Mises Community

Reaching “the masses” might be a somewhat daunting task. What do you have in mind?

That’s good input. I think you’re right about the importance of using history. I’m thinking of the history of the times when society was successful at killing the central bank. People need to feel empowered. I think most apathy comes out of a feeling of hopelessness or helplessness.

I’m writing up some ideas to post here shortly.

Generally speaking, I’d say people are becoming more aware of what the Fed really is and what it does. But awareness is growing far too slowly. I want to do something about that. I’ve got some specific ideas, but I’ll need a team to help me build the tools we need. I’ll try to explain.

Question #1: As I’ve been combing my neighborhood for Ron Paul, I’ve been talking with many, many people about topics like this one, and the older folk are definitely less aware than younger generations. Why is this? I think it’s because they use the internet less (if at all), and depend more (if not exclusively) on mass media. These people will never be reached by YouTube videos, chain emails and information-packed websites like Mises.org. And the mass media will never educate them about the Fed because it wants the Fed to live. So we’re gonna have to go around the mass media.

What else do we know about these people? Many of them are retired and live on a fixed income…this is an open door for showing them the value of sound money. They are by far the most reliable when it comes to voting. They may not have/use internet, but most probably do have DVD players…this could be our tool for reaching them. More on this later.

Question #2: I’ve educated many, many people about the Fed, but most remain apathetic. Why? I think they view it as something well outside their realm of influence. They have no reasonable strategy for killing the Fed, and see any effort they might make as futile. And if they don’t have a sound strategy, their assessment is correct. Any information presented needs to always start by answering the question of HOW the central bank has been killed in the past. Secondly, they need to be told exactly what they can do to help…and it needs to seem reasonable to them. People need to feel empowered.

Question #3: What does it take to get people to take action? First, they need a practical, personal, emotional, anger-evoking understanding of the problem. Second, they need to feel empowered to take action in a way that’s feasible for them.

The Strategy of Creating Mass Public Awareness
Andrew Jackson succeeded in killing the central bank. He killed it so thoroughly that it stayed dead for 80 years. How? He was the first POTUS candidate to actively campaign, traveling around the country making speeches. The centerpiece of his campaign was killing the central bank. The motto of his campaign was “Jackson and No Bank.” Clearly his campaign was used to educate voters about the central bank. Several generations of Americans learned that the central bank should never be allowed to exist. Consequently, the central bank couldn’t be reborn until those generations died off. The Lesson: the key to killing the central bank is creating mass public awareness. Other actions will naturally flow out of mass public awareness. Does everyone have to become aware? No, just a critical mass. But more is always better.

We Need the Right Tool
I think a well-crafted video, distributed BOTH over the internet and by DVD could go far in starting a brushfire of the mind that cannot be put out for generations. For the DVD, I want to encourage people to make copies and give them to their friends/family. No intellectual property here. The goal is NOT to make money selling a DVD. The goal is to create a viral DVD.

The video needs to be relatively short. It should employ humor (not my strong suit). It should use visual illustrations (rather than just talking heads). It should start by briefly explaining the history of times when the central bank was successfully killed, and how it was done (though mass public awareness and outrage). It should explain things in only the simplest terms, an introduction only, simple enough for a child to understand. (Anyone who wants to learn more can access any of the hundreds of excellent resources on this subject.) It should explain the economics only in the most simple and practical terms, showing how it affects people’s personal finances now, and how it will affect older generations who depend on a fixed income. It should highlight the strategy of creating mass public awareness via PERSONAL distribution of an easily duplicated tool. Such a tool must be designed with the goal of empowering new converts to create converts of their own.

Below is a first draft of what I envision for the beginning of the script.

Many people don’t get too involved in politics because they feel like any effort they make would be futile. “OK, I know my government is corrupt. How exactly am I supposed to change that? I only have one vote.” The purpose of this DVD is to show you exactly how you have more power than you may think you do. We want to empower you with the knowledge and the tools you need to create real change. We’re gonna show you historical examples of how ordinary citizens have successfully rolled back government corruption in the past and then kept it in check for generations; and we’ll show you exactly how they did it. It’s simpler than you may think. So I’m going to ask you for a favor. If during the course of this DVD you begin to think it’s futile, please do not allow your mind to disengage. Please focus. Please listen to what we have to say. Please know that this is a battle we can win. And please know this is definitely a battle worth fighting.

