Honest Face To Face Conversations Change The World

A reader writes:

I am trying to decide if I want to send copies of Allan’s book to my school administrators and board.  I truly had planned on doing that when it came out — but I am just concerned that it is going to turn off people who truly feel they are doing the right thing because of some of the wording (“shame on you parents” and “YOU teach your child to lie”, etc.) — I just am not sure what I want to do here.  

The people in my district are extremely fearful, yet truly believe they are doing the right thing.  I do not want to offend them or turn them against being willing to listen to the arguments. 

I would not feel bad about sending it to people in the county health department.  I would be glad to purchase enough copies for whatever board of directors or whomever should get it at that level — which is the overlord that my district is following the orders of anyway. 

So, would your team be able to help me know exactly who to send these books to in the “decision-making” bodies of the county or state?  I think I heard that the county is now just following state guidelines.  I would be glad to fund sending the books to the state senators, or others. If you could help with knowing who should get them, I will purchase the books and do the mailing!!  I think Allan is pretty knowledgeable about those things, so I would appreciate the help!

Thank you again so much for this resource!!

Sincerely,

A teacher in the belly of the beast 

—-

Speak Truth Into The Lives Of Others 

Your actions are the mechanism by which your values are communicated to those around you.

No one wearing a mask or getting a child to wear a mask has any interest in doing the right thing. They are doing the cowardly thing, and almost exclusively they recognize that. I have yet to have a single in depth conversation that says otherwise.

Some of them are superficially true believers, but when you get the guard down and really dig down with them on this topic, they understand they are being cowardly. They will exchange many good things for the ability to not have to stand out from the group. That is the truth of the matter.

We have an entire society walking around equating personal convenience with morality. Seldom are the two anything but polar opposites. At this late hour, if you are concerned with turning people off from the truth, you are going to be missing the truth, and aiming for those who have no interest in listening to you anyway.

In 1973 the people of the United States sold out morality, in exchange for convenience, with the legalization of infanticide. It tells you everything you need to know about the United States that such a thing happened. The number of lies that spring from this detail are legion. For years, I accepted the lie that the issue wasn’t important or that I’m not entitled to a say in the matter. Never again. Never again will I give a lie my tacit approval. As if that were not bad enough, a closely correlated detail took place in August 1971 when the dollar was decoupled with gold. Lies became the currency of the realm. Lies remain the currency of the realm. I can turn lies into dollars all day. You can do the same. To accomplish such a feat is not admirable.

Being well-received by the cowardly is a bad goal. Almost nothing in this era stands in your way of that goal. All of society teaches you by example how to speak to the cowardly so that they can go through an entire conversation with you without feeling encouraged to act any differently than they already do. In contrast, such great effort must be put into speaking the truth. Even knowing the truth can be so very difficult. If you can find ten dogged truth tellers in the world around you, you’re probably doing better in your social circle than I am.  The real work is just speaking truth. To concern yourself with offending another promises you fail at that. To concern yourself with speaking to the lowest common denominator guarantees to make you an intentional liar. One must not seek to be a servant to truth and lie at once. The master of lower standards always wins that fight.

I Would Like To Thank You

I want to thank you for not having fled the state of California. I want to thank you for fighting. Many leave the battle prematurely, claiming to have given their all, claiming not to be waving the white flag of surrender to the most evil.

Far from having given one’s all, I believe one has not even earned the title of activist until one has had success and notoriety along these lines: one enters a room and every muscle in every guilty local politician’s body contracts when he hears your voice. Your name means something to him. He knows where you stand. He knows you are not a pushover, and he reacts physically, as much as he tries to hide it, when he recognizes that you have entered a room. Many vocally complain about the awfulness of a place. Few truly commit themselves to that place and its improvement.

Until then, or some similar scenario, when you flee a state, you are running away from what is more likely to be a problem in you rather than a problem in your surroundings.

Those Who Move Away, Are Often Running From Themselves — A Feature That Freedom Allows For, But Which I Do Not Encourage 

If you are in that place as a true citizen activist, involved in the civic life of his community to the extent I have here described, and you decide to leave a state, well, only then do I truly congratulate you. Until then, I think you are wasting a perfectly good opportunity to train yourself and the world around you about what freedom looks like.

The more dire, the more necessary that baptism. The more dire, the fiercer the fight. The more dire, the greater the victory. God made you for a time and place such as that. Leave before you are that person and I do not care how wonderful you are on paper, you risk ruining the next place you move to, perhaps not with your politics, but with your entitled apathy, which is the more prevalent problem than bad politics or corrupt perspective or rotten personal philosophy.

