The heritage of the pamphlet attracts me. Underground artists distributed pamphlets. Political revolutionaries distributed pamphlets. Religious reformers distributed pamphlets.
You and I should distribute pamphlets.
A pamphlet is a small piece of literature with a super specific mission. The content attempts to educate the reader on a particular situation. After the conclusion, it calls for a specific action or behavioral change, often accompanied by a set of protocols to achieve that end.
Pamphlets in the past spread development and rallied supporters. Now of course we have the Internet. Now perhaps it’s easier to spread ideas and connect digitally.
That’s beside the point.
I’m attracted to pamphlets because of what they conjure in my mind: succinct, purposeful writing spread to the world, writing backed by passion, writing resulting in reactions that actually matter.
The image of a French, 19-year-old sporting a cheesecutter cap passing out pamphlets on a street corner doesn’t hurt either.
“The difference between complainers and revolutionaries is action.”
So I’ll end with two questions to consider.
- What do you think people most need to hear?
- What do you think they most need to do?
