I’ll start with an apology first. My previous Ron Paul post was poorly titled. For regular readers, you would have known that I always write hideously ridiculous titles to my posts such as “i dry clean my clothes at popeye’s.” What I expected from writing that post was that it would provoke some people to start thinking more deeply about their views on politics.

What I did NOT expect was that there would be an online libertarian task force scouring the internet for posts about Ron Paul who then respond with such a resounding force! While the manner in which some of the comments were written was condescending and downright rude, I hold no contempt because I was ugly first in my post titling and I applaud your effort in speaking up when you disagree. I think progress is contingent on this kind of dialogue. It’s ironic that in this country we fight so hard to protect our freedom of speech and then we waste it by only talking and befriending people who agree with us and dismissing people who disagree as foolish and unworthy of our time.

I would like to clarify a few things before I restate my position on Ron Paul and libertarianism.

• I quoted the extremely leftist article because I believed I was speaking to a left-ish audience. I went as far as to say ‘If you are voting for a Republican government, there is no need to read this post.” Stating my reasons on why I believe in big government will be another post all together.
• Having assumed a leftist audience, I expected the reader to be able to pick through rhetoric and extract meaningful points. I also disclaimed that I had not checked the authenticity of the quotes and was not basing my opinion on those quotes.
• I regret making the distinction between Republican and Democrat in my previous post. I think those political parties are confused as far as ideologies go. I don’t think a woman should have the right to have an abortion but I do think that the wealthy should be taxed and the poor should be assisted. Where does that leave me? Because I do not think the government has the abilities to change the nation’s mind about abortion, I am left to focus on what else the government can do. And that is why I am hoping a Democrat will win the presidential election this year. I promise to write another post on this.
• If you are a passionate libertarian, I have no silly notions of being able to change your mind with one post. If you are well versed in political ideas and theories, you will not be hearing anything new from me. I write this post for the benefit of those who perhaps have always sided with one idea or another by default and not through careful thinking and introspection. I welcome your comments but please know that I do not write this to change your opinions and beliefs.

To avoid misquoting and referencing false information, I will quote directly from Ron Paul’s website and comment solely based on his website.

“Whether a tax cut reduces a single mother’s payroll taxes by $40 a month or allows a business owner to save thousands in capital gains taxes and hire more employees, that tax cut is a good thing. Lower taxes allow more spending, saving, and investing which helps the economy — that means all of us.”

For face value, this statement seems to make sense. It definitely applies to my life. If my income taxes were cut, I would definitely have more money to spend, save and invest. If I was only concerned about my own well-being, I would support tax cuts. The problem I have with the statement is that he claims that reducing taxes would help “all of us.” I appreciate that the person who wrote the content of the website attempted to use the perspective of a single mother. But what about the single mother who depends on government assistance to feed her children? What about the disabled man who worked hard for 25 years and was injured on the job and no longer can support himself? What about the child who was abused by her parents and is CPS custody? What about the teacher in an inner-city school who barely has enough supplies in her classroom to teach her students? Do tax cuts benefit them? Tax cuts benefit those who have the luxury to spend, save and invest. They don’t benefit everyone. Let’s not kid ourselves.

“In addition, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, fosters runaway debt by increasing the money supply — making each dollar in your pocket worth less. The Fed is a private bank run by unelected officials who are not required to be open or accountable to ‘we the people.’”

I agree with this criticism!  The Fed needs to stop dropping the interest rate.  It scares us more than it helps us.

“The federal government will not suddenly become efficient managers if universal health care is instituted. Government health care only means long waiting periods, lack of choice, poor quality, and frustration. Many Canadians, fed up with socialized medicine, come to the U.S. in order to obtain care. Socialized medicine will not magically work here.”

I agree with this criticism as well!  But I do not think that the idea of universal healthcare should be completely shelved.  I’ll say this right now, I will not support a universal healthcare plan if it is not well planned and efficient.

I believe Ron Paul’s six point plan about immigration is flawed.

“Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals.”

No fence will be high enough or strong enough if we continue to ignore the poverty that surrounds us.  There’s a reason why people are leaving their home country.

“No amnesty.  Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws.”

This statement implies that immigrants who enter the U.S. undocumented all do so because they are criminal-minded and scheming to break laws.  While there may be those who do just that, there is the vast majority that are simply in search of a better life for their children.

“No welfare for illegal aliens.  Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules.  But taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services.”

While it is not obligation or “shoulds” that drive compassion, I understand that not all are compassionate for those in need.  However, logistically, do you know what kind of a disaster refusing these services would be?  Hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services do not have the kind of manpower or infrastructure to perform citizenship or green card verification on the job.  Imagine the communicable diseases that would spread and the amount of illiterate, uneducated children that would roam the streets.  I think the humanitarian aspect of this proposition does not need to be explored because I am simply at a loss for how this would actually be implemented.

“End birthright citizenship.  As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong.”

The ideology behind this proposition would also assert then, that the only true Americans are the Native Americans.  Or is 2008 a magic year when birthright citizenship should no longer be counted?

“The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens’ personal matters.”

I don’t care much for privacy if it means an increase in safety.  As long as we don’t have to install TVs in our living rooms that monitor our thoughts, I’m okay with wiretaps and my financial and medical history being examined.

“Many politicians talk about honoring our veterans and their sacrifices. Yet so often the rhetoric obscures the reality that the federal government treats veterans badly. Congress wastes billions of dollars on countless unconstitutional programs, but fails to provide adequately for the men and women who carry out the most important constitutional function: national defense.”

I agree wholeheartedly.  However, I’m afraid better assistance for veterans will mean the use of taxpayer dollars.  Which I’m supportive of, but I thought Ron Paul was against?

And as for those who defended Ron Paul and said he wasn’t racist, let me say this.  I think everyone is racist.  Everyone.  I am, you are, Ron Paul is, and even your grandmother is.  That’s the world we live in.  I think it’s delusional to believe otherwise.  It’s only a matter of how hard you are trying to fight your racism.

“Government as an institution is particularly ill-suited to combat bigotry. Bigotry at its essence is a problem of the heart, and we cannot change people’s hearts by passing more laws and regulations.”

If desegregation and the busing of students to other schools did not occur and we waited for people to change their hearts, I don’t know how far along our country would be now on the fight against racism.  I don’t think people become less racist by willing themselves to be less racist.  I think racism is fought best with increasing positive interactions with people of diverse ethnicities (thank you Malcolm Gladwell for this idea).  Unfortunately, sometimes these interactions will only occur if the government passes more laws and regulations.

“The true antidote to racism is liberty. Liberty means having a limited, constitutional government devoted to the protection of individual rights rather than group claims. Liberty means free-market capitalism, which rewards individual achievement and competence - not skin color, gender, or ethnicity.”

This would be true if we did not already have a heritage of racism.  But since we are not a colorblind world, the liberty this statement speaks of would only allow the existing racism to go unchecked.

I think Ron Paul is misclassified.  I don’t know why he’s running as a Republican.  And I don’t know if I would really call him a Libertarian either.  I think what’s happening to a lot of people is that they’ve been blindly following the Republican party and only listening to Republican debates because they are so sure they aren’t Democrats.  And this year, when Ron Paul started introducing new ideas into a stale political party, it seemed so revolutionary and different that a lot of people were attracted to it.  That’s understandable.  I just want to make sure that all Ron Paul supporters are truly Ron Paul supporters and not people who are just following the next new, shiny thing.

For those of you who believe every man and woman should pull themselves up by the bootstraps, it makes perfect sense that you support Ron Paul.  I won’t go as far as to say that you do not have a heart, but I do think that you are less compassionate than I wish you would be.