In the United States of America, the silent majority silently goes about life as if their values were worth closeting, and they are accordingly repaid the indignity of being bossed about by their loud-mouthed inferiors.

I don’t chuckle approvingly at layabouts who claim activism status and bemoan the ways of the world, nor do I pat on the back the too-busy, quiet conservative who refuses to shape the world around him. That behavior is called negligence. There’s a reason our laws treat the negligent just as culpably as he who commits a harmful act — because the negligent are guilty too.

Those Who Are Friendly Sometimes Need A Dressing Down, At Least In Private 

Staying 100% friendly with a person in a position of influence only gets you so far, especially when they are not acting upon their stated values.

Americans at the open of the year 2020 had inherited the right of entitled apathy, convinced that such a state of affairs will garner perpetual freedom, and by the close of the year an ultra minority of society who claimed neither entitlement nor apathy did the hard work of seizing the power from that power vacuum.

When I meet a “patriot” still wearing his mask, I point this out to him and politely dress him down before asking him to grow up, and straighten up, at least before the whole thing is lost. Because make no mistake. We are on a precipice from which this whole thing can be lost.

Activism Has Two Important Goals 

The goal of activism right now must be twofold 1.) to achieve your desired outcome (which is ideally greater freedom for yourself and those around you) and 2.) to strengthen yourself (especially) as well as those people and systems you rely on, around you, to get things done.

Begin Close Before You Venture Far 

If it is possible, what I would do is to begin with the people closest to you, friendliest to you, and most on board with what you are saying who have a position of influence. Sending a book in the mail to a stranger may have some impact, but it is the wrong behavior for a time like this. The time is late and many are distracted. Your generous gift of a book will be too easy to overlook and for too long.

Make It Face To Face 

I would have a 15-20 minute conversation with that person and page through Face Masks Hurt Kids with him, inviting him to have a look at the parts most meaningful to you.

I believe that would be the most effective way to gift the book to people who you think are close to you, but not acting courageously. It is a warm, high-contact way to give a meaningful collection of information.

After a week, I would follow up with him to see if he had had a chance yet to take a look and to ask what he thought of the parts he had read so far.

Face To Face Conversation Cuts To The Heart Of The Problem, In A Way That A Mass Mailing Will Not 

If you wanted to do a mass blast of books, many of them would likely sit on shelves or be given away to staffers if there is not a personal touch attached to it. Some will read them. This mass mailing may have an impact, but it will not be the biggest impact.

One of the biggest problems right now is the inability Americans have developed, almost universally, to have meaningful, honest, civil, face-to-face conversations, especially with those who they do not entirely agree with. The approach I here describe cuts to the heart of the problem and will leave you a more impactful visitor than the last hundred or even thousand other unknown visitors who have come through that door.

Also useful, may be doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, principals, staffers, business owners, or anyone in positions of authority who you know personally. Clearly, you want to push this effort beyond the people you personally know. That is admirable, and it is needed.

I will propose an approach that I know works well, for this situation, and in general.

Why Face To Face Conversations Can Change The World 

I want to tell you something you do not know about your local health official, the members of your local county board, and the members of your local school board — not a one of them has been approached for a calm face-to-face conversation about the harm of face masks backed up with authoritative science.

What they have had is people yelling at them from podiums at public meetings. Yelling at public meetings can be a helpful inspiration to the troops on your side and a potent muscle flexor to intimidate the opposition, but it is not likely to do much to change a man’s heart.

We Have Accepted Two Losing Propositions

We have accepted two losing propositions.

1.) They are all corrupt.

2.) They won’t listen.

There are corrupt politicians and there are deaf politicians, but the closer you get to the local level, the less true that is. The more time you spend with politicians, the less true you realize that is. They each have their own motivations, but many of them continue to have a conscience and have the ability to do good when convinced that doing good is within their power.

There are plenty of corrupt officials, but It is often out of naïveté or a lack of initiative that one accepts that all are irredeemably corrupt and that change is impossible. This simply is not my experience and the harder I work and the more experience I add to the decades of experience I already have, the more I recognize that.

I would like to say this again.

Literally, NO ONE IS TALKING TO THEM. And the efforts to talk to them are once or twice and then the person gives up. That is not going to work. I would say that one or two visits works so poorly that it does not even count.

In California, where you live, this is especially true and conversations like this are especially necessary.

You Have Probably Heard Of The Brown Act

If you have been around public meetings much, you have likely heard of California, Ralph Brown Act. This is an open meeting law that was once very powerful. During corona communism, California Governor Gavin Newsom illegally gutted the Brown Act by executive order. The state legislature, in September 2022, finally made that gutting legitimate by passing legislation before their recess for the year.

