The greatest phenomenon surrounding Ron Paul's candidacy for the GOP presidential ticket is us. It is abundantly clear he has something going for him that money cannot buy. No doubt the greatest benefit Ron Paul will receive during his campaign will be the free assistance supporters like you and me will give him. If the dollar value of this in terms of time and materials people are donating were to be summated he would be well into the tens of millions.
The powerful message of freedom is very unifying and it impels us to action. Because this is all spontaneous and voluntary, high levels of creativity foster great innovation in many areas of expression and outreach. My hope in writing this open letter is to applaud all that is being done and to give suggestions that will increase the quality and effectiveness of our efforts.
When making comments on web-sites, blogs, etc. increasing the signal to noise ratio would do a lot to propel the Ron Paul campaign forward. Staying on-topic and relevant or not posting anything would put an end to the "spammers" dismissal we currently suffer. Haughty and "your stupid if you don't support Ron Paul" tones in comments are at best unhelpful.
Despite the good many of us do, some supporters' behavior is currently the strongest point to discredit Ron Paul. While we need to be prepared to see fake Ron Paul supporters trying to give him a black-eye from the inside by being rude and insolent, we should make sure we keep the high ground always and courteously dismiss the fakes if they rear up.
For example, I heard a radio interview of Ed Failor whining pitifully about Ron Paul supporters calling his home and screaming obscenities to his wife and children. Ron Paul would never inspire someone to that kind of deplorable behavior because it certainly is not what Ron Paul emanates. These people need to wake up if they think this will help. Ed Failor did Ron Paul a great favor as it turns out so he deserves our thanks. These people should apologize to Ed.
Very intelligent and thoughtful remarks to people's articles are some of the greatest tools to get people to open their mind and give Ron Paul sincere consideration. I generally enjoy the comments more than the articles. It’s how a person can see the character and spirit of the supporters and know their cause is real.
I remember on YouTube.com the "President of Hip Hop" came out with an initially negative depiction of Ron Paul as a racist. To his credit he said he wasn't concluding his opinion but that he encouraged people to look deeper. There were many who made comments thanking him for helping to expose information about Ron Paul and encouraged him to continue to look for positive aspects of Ron Paul's position on racism. A few weeks later he came back and said he decided Ron Paul is definitely not racist and that he deserves much more consideration. This could have just as easily gone the other way. Over zealous Ron Paul supporters could have hastily disparaged and insulted the "President of Hip Hop" and made an enemy out of him. This didn't happen and now we have a lot more friends.
This much I know, the issue here is Freedom. There is no such thing as a free republic that will last very long unless it is a republic of moral (and respectful) people. Not only do we need to get behind Ron Paul and rally for his support, but we each need to look at our own personal lives and see where we can become better people as individuals. There is nothing Ron Paul or the government can do to make us better people. That is our part of the deal and as we succeed on this front we will propel the cause of Freedom ahead. Neither of us can fight the freedom battle all on our own. We need Ron Paul and Ron Paul needs us.
For many decades the enemy of Freedom has been fomenting all kinds of perversions and divisions into our society to drive us apart and weaken us. We need to acknowledge this and realize much of what divides us stems from this artificial corruption of our culture. The time has come to be people worthy of individual freedom and there is no army or mob that can hold the powers of Heaven at bay from wiping away our dividers and oppressors, just as sunlight wipes away the darkness before it.
While I'm on a roll, I urge everyone making signs to avoid profanity and hateful slogans. I recently watched a video of Ron Paul in the parking lot prior to the June 30th rally and there was a very distasteful sign regarding President Bush. It looked so out of place next to a true statesman and founding father figure as Ron Paul. The message of Freedom and its positivism is what will build momentum. Presenting increased beams of light coming from our eyes is much preferable to the vitriol of hatred and profanity towards others. Freedom with respect needs to be the focus to keep the momentum going.
The new Peace and Freedom movement needs to be very careful to avoid internal corruptors. During the War in Vietnam the peace movement started out as a very honorable effort to put an end to a war no more sensible than the current war in Iraq. However, this movement was corrupted by free sex (make love not war), drugs and dehumanizing music becoming rampant among the groups. This was not a natural progressive development but instead it was deliberately infected with a new sub-culture to further erode the moral fabric of our nation and neuter the movement’s message. Let’s do our best to avoid having our movement derailed this time around.
