Saturday, October 1, 2016

Conservatives: Worried about losing the internet? I have an idea; record an audiobook

It is almost certain that with giving the internet to "the world", that people with voices who say certain things run the risk of being silenced.

One possible solution: You should record an audiobook. Here's why.

As an example, one audiobook that I recorded was The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, which highlights the black patriots that fought side by side against the British for American Independence and liberty. I completed that entire book on Valentines Day of this year, the day believed by some to be Frederick Douglass' birthday.

Why is this book important? Have you ever run into this meme that the Founding Fathers are supposedly racist? Well, I don't think one single book is going to put it to bed, and I certainly acknowledge that I can't possibly record every possible thing myself, however, these facts being so easily available, and so easily consumable, present quite a conundrum for those progressives who seek to keep "the narrative" alive. We need more. If more were available, there's a potential it could present a credible, visible threat.

Currently, there are roughly 3800 people who have been to this page, which is a fair estimate of at least how many people have listened to that book. That's 3800 in 8 months, and will certainly be over 4000 by year's end. The number who have listened is likely to be far higher, considering indirect mobile downloads and the like. But that's a number we can work with.

Think of that: That's nearly 4000 people I've educated about a topic that progressives would prefer people didn't know. If that number pattern stays true, at the end of the next year it will be 8000. In 5 years it will be 20,000.

Wouldn't you like to educate 20,000 people in five years about inconvenient facts? What kind of cultural impact does that have?

Here's how this relates to the internet giveaway. As I said at the outset, there will be voices who are silenced. I hardly think that audiobook recording is any kind of silver bullet, but I've yet to find any downside while conversely I can clearly demonstrate the upsides. The upsides are self-evident.

I'll give you another example, one which I think there might be some takers to my proposition. Have you ever run into the meme that there was no Christianity of any kind during the time of the American founding? Yeah, there were no pastors, that's it. And they certainly didn't discuss any political topics! The easiest way to combat that meme would be to record some sermons. Virtually everything prior to 1923 is public domain. Early American sermons, from pastors who were acknowledged to be highly influential in the years directly prior to the event of the Founding; the years that made the Founding possible. I know of several sermons that would be great candidates for recording, and several works of the Founders that have not yet been attempted. I, unfortunately, can't record everything on the planet in relation to these topics. At some point, someone will have to help.

I give all my audiobooks away for free. I'm not selling any thing here. Only, an idea. But selling you the idea isn't going to cost any money.

Making information easier to consume - that's a problem for the progressives. I'll gladly do that for free.

But, I do have one alternative, for those of you who would recoil at the idea. Here's what you should do. Do nothing. Sit there behind your keyboard. Do what you've been doing, because that's worked so well so far? It perturbs me to be harsh and I apologize in advance, but anything rooted in facts, and rooted in facts that are easier to consume(meaning faster), will present a little bit more of a challenge for anybody seeking the route of censorship. We need more, no matter how small that 'more' may appear to be. We have the power to give ourselves more. We don't have to wait for someone else to do it.

I'm looking to educate you, all I ask is that you are willing to listen. I'll give you every one of the mp3s as fast as you can download them. Now, I would like to find some people who would like to educate me. I'm willing to listen.

One thing I've noticed within the blogosphere is the tendency for people to focus exclusively upon their own opinion. This is not me saying that that is bad. I do it myself from time to time on my blog. But here is a converse thought.

The Founding Fathers - they speak for me. So I speak for them. And you can speak for them too. Why do you and I need to formulate new, additional words, when some of the best words that need to be spoken have already been spoken? They just weren't recorded. Ok, great! The only thing that is missing, is that microphones didn't exist in 1776 or 1753. That's not a problem. It's not.

We can rectify that. We have microphones. Download the transcript, and read it verbatim. For those of you who agree with me: if you can raise your hand and say "yes, the Founders speak for me",(or the pastors of that era) then it is likely that speaking for them may present a prospect that might be worth considering.

1 comment:

  1. Some might say 'time' is a downside. Why? Yes, whole audiobooks are not generally recorded in a single day. But there's no rule that states that one item only has to be recorded by one person only. And where are you going anyways?

    You going to be on Mars in a decade? No. Where will you be then? How about your kids or grandkids? You think they'll be on Jupiter in 30 years? No. We will all be here, they will all be here. If anything, time is an upside, not a downside. Read one of these books to your kids through a mic. The audio will last longer than all of us will. How's that for passing on a generational gift?

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