TACOMA, WA – It was a hot, sunny, early afternoon on Friday, May 8th and we were heading south on I-35 toward Austin. Jason had just challenged the Big Texan’s 72oz steak and I’d just detailed the actions government agents toward a group of people outside Waco. As we often do prior to rolling into a new town we talked about what we expected to find in Austin – what the liberty scene would be like and who we were excited to connect with. It was then that I realized we had yet to contact InfoWars.com so I shot them an email as we were pulling out of a gas station about an hour outside of town.

Within minutes we had gotten a response from “The Infowarrior” Jason Bermas who invited us to stop by. Soon we were walking into their suite, eager to see how their operations were set-up.

If you watched even a handful of MHD videos you’ll be able to tell that this video was edited months ago (based on the intro, transitions, tightness, etc.) which may have therefore caused you to wonder – “Why the hell are you guys only releasing this video now?” It’s a question that deserves an honest answer: We had an internal disagreement about whether the message advocate by Bermas/InfoWars.com falls into the “freedom movement” we are attempting to capture and share through MHD. So, rather than try to summarize each of our views myself I’ve asked Jason and Adam to take a minute to write down their thoughts on the issue, which are shared below.

Adam Mueller:

I feel conspiracy theories are a popular route through which people get involved in the ideas. I myself was introduced to the ideas of government control and violence through conspiracies, though I didn’t spent  a whole lot of time trying to find NWO leaders or believe that there is some sort of high order (above government) that is looking to control the world. I do believe that government hides things from the public and that corperations and individuals will use the political system to further an agenda. I feel stronger though about my ability to prove government is the primary harm to the masses of people and that if a NWO does exisist they do a great job of hiding behind many webs of deception. Therefore I decided to strike the root, the more provable harm: government. I feel that if we make government illegal the NWO would have to expose themselves and at that time we can deal with those folks. I don’t bash anyone for focusing their time on these theories, just as I don’t bash those working within the political system. I hope that through both these avenues people will come to the logical conclusion that I have: That self-government is more direct and pure; to live a principled and moral life while watching our for your neighbors and friends is the only form of governing that will work.

Jason Talley:

The mission of MHD’s “Search for freedom in America” is to cover the broad freedom movement. I have my favorite subjects, which normally involve folks that believe in 100% freedom coupled with responsibility. I also have my least favorite, such as the conspiracy crowd we’re covering with this interview we filmed at InfoWars HQ. During our seven months on the road we’ve met many good people who believe various conspiracies. They are quick to share their theories and when I always ask for evidence I’ve been left unsatisfied. The same can be said when I watch the DVDs that are so popular with these folks. I like science-fiction and see a lot of parallels between this, the conspiracy camp and religion. End Game, for example, is interesting science fiction in the same way as L Ron Hubbard’s Scientology is. The devotion to these ideas, despite evidence, conflicts with something Pete correctly said when he interviewed Ron Paul: “as libertarians we pride ourselves in being intellectually honest and rigorous and using reason and logic.” But that’s not to say that I mind these folks digging for the truth.

Where I would like to have common ground with the conspiracy crowd is that we should all be skeptical of governments. A daily scan of the news can provide real evidence, not conspiracies, why government is evil. But if there is a global conspiracy led by the Bilderberg Group or some other group of mysterious elites, lets take away their biggest weapon of mass control: government.

Pete Eyre:

While I don’t agree 100% with the ideas put forth by Bermas/InfoWars.com (or, to be fair, with a lot of the folks MHD interviews) I do strongly appreciate what they’re about – questioning the status quo. Without questioning authority individuals become apathetic and complacent and are much more likely to say “Yes sir!” when ordered to do something by someone in a uniform. Also, their impact-per-dollar-spent is enormous – possibly the biggest of any organization out there (we constantly run into “truthers” eager to hand us a stack of ripped DVDs and flyers) so I believe we (self-described an-caps/voluntaryists) should replicate their successful tactics. If Bermas/InfoWars.com are able to get folks off the couch and active in what I consider to be part of the broad freedom movement that’s great. And, as we saw with the Ron Paul campaign, there is overlap between truthers (and I don’t use this term as a pejorative) and others in the movement. Plus, the truther crowd is definitely a target-rich environment. These are individuals already predispositioned to not accept what politicians and the mainstream media claim. If we are truly intellectually honesty we can never write-off entire segments of people simply because they happen to ascribe to certain views. I would not, for example, choose to ignore the opportunity to talk with anyone – even a self-described hardcore collectivist – because I believe that the ideas I proffer are consistent and moral so truthers, and their level of passion and activism, should definitely be engaged.