We Are Radical and We Are Weird

Prior to my last week as an intern for Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), I took to Virginia for a campus activism and campaign training event sponsored by Young Americans for Liberty. It was a delightful reprieve from the normal rough and tumble at the office, and it taught us liberty fanatics a host of strategies to win back the country on principle in the future.
The third annual Young Americans for Liberty National Convention was a week-long conference held in Arlington, VA from July 25 – 29. To put it simply for those unfamiliar with YAL, it is a youth activism organization that aims to imbue students in campuses across the United States with the ideals of liberty and the Constitution (it is a continuation of the 2008 Students for Ron Paul movement). To break the ice, YAL President Jeff Frazee began with an ice-breaker exercise, asking the 130-plus assembled at the Leadership Institute a few simple questions:

First, he asked everyone to raise their hands if they believe the size of the Federal government should be cut by 10%. Naturally, everyone’s hands were raised. Then he asked for everyone to keep their hands raised if they would be okay with a cut of 25%? Hands remained raised. 50%? Chuckles and murmurs, but almost no change in the consensus. What about 75%? A few hands went down, and a few “Whoas” rang out, but the majority was on board and clapped at the outcome of the poll. To this, Frazee concluded that we are all radical.
To prove that we were all weird, he asked for the hands of those who spend five hours or more per week reading, watching, or proselytizing about ideas of liberty. You can probably guess the results on that count, as well. We are all radical and weird. I think I can live with that.
For the rest of the week, we were treated to a cavalcade of high-quality presentations regarding effective campus activism and campaign/volunteer strategies. Representatives from YAL, polling and public relations firms, and seasoned politicos and campaign managers impressed upon us the need to tailor one’s message to the proper audience. Contrary to widespread belief, carefully sculpting one’s message to the public – be it in recruitment drives for a student organization or in public elections – is not tantamount to compromising on the very principles that distinguish oneself from the rest of the pack. At the end of the daily trainings, we were treated to keynote speeches from Jack Hunter of the Charleston City Paper, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), Sen. Rand Paul, and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.). Taken holistically and in context of the fledgling status of YAL, it was quite the impressive lineup card and reinforced the themes of the week. Most importantly, it proved that the message of “liberty” has struck a resonant chord with the American people and has empowered individuals to take a stand in the halls of the nation’s Capitol.
In talking to other YAL members and listening to some of the questions asked, I was taken aback at the host of people 30 and under who had plans of running for local and state office within the next year or so. That number is certain to rise if it correlates at all with the rapid growth rate experienced by YAL over the past few years.
Who knows, maybe YAL will be coming to Harvard in the coming months…
Photo Credit: Young Americans for Liberty