Declaration of Independents Tour Rolls in to D.C. & The Nation's TVs & Radios
Today, June 28, is the official publication date of Matt Welch and my new book, The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America. Go here for ordering info.
If you're in the Washington, D.C. area, we invite you to join us at two great events this week:
- June 28: A reception and book-signing party at Reason's DC HQ on 1747 Connecticut Avenue NW, starting at 6pm. Matt and I will make very brief remarks and books will be available for purchase (we'll sign whatever you bring). There will be light refreshments, including hard and soft drinks. The event is free but you must RSVP. Details here.
- June 30: A book talk with audience Q&A at the Cato Institute at 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, at 4pm. We'll give a fast-paced multi-media presentation of our main arguments and then mosh it up with the audience. There will be a reception afterwards as well. The event is also free. For details and to RSVP, go here.
Tonight, we'll be appearing on CNN's In the Arena, hosted by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, to discuss the book. Tune in at 8pm ET. For more details, go here.
Today, Matt Welch will be a guest on WBAL AM around 10am ET. Go here to listen.
G. Gordon Liddy's radio show around noontime (ET). Go here for more details and to listen live.
More as it's happening….
As this goes live, The Declaration of Independents is at 289 in books at Amazon.com and 14 in nonfiction politics books. Can you take us higher?
Here's what Washington Examiner columnist Timothy P. Carney has to say about our tome, which he calls "an important book and a lively read":
Libertarians today are mostly considered a variety of conservative—Ronald Reagan with fewer bombs and more pot. But Welch and Gillespie don't cast libertarianism as one of many political ideolgies. Instead, they portray it as a truce. It's unpolitics. The authors see evidence of a "libertarian moment," not so much in public opinion on policy matters (though outrage about bailouts helps), but in cultural trends that spill over into politics.
Younger Americans don't like being told what to think. Gone is the voice-of-God Walter Cronkite figure. Younger adults assemble their own news feeds a la carte, following trusted voices on Twitter and RSS feeds. Even walking through a shopping mall, the authors argue, shows how we're much more individualistic as a culture than we used to be. The authors say there's a proliferation of cliques and types in high schools and among adults, too. The Internet has helped people find kindred spirits both near and far, making it less necessary to modify your interests to match an existing group. Americans, increasingly, choose their own way.
Welch and Gillespie see our cultural trends as evidence that "decentralization and democratization" are taking territory from "the forces of control and centralization." The political corollary, naturally, would be a movement that creates more space for individuality. It would be almost an anti-political movement.