Support Charity, Promote Liberty

[PowerPenguin]

NOTE: I posted this on the FSP forum originally. It still applies here as well, of course.

Here's a good idea that someone may already be doing (but not that I know of):

As libertarians, we want to seek a reduction and/or elimination of the state and its counter-productive social welfare programs. The solution, of course, is to be active in private solutions to these problems. To that end, why not make community service the topic of your next FSP related event, either in the Free State, or within your Local Group, wherever it is. We want to dispel the myth that pro liberty people only care about themselves, and that the down-and-out can't be helped without government intervention. I know many people here are already doing community service on different fronts. I myself am active in my university's Rotaract club (associated with Rotary International), which does community service as well as career-building events. If you're already doing it, why not do it as a Free Stater? Wear your shirt or hat, and even set up an official FSP service project event if you can.

Right now, many Americans are pro state simply because they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them. If they understand that others care about them (ie, the FSP), they'll want to trust and learn from us more than some bureaucrats they never really liked anyway had they taken the time to think about it.

If you haven't made the time to be as active in your community as you would have liked, now you have just one more excuse! Donate blood, feed the homeless, tutor and mentor. Get involved in your local youth organizations; I myself spent many years in Boy Scouts as a kid, and would love to get involved again someday as an adult leader when I have the time and financial stability to do a good job. If you can do it right now, pick up my slack in this area! If you're doing it already (whatever "it " is), congratulations, and keep up the good work.

[lildog]

Great idea!  I'll have to search for the link again but at one point I had found a site that looked at all charities in the country and actually researched how much of the money donated actually makes it to the cause.  By promoting those who actually make sure the most of the money actually makes it to the cause you can show a bigger bang for your buck.