Kickstarter, and similar services, are great. They give someone an avenue to possibly change the world. The process is simple. Find a problem, provide a potential solution, then offer to let people purchase whatever product. This is great, except for many inherent problems: production delays, product flaws, cancellations, final product not a stated, and many others. When this happens, people do not get what they thought they were getting. And in some cases, like Pirate3d, a 3d printer offering, the investors watch their $1.5 million disappear.
Our political cycles are identical. We have a problem, we find someone who claims they can solve it. Then we listen to their beautiful marketing and decide to buy in and give the campaign money. Every time, however, we get burned. Why? Because we are giving into the idea that someone else can solve our problem with little effort on our end.
This happens time and time again. Bernie Sanders raised hundreds of millions only to leave his supporters in the dust. Obama spoke out against raising the debt ceiling. Bush told us that nation building was over! Trump tells us he will nuke Chicago or Europe. Hillary claims she’ll fix healthcare and equal rights.
We listen to their expertly planned marketing and we get roped into donating to their campaigns. In the end, we get delays, flaws, cancelations, product not as stated, and many others. Gitmo was never closed. Nation building continued to happen. Debt ceilings were raised. More wars were started. Equal rights did not happen. Healthcare went unrepaired.
The solution is to quit believing marketing. Quit waiting on someone else to solve the problem. Government will not ever solve a problem; it is the problem. Quit watching your campaign donations turn into private jet flights for Trump. Quit watching them turn into vacation homes for Bernie. Quit watching them turn into political buyouts with Hillary. The only way to starve the government and to starve their puppets is to quit funding them with your money and your votes. Instead, look to yourself to start working to solve your own problem with your own money. Support individualism and support getting the government out of our way. Only you can solve your own problems.
In the end, you will not feel duped, your wallet will not be lighter, and you can be proud to know you did not fall for clever marketing to believe a liar. Believe in yourself; believe in real change. Change begins with yourself; change begins with the individual.