Don’t think of this process as converting people so much as making allies. If people deem you worth listening to – because you listen to them – they will be open to the idea of working with you. While getting people to join our sides as full-blown libertarians is an uncommon occurrence, it does happen. The change within them may be slow, but it is our job as activists to nurture it, and be patient. Let’s stop looking at nonlibertarians as our enemies, and instead, let’s welcome them to work with or alongside us. This can be our future if we make it so. Thank you for listening.