Great discussion!

I wonder, what if the whole goal for activists who choose to engage in this process wasn't to get the vote out but actually get people to vote for them if and only if they are already set to vote anyway. That, to me, is helpful. If someone is going to vote democrat, or vote republican, or vote libertarian then getting that attention spent on a candidate who will actually help educate people about the basics of NAP during the process could free more minds. Instead of "Hey, anarchist, go register to vote and vote for me!" it should be "Hey, you're going to vote anyway, (side note: because you're too brainwashed at this point to act differently, but we won't talk about that yet) why not vote for a guy who says some things you've never heard in the political realm before, but you completely agree with to your very core?" Just as candles in the dark or the mirror will speak to people using what they already believe, why not speak to people in terms of the political process which they clearly believe in? I think it's a bit much to say it's a lie to do so. We've seen the videos of people crying in adoration at the political events. This is a deeply rooted thing which isn't going to go away overnight (just as religions of all kinds continue on and on, no matter how many people demonstrate how silly many of them are).

I used to think if I ever, even in the slightest, adjusted my words based on the listener, then I was just manipulating them. Thankfully, my wife and many others I love helped me realize that's not manipulation if the goal is to actually be accurately heard. The intent of my message is what really matters and each person will hear different things based on their filters, their life experience, their biases, and more. If I care about them enough to understand how to properly communicate with them in a way they will hear what I actually want to communicate, then I'm going to have to adjust things (with compromising my message) in order to be successful in transferring my message.

Going into politics could simply be speaking a language others are willing to hear. For some people, the word "anarchist" (or even voluntaryist) completely turns them off, but (if it's properly explained to them) they will fully support the NAP (even though they don't realize how often they violate it through their support of government). I'm hopeful we're going to continue to see positive results of some people going into the circus with the expressed intent not to shame or ridicule those in the circus, but to respect where they are in their process of understanding and gain their trust through empathy, compassion, and service over time.