So here we go. The economy is being drug down by a fundamental flaw in our system. This foundational problem opens the door to many, many forms of corruption in our government and banking system. You could think of it as the head of the serpent. Before we get too far explaining what it’s about, let’s understand one thing. The people’s war with this serpent has been a long-term conflict. Many centuries of struggle are already behind us. We, the people, have had our ups and downs. We’ve successfully fought off the serpent numerous times, only to lie back and let it take over again. This thread through history is fascinating, but our public school system doesn’t even touch this subject. Why? We’re finishing a 100-year snooze where we’ve allowed the serpent to take over again; but the good news is our country is waking from its slumber. Your access to this video is part of that awakening. The key for us now is to examine closely those times when ordinary citizens fought this serpent back and won. By studying our past success, we can create success again.

So, let’s examine the problem. Here’s the skinny. Our government has conspired to rob us blind. I’m not talking about taxes. I’m talking about a secretive form of robbery. They’ve got their hand in your bank account and you probably don’t even know it. It’s very rare to find a young politician who understands the problem; and it’s even more rare to find an old politician willing to talk about it.

Let’s start by looking at exactly how it affects each and every one of us on a daily basis. First, we need a correct understanding of the concept of inflation. Most Americans are misinformed about inflation because our media has done such a great job of confusing the issue. So let’s make it so simple a child could understand it.

Use a visual illustration: use the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility to explain inflation….but don’t use those terms, we don’t want their eyes to glaze over. People generally decide how much they can pay for something by looking at how much money they have and how far that money needs to stretch. If people suddenly have more money, they’ll be able to pay more, and as they bid up prices, they’ll end up paying more. This is the symptom of inflation. When more money gets put into the system, this causes prices to rise. But this isn’t really how it works. People don’t suddenly discover they have more money. What if there was one individual who figured out how to print up more money? What if this individual started printing up lots of money and using it to buy up all the good stuff? If anyone found out, this individual would get put in jail, right? But what if the government had given this individual permission to do what they do? What if the government protected this individual, never allowed this individual to be audited, kept everything secret? What would be the affect on the rest of us?

I’m sure I’m not connecting the dots adequately here, but you get the idea. I’m visualizing some kind of cartoonish illustration to accompany the narration.

Back to the story:
Surprise! This is exactly how it works. Some of you may have already known this. But did you also know this was common knowledge a couple centuries ago?

Historical examples
Andrew Jackson

Interesting idea. I’m not sure exactly how viral a DVD could go. I mean, I’m young and use youtube but not extensivly. I just don’t see mass circulation of a DVD working out so well unless you are passing them out at campaign events. But of course, don’t listen to my pessimism. Like you said its people thinking we can’t that limits our capacity to fight back.

DVDs certainly won’t duplicate themselves. But I have run across many older people who surprisingly have what it takes to duplicate DVDs. I made a Ron Paul DVD to show older people many of the YouTube videos that sold me. Some of those people made copies and gave them to their friends. Also, many older people live in retirement communities and watch things like this together. One guy was able to show the DVD to a group of 50 of his peers.

But we certainly would have to do exactly as you said, making many copies ourselves and handing them out. I don’t see that we have any other choice, since the mass media is against us. Even if some small percentage decides to make copies for their friends, maybe we could reach the older generation.

As for the version that’s distributed by the internet, I think it’s only a matter of time until the internet gets censored. Until then, we could certainly make a viral internet video.

I’ve thought about stuff like this as well…. What we need are viral ideas that can give us the most economic-bang-for-the-buck type of thing… And I too think that teaching the basics of monetary theory and role of FED, is the concept that can do the most to cure people’s ignorance and bring focus on the FED. Teaching about inflation is easy, right? if the price of everything goes up there must be extra money right? If there is an island with ten people and each person has $10 you can’t have things selling for $1000 cuz there is only 100 total in economy… who creates the money? The fed… So inflation is easy to teach, to understand, and quickly places the blame on the fed… Thinking along these lines I made the following 1 minute video a few years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fv1DqIen28&feature=plcp&context=C3c4af8eUDOEgsToPDskKIVEhdSrn7SGw_hwxNV7nF

it is not exactly 100% correct since the fed does not print money and give it to the government directly but for a one minute video I think it is pretty damn good… if the RP campaign or some pros could make a better version, i think this sort of video has great viral and educational potential

hayekian, your video is in the same vein as the idea I’ve put out there. You actually approached it from more of a macro level. That’s a lot, in terms of concepts, to fit into one 60-second video.

We need to create an outline, and then story-board this thing.