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As 2016 comes to a close, we’re looking at what our New Year’s Resolutions are going to be for 2017 and beyond.
I’d like to offer something to you that may make you a better communicator of libertarian ideas and someone who better understands the ideas of liberty, and that is to learn more. Make an effort to educate yourself as you work to persuade others. You can do that in three ways:
- Read more. Did you know that the average book length is 12-20 chapters, and if you read just ten minutes a day, you would end up reading about a book per month? That would mean reading twelve new books a year that you’ve never even cracked? Wouldn’t that be a fantastic way to learn more about the ideas of libertarianism and how to communicate them?
- Listen more. The average podcast length is 40 minutes. The average American commute time is about 25 minutes each way. That means you could listen to one podcast episode per day on your way to and from work.
- Watch more. Incorporate more documentaries, documentary series, and other non-fiction works into what you’re watching. Just replace a sitcom with something that offers you an opportunity to learn, rather than letting television rot your brain.
More important than the option(s) you choose is to seek out things that offer a different perspective. If you read, listen, and watch things that are different from what you already believe, you’re going to gain a better understanding of how other people think, and how they’ve reached the conclusions and opinions that they hold. Knowing their positions and how they came to them is going to make you a better communicator in how you talk with them about why the libertarian solution is the best.
These are a few things I hope that you consider as we move into 2017. Maybe adopt one for 2017, one for 2018, and one for 2019 to truly make yourself a more learned, well-listened, well-read, knowledgeable libertarian?