For literally 18 months, an illegal gutting of this powerful tool of the citizen was allowed to stand, with very little push back. But truly, that is neither here nor there. Though made considerably weaker since September 2021, the Brown Act remains a powerful tool for the citizen. There is one reason above all others that the Brown Act really empowers citizen activists: public officials cannot talk about official business outside public meetings.

Do You Realize How The Brown Act Immobilizes Elected Officials And Requires The Help Of Someone Like You To Achieve Change? 

Huge restrictions are placed on elected officials not to talk with each other about business before the board. Lots of effort is meant to make sure that happens. Some elected officials still talk illegally, but most probably do not. That leaves an important role for a citizen activist: to act as a go between among the board members.

This is true not just in California. This is true in many state and countries in which open meetings laws are the norm. Open meetings laws disempower the elected activists, empower the bureaucrat, empower the professional lobbyist, and very strongly empower the citizen activist, provided that a citizen activist exists who demands to be part of the process.

Look At The Example Of School Boards — If You Are Not The Go Between, Then They Have An Awful Go Between 

Let’s talk about school boards specifically for a moment.

There are thousands of school boards in California. The bureaucrats (autocorrect just made that: “bite rats”) are the ones who run those school boards because the bureaucrats are the only “go-betweens” among board members. The reason the bureaucrats are the only go-betweens among school board members is for two reasons: 1.) the existence of the Brown Act and 2.) the disinterest among citizen activists to be that go-between.

California, and any state with such powerful open meetings laws, ties the hands of activist board members and prevents them from setting their board in order. Really, it only takes one diligent board member. However, open meeting laws makes this impossible. It makes an activist from off the board necessary.

Use Your Tools The Way They Can Have The Most Impact 

As already mentioned, I have written a book that is 500 pages of science on the harm done by masking policies called Face Masks Hurt Kids. There is nothing like it out there. It is meant to be a tool for activists to take to decision makers as a more thorough reference than anything any state or county health department has ever presented on any masking policy. The entire masking policy has been a show of force alongside some “trust me,” claims.

How To Use Face Masks Hurt Kids

1.) Start with one legislative body. 

The one you know is better than the one you do not know. The one closer to you is usually better to start with than the one further from you.

2.) Schedule a meeting with your most friendly politician. 

Order the book. Bring the book. Tell the politician what you think of the book. Ask the politician to have a look at the book. Ask the politician what he thinks about existing mask policies.

3.) Go to the next most friendly in that body.

4.) Then the next. 

Do not lag through this process. If you do, it will take months. Call them and email them all asking for meetings. Do this relentlessly. One at a time they will start getting back to you. Be relentless and you will have these first meetings all done in a week.

5.) After you have gotten through with them, schedule followup meetings.

Bring another copy with you as reference. Talk about if they have had a chance to look at the book. Ask where they are on the mask topic. If they disagree with you, ask if they have different science. This may take some discussion, but let us pretend you are working with a board that generally agrees with you. Once you are in agreement, ask what can be done to put a vote before the board on this issue: “How do I put a matter before the board?”

6.) “How do I put a matter before the board?”

You don’t even need to ask this question, but it is good to ask this question. Most boards have a policy that if a member of the public puts a matter before the board within a certain number of days (usually 7) before the meeting, then that item must appear on the agenda. All kinds of shenanigans happen on this topic. If you do your groundwork, there will be far fewer shenanigans. If you have a board member on your side, you will have fewer shenanigans.

You want a vote on a statement like this:

“This board is rescinding all mask requirements or mask recommendations, effective immediately.” 

7.) Poll the board. 

You want every board member (or at least a majority) to answer this question positively. “At the next meeting, I intend to put forward this verbiage.” Slide it across to them on a piece of paper. “Can I count on your vote in favor of this?”

“Thank you,” is a good answer to “yes.”

Then say “How do I make sure this exact verbiage appears before the board?”

Ideally, they will say to you “I can help you with that.” Again, that will really reduce the bureaucratic shenanigans.

If they say “no,” to your request of support, then it is time to talk more and to keep talking.

8.) Watch them vote. 

This is the point when people show up yelling at the board. We have seen many YouTube videos of this. The yelling does not do much. We have seen many YouTube videos testifying to that fact. By the time a public vote occurs, a bureaucrat will almost always have already done the work above. By this point, a board member has perhaps put five hours of effort into the idea and generally knows where he stands — regardless of people yelling during public comment or not yelling.

