A fantastic program aired last night on C-Span. It was the video of Bill Whittle speaking before the The Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley about how to communicate with the young about conservatism.
Watch it here and/or read a summary of the talk here.
We don't run across people like Whittle often. He's smart, and he has a knack for explaining complex topics in a manner that everyone can understand. If he had been a teacher he would be remembered by his students years later as the best, or one of the best, teachers they had.
The topic that night was Political Messaging For Youth. TV shows like "The Family Guy" are popular with young people, but -- "it is a message of collectivism and envy and bitterness and hopelessness and entitlement." The message becomes so prevalent in our culture that it becomes embedded in our brains.
He tells the audience that progressives have mastered the art of the story and making villains of their political opponents. We saw that in the election of 2012. Exit polling revealed that voters agreed with Mit Romney on every question except the one asking who did the voters believe cared most about them. Democrats had made a villain out of him.
Conservatives can put out reams of statistics about how bad socialism is and how providing an environment where people can maximize opportunities is better for everyone. But all progressives have to do is put out one good story about how some sympathetic individual was harmed by the awful insurance companies and how they will benefit from Obamacare, and conservatives lose. Conservatives need to learn the power of the story.
Anyway, Whittle had plenty of stories, and his message is one worth listening to.
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