I first of all want to make clear that back in 2008 I was one of those people who stood firm on the belief that although Ron Paul had some good ideas that he was a member of the lunatic fringe when it came to foreign policy. Today I must admit that I was 100% wrong in that belief. What has Ron Paul done to change my mind or how has his message changed to bring him closer to my point of view? Neither for his message as always has remained pretty consistent. I have evolved, woke up or simply begun to see things differently. Do not get me wrong I still believe that today Ron Paul is still not likely to get elected based on his foreign policy stand but that does not make him wrong.
Like he said in the debate last evening if we simply closed our bases overseas, brought our troops home and curtailed most of our foreign aid at least then we would be able to fund those on social security and Medicaid moving forward while we argue over how to fix the system and move future generations off government subsidized entitlements. Does that mean we would decrease our national defense? No it means we would decrease our military spending. While he was booed at the earlier debate for attempting to articulate his message If the people had stopped booing and just listened then they might have begun to understand his message. He was booed for God’s sake attempting to articulate his belief in the Golden Rule. Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12). He was not talking about closing bases in the US indeed he said we might have to open more bases to house the troops we brought home.
Nation building does not work and it never has. There are many places around the world that continue to exist as tribal communities and many of those communities do not get along with each other and never will. They have only coexisted in the past when the heavy boot heel of some empire forced them to do so be that the Roman, British or Russian empire. Are we now to continue to persist in an attempt to spread an American empire in the name of freedom and spreading liberty? How paradoxical is that? Can you force people to accept Liberty? No and the idea that once given the opportunity they will gladly embrace it is absurd. Look how quickly things degenerated in Iraq when we pulled our troops out. Just as quickly there were those who called for us to go back in because we just pulled out too soon. Absurd because the only way to keep the tribal factions of Iraq from fighting is to never pull out. This has been repeated over and over throughout history be it in Africa, the Middle East or even in Eastern Europe.
Perhaps the best way to spread the light of Liberty around the world is to come home and see that we set the best example possible by fixing our problems and getting back on the path of Liberty using the guidelines that the founders gave us, the Constitution. Limit the government and expand the liberty of the states but most importantly of the individual. Dr. Paul’s message has been a consistent one and at least he tries to base his decisions and view points on the Constitution. He does not say as Commander and Chief he will not fight a war. He says as Commander and Chief he does not have the authority to commit our troops to war because the Constitution reserves that right for Congress.
Ron Paul is not the perfect candidate because that person does not exist. But if I am to support anyone and vote for anyone as imperfect as we all are then I guess I will throw my support behind someone who will err in judgment doing his best to follow the Constitution and not lead us away from it. Perhaps once again the Light of Liberty can shine as an example for the world to see if we only are willing to return the path as set forth by the Founders. As I heard discussed on the Mike Church show today the Constitution is not meant to define or grant the rights and liberties that belong to every individual being for those rights and liberties as stated in the Declaration always existed as rights given to us by the Creator long before the Constitution and the Declaration. The Constitution was simply an attempt to lay out a frame work of how to restrain the central government that our Founders created to protect the individual states and the existing confederation of states. The Constitution is meant to provide us protection from our own government. The founders knew that our very Liberties and therefore our lives were at stake depending upon how well the centralized beast brought into being for our protection could be restrained and itself controlled. Of all those who I see running for President of the United States I believe Ron Paul is the only one who truly understands that and so I guess I will vote for the old coot or gnarly old gnome as the so called pundits say when they want to demean his candidacy. Who knows as his message continues to resonate just perhaps 2012 may just be the year Ron Paul proves all those pundits wrong…
Michael
L&P
Welcome aboard! Ron Paul 2012!
ReplyDeletePickdog
III
Yes, Sir!
ReplyDeleteMy father was a decorated WWII vet and he passed on early November 2 years ago. He was a life long republican and my mother who still lives in NH at 84 is a life long democrat. My father always baited my mother at every election as he waited to vote after her and every time when he finished he would ask her how it felt to know that he just nullified her democratic vote when he went in and voted republican. 2008 was the first year my mother would not vote democratic and this year in the NH primary she would not vote for Romney because she said he was just a white version of Obama so she cast her vote for Ron Paul.
ReplyDeleteI told her the other day that it was too bad dad had not been able to carry on a couple more years because I was sure that this year was the the first year he would have come out of the voting booth without nullifying her vote as I am sure he as well would have voted for Ron Paul. Although my father was a decorated WWII vet who made his way from the beaches of France into Germany he was quite anti-war. He felt that there were good reasons and the right time to enter into a just war but felt that almost every conflict we entered into after WWII were not only unjust but illegal wars based on economics and politics. He would have supported Ron Paul's stance on defense.
November 2 years ago
ReplyDelete2009? Seem like I had known you then, but I don't remember that about your father.