People show up regularly at step 8 and wonder why they are not being heard. Stop showing up at step 8. Show up at step 1. Be the person who moves the board to real action. Lead. Be the person who navigates their personalities. You can do this. It is not as hard as it sounds. And if you do not do it, I can tell you what the future for your community will look like. Obedience to your values is better than coming back after the damage is done, trying to repent.

9.) Keep in touch with them. 

Do not disappear after this. Keep in touch with them. Keep talking to them about issues. Work on your next concern together. Let them know, not through your words, but through your actions, that they have a long term partner in you.

What If I Just Mail Them Out To Bureaucrats And Politicians, Instead Of Talking To Them? 

I’m flattered you want to mail my book to a bunch of politicians in California, but if you have the time I would like to propose this method above.

I think that mass mailing is a way to get more of them to see the book, with greater efficiency on your part, but as a lobbying tool to effect change, I believe the above is most effective.

Elected officials get books in the mail. They sometimes keep them. They sometimes give them away. They sometimes throw them away. If you just mail them, you run the risk of them one day saying “Yeah, I have seen that and I know all about his argument.” The way to really have impact is to walk into that meeting and hand it to an elected official and to use the book to build a relationship and to help walk the official through the process.

Tip: Order In Bulk To Save Money On The Books 

If you buy it on Amazon, the book comes quickly and is more expensive. If you buy it by writing [email protected], it will be $10 per copy for an order of 10 books or more, but will not arrive for 2 or 3 weeks. So there is no hesitation, I would recommend getting your first 1 or 2 from Amazon and then the rest by writing [email protected]. I don’t make as much when you order in bulk, I basically break even, but I can tell you this — I do not write because I want to make money. I write because I want to speak truth into the world and to help rescue us from this tyranny. So please, feel welcome to use the bulk option if you are going to go speak to elected officials.

Won’t My Claims Of Negligent Parenting Turn People Off? 

As you have pointed out in previous correspondences — I say a few not nice things in it about parents being negligent by allowing a child to ever be masked. You are worried that it might turn people off.

I agree, such language will turn some people off, but for your purposes, you can easily disarm that.

Say something like this: “This guy talks about the negligence of mandatory masking policies and their harm on kids.” Put it right out there, right in front. And then you can distance yourself from me by saying “I don’t know if it’s negligent, but the 800 scientific citations he presents are very clear — these mask policies are not neutral on kids, they are harmful on kids.”

By making such a comment, you distance yourself from my statements that you may disagree with. The same can be said about any statement you disagree with or which may feel too extreme. Be careful though not to be dishonest. If you are parsing your words to be better liked, you are passing up an opportunity to speak as truthfully into the world as possible. Being seen as nice is the opposite of being liked. Neither are the same as speaking the truth.

You need to be ready to communicate the things you believe. When you are holding back strategically, always be aware that you are doing so. Never do so out of habit. You have a weapon in your hand to open the doors to very personal discussions on these topics. Some will like that. Some won’t. Don’t worry about that. If the goal is to change the policy of a legislative body or policy making body, don’t worry too much about the popularity contest that modern life so often feels like. Size the person up and focus on getting a majority of a decision making body to vote with you.

Keep In Line With Your Values 

Always come at this prayerfully — always checking in about your values and your motivations, never with a controlling spirit, never with a corrupting spirit, never with a spirit of vengeance, always seeking to uncover and communicate truth, to act upon your values and approach this with a contrite heart, though you may appear bold to the outside world. Approach this opportunity prayerfully, with the right heart, continue your efforts diligently, and unceasingly, and your efforts will be good efforts for you and those around you.

Always Be Looking To Help The Other — Even Politicians 

In your time with the person, be aware of what you can be helping the other person with. Politicians always need campaign volunteers and fundraising help, but I think the astute observer will read into the person a little and will notice mention of a sick relative who can use prayer or perhaps something as minor a familiar ancillary topic or hobby that you know quite a bit about. The friends of this person often treat this person in an official role like a cog. The enemies of this person often treat this person in an official role like a cog. Be there, ready to treat this person like a human made in the likeness of God.

Face masks are harmful to humans. “Face Masks Hurts Kids is a 500-page book that digs into the science of that topic. It is currently available at a reduced friends and family price through all major book retailers during the soft launch period. “Face Masks in One Lesson is a book on how to never wear a mask again. Thousands have used the techniques in that book to stop wearing a face mask. Also helpful to you may be my LRC articles on the topic, as well as the high quality trainings and videos on the topic that are sent out to everyone who signs up at RealStevo.com