How to Sell Freedom Like a Girl Scout

You’d think selling Girl Scout cookies is an easy way to earn a Barbie Dream House or a camping trip, but being a Girl Scout during the 2000s health craze of diets like “South Beach” and “Master Cleanse” taught me the exact opposite. 

A lot of my former customers didn’t want to buy cookies one year because they were all on diets. I had to get creative and push the lowest calorie cookie – Trefoils, 120 calories/4 cookies – and even suggested that my neighbors who didn’t want sweets donate their boxes of cookies to the local food bank. I got credit for the sale, the food bank got a box of cookies, and my neighbor stuck to their diet – a win all the way around.

Appealing to your audiences’ basic needs and empowering them to make their own choices is essentially how you sell the ideas of freedom to those who aren’t so sure.

Most people will tell you that they want affordable healthcare, taxes that go to the public services they use, and good schools for their community. But what they often don’t realize is that the government has a history of “providing” those wants at a tremendous cost.

When I talk to people about healthcare, taxes, and education, I can always showcase how the best choices are made by individuals – not by the government.

In healthcare systems that the government runs, wait times for appointments can be extremely long and the care isn’t as personalized in private hospitals. Look at the UK, for example. Most expectant mothers deliver their babies at home with midwives because the other options are so limited. If you aren’t satisfied with the National Health (not many private birthing rooms, ekk!) then you can pick between two private healthcare options. In the United States, however, moms-to-be have loads of options between hospitals and birthing centers and often report higher satisfaction with their care.

In 2018, the average American paid roughly $15,322 in taxes. One would hope that their tax dollars were being spent wisely, but according to an Open the Books policy report, taxpayers wasted $2.3 trillion from 2017-2019. Instead of letting hardworking Americans keep more of their own money – or put it to use in their communities – taxpayers spent $671,251 on tai chi classes in senior centers, $12 million on the airport in Martha’s Vineyard, and $7 million on space alien detection along with a ton of other non-profit and for-profit subsidies. 

Finally, there’s a saying that your zip code shouldn’t dictate what school you go to, but many American children are stuck in failing public schools. Especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have had to deal with school shutdowns, mask mandates, and teacher unions that seem to act in their best interests instead of their students. Parents want more choices when it comes to their children’s education, so it’s no wonder that 1.2 million families switched to homeschooling in the last academic year.

These are a few examples that I could give about how choices should always be made at the individual level, and without the government. Once people are persuaded and empowered to make their own decisions, they’ll find that freedom is pretty sweet. (Even more so than Girl Scout cookies.)