Free Talk Live 4 High Schoolers

Background

The youth control the future.

Everyone knows it: an ideology that is popular among the young, will be a prime driving force in society going forward. We know the young are quick to learn and appreciate the ideas of freedom and liberty -- witness the phenomenon of thousands of people, many under 30, chanting "End the Fed!" in recent months.

Before we go any farther: yes, I'm going to ask for money and/or for your volunteer time. To get to the punchline, click here. Update: Thanks to your donations, the CDs are now in hand! Contact Ofer to assist with distribution!

Our focus is on New Hampshire - specifically, getting the liberty message out to as many young people in New Hampshire as possible. We are fortunate to have a great resource in this regard: Free Talk Live. The show has an 'irreverant, young-and-hip' message, and, if you've listened to it long, you've heard the phone calls come in of young people who used to be self-described Socialists... and who now consider themselves Free-Market devotees. Moreover, because the show is on 6 nights a week, there is plenty of content, plenty of opportunity for young people to hear the many facets of the liberty message.

In short, listening to this show is a great "hook" to catch the youth of New Hampshire. We can turn them on to this one thing... and many of them will come the rest of the way. I envision dozens of libertarian youth groups spontaneously self-organizing, as this message gains traction in NH.

In addition, Stefan Molyneux's Freedomain Radio has an excellent segment specifically targeted at folks aged 15-17. If you've ever heard Molyneux, you know what a powerfully persuasive advocate he is for libertarian principles.

The Plan

The Disc

We are chipping in together to order thousands of copies of custom Free Talk Live CDs (with the "bonus" track from Freedomain Radio) The content of the disc, and the cover, were vetted with a "test group" of high schoolers. They reviewed, and rejected, many designs and much content to arrive at the final product below.

I certainly learned a lot in this process. Today's high-school age kids can see "marketing" a mile away, and they instinctively know to ignore it. Any URL on the disc instantly says, "marketing!" What piques interest enough to make someone actually listen to the disc? First, a minimalist cover, one that is not "trying to get attention." Second, something with which they can self-identify: in our case, "for LIBERALS" for those students that self-identify as liberal or Democrat, and "for CONSERVATIVES" for those that self-identify as conservative or Republican. Last, and not least, the "forbidden factor": a warning that the education system was designed to prevent them from hearing this message.

The disc includes a personal intro from Ian Freeman, host of Free Talk Live, with an invitation for kids to dial in and talk about their experiences in school. What kid doesn't have a story to tell about how stupid school is? What kid doesn't love the idea of adults who understand that public school really isn't a great center of learning, and who actually want to hear what they have to say?

This intro is followed by an example call-in from a high school student. As they hear this, surely many students will identify even more with what they are hearing, will think about their own "war stories" from public high school, and will want to listen more.

We then have a wonderful, intimate conversation with Stefan, aimed at school-age people. All I can say is, you need to listen (see below). It's great stuff, and very compelling.

This is followed by more call-ins about the absurdity of public schools, and with content targeted to the student. Conservatives get a segment about the absurdity of gun control that they will surely agree with; Liberals get segments about the military and the Iraq war with which they, in turn, will certainly identify.

All in all, we have some great hooks to draw in the young people. And "freetalklive.com" is mentioned enough in the audio that they'll know where to go when they want more, or to connect with likeminded people. From there it is easy to bring them to groups like the NH Liberty Alliance, the NH Libertarian Party, and forums like NHFree.com

Distribution

We are nearing the end of the school year. In these last few days, there is almost a holiday atmosphere on the high school campuses. The impending summer freedom is palpable.

Each weekday afternoon between now and the last day of school, a team of 4-5 volunteers will converge on one particular high school. Volunteers will be carrying hundreds of CDs between them: half "for Liberals" and half "for Conservatives". As the kids leave school for the day, a volunteer is on the sidewalk, asking passers-by: "Liberal, or Conservative?"

Those who answer get a disc, one with which they can identify, and enigmatic enough to motivate them to listen to when they get home. Thus starts a chain of events and a discovery of ideas sure to change lives all over the Free State.

Help Make It Happen!

We need two things to make this vision into a reality:

1. MONEY

Thanks to your contributions, and the FTL AMPlifiers, the CDs are now in hand!

2. TIME

Can you help by going to a high school at the end of the schoolday (usually around 2-3 PM) and asking kids as they leave, "Liberal or Conservative?" If so, we can use your help!!

Contact: Ofer Nave at odigity(at)gmail.com
or call his cell: 310.721.2658
Ofer is coordinating volunteers and logistics for this effort (ie, which school on which day). His list is here.

THANK YOU!!

Timing

• Wednesday, June 3: Chipin closes, place CD order
• Monday, June 8th : Discs in hand, start distributing to the kids!
• Monday, June 15th : Last day for many schools, incl. Nashua
• Tuesday, June 23rd : Last day for virtually all schools, incl. Manchester

1. Intro
2. Why you are never safe in public school
3. Freedomain Radio: teenage liberty
4. School indoctrination money
5. Gun Control
6. The State is targeting minors
7. School Board Bans Black

1. Intro
2. Why you are never safe in public school
3. Freedomain Radio: teenage liberty
4. School indoctrination money
5. Abolishing the military
6. Iraqis want U.S. out!
7. The State is targeting minors
8. School Board Bans Black