Dear Everyone;
The following comes from the latest Advocates Libertarian newsletter and is a point worth talking about and considering or thinking about or actualizing.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
PERSUASION POWER POINT #177
Admiral Stockdale's Lesson for Libertarians
by Michael Cloud
Admiral James Stockdale was the highest-ranking prisoner-of-war held by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. He was imprisoned in the "Hanoi Hilton" from 1965 to 1973. He was brutally interrogated, repeatedly tortured, and threatened with death. Day after day, he was told he would never again see his family or America.
During this ordeal, he set up systems for his fellow prisoners to communicate with each other. He helped his men find ways to endure isolation, brainwashing, and violent interrogations. For eight years, he gave his men the way and the will to endure. His leadership and valor earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. His experience taught him unforgettable lessons.
One lesson was the danger of conditional optimism.
One interviewer asked Admiral Stockdale, "What was the difference between the prisoners who survived and those who didn't?"
"The ones who died were optimists," said Stockdale. "They were the ones who said, `We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. They they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And then they would die of a
broken heart."
"This is a very important lesson.
You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end -- which you can never afford to lose -- with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever it is." (Quoted in �Good to Great� by Jim Collins.)
This lesson is vitally important to libertarians. It has an enormous impact on whether a libertarian activist encourages others -- or discourages them. On whether a libertarian perseveres -- or quits.
Consider a few libertarian campaign examples.
"We're going to win a million votes for president," said an excited Libertarian Party activist. "And this is just the beginning. Then we'll really catch fire."
"I'm going to be the first elected Libertarian on my city council," said another. "Then they'll take our ideas seriously."
"This time, I'm going be elected to the state legislature," said a third. "I know what I did wrong last time. I know what I need to do. And this time, I'm finally going to win."
How about a few libertarian persuasion examples?
"This libertarian book will change my brother's mind," said a libertarian. "It refutes every argument for government intervention in the economy."
"I'm getting a copy of that John Stossel special for my father-in-law," said another. "He'll finally see what I've been talking about."
"Atlas Shrugged changed my life," said a third. "I bought a dozen copies for family and friends. I urged them to read it. When they finish it, they'll be as blown away as I was."
All six of these libertarians are gone. They quit.
Why? Conditional optimism.
When you make your optimism dependent on something happening or not happening, you'll be disappointed and discouraged. A lot.
When you make your optimism conditional on what other people do or don't do, you'll feel let down and cheated. Regularly.
When you make your optimism contingent on what others say or think or feel, you'll feel frustrated and angry and hurt. Repeatedly.
Conditional optimism is fragile. Conditional optimism will break your heart -- and your spirit.
We can and must apply Admiral Stockdale's lesson to our quest for liberty:
Create and sustain our faith that we can and will achieve liberty in the end -- while hard-headedly confronting, dealing with, and working to dramatically shrink today's Big Government.