Our revolution for freedom must have an accompanying revival of respect and dignity for ourselves and others in order to break through the chains that bind us down. We must be perpetually vigilant to safeguard the principles of Freedom. In short, if we love Ron Paul and what he stands for, we help him best by adopting his principles and emulating his example.
Excellent article and points well taken. It is all too easy to get angry when a man we see as an antidote to many of the ills of this country gets ignored. We get upset that our hope is being taken away from us, or worse yet, crushed before it has a chance to take hold. But, that is no excuse to act like idiots. Worse yet, it does the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish.
Keep your eye on the prize: votes. We want this man elected. We must be careful how we try to get those votes and I promise you threats won't get you there. That is not to say that is it not appropriate to send a note saying that you don't approve of bigotry and hatred. Just don't become one yourself. As an old joke goes " I hate all racists and want to string them up by a tree." If you can't find the hypocrisy in that statement then think about it for a while.
Thank you for writing the article and reminding us all of our goals: to get Ron Paul elected. That is more important than being right or respected.
by
Janet Gifford (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments)
on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 2:22:56 AM
This is a well done article. I think some of the biggest things I like about Ron Paul's message is returning to the original spirit of those who signed our Declaration of Independence and those who put our Constitution together.
We as a Nation have allowed so much of those original tenents to become perverted by the multinational Corporate influence that is running so much of our government. He is all American and I can't see where he is for sale like most of the members of our Congress and Senate.
by
Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 276 comments)
on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 10:30:57 AM
It seems to me that Ron Paul is not so much a libertarian as a states' rightist.
He says: "Under the 9th and 10th amendments, all authority over matters not specifically addressed in the Constitution remains with state legislatures." Federalizing Social Policy on lewrockwell.com accessed at March 4, 2007
Of course the 10th amendment actually states:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.”
That's not an aberration. Look at his positions. Issue after issue he isn't in opposition to government power per se, he favors the exercise of states power over federal power.
by
Jim Arnold (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 80 comments)
on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 12:01:28 PM
Supporting the Constitutional principle of States' Rights does not necessarily imply a belief that the States should have unbridled power. On the contrary, Ron Paul is quite vociferous in his support of individual liberty.
Dr. Paul is running for President, not for Governor. If he was running for Governor, he might have more to say about that particular State's Constitutionally enshrined rights (or the lack there-of).
by
blauvelt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 12:33:42 AM
Paul would repeal the 17th Amendment, prefering to have members of state legislatures vote for U.S. Senators, rather than the people. Let's see - would that be a man for the liberty of the people or the liberty of the state governments?
He's opposed to efforts to abolish the Electoral College, saying that it would weaken the “voting power of pro-liberty states”. Gosh, what are these "pro-liberty" states - would they be the states of the Old Confederacy that had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of slavery and segregation, oh and the vast, desolate square states of the big ranchers and mining conglomerates getting rich off penny-leases on federal lands at our expense?
Are you maybe being had... again?
by
Jim Arnold (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 80 comments)
on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 1:00:24 AM
I wanted the comments area of this article to serve as a place where people could share ideas they are doing to promote Ron Paul. What are you doing that is creative and fun?
Here's an idea to start us off:
I used to really cringe when the phone would ring because 4 times out of 5 it was some pesky telemarketer wanting to take my precious time. Now, I actually get excited when the phone rings because after very courteously giving what they are calling about direct and friendly responses I ask them if they wouldn't mind answering a question of mine. So far they have always been receptive. I ask them if they have ever heard of Ron Paul. When they say no I ask them if they vote and then I let them know that the reason I ask is because there is a candidate running that I am very avid about but the media seems to be blacking out. I tell them that I totally love America and that I have decided to take the political process more seriously and to find the best candidate I can while there is time to get them on the ballot in the general election. I simply leave it at that. I don't want to take up their time because they are working and I want to leave them simply with my passion and NO EXPLANATION. Giving explanation will leave them satisfied but witholding it will leave them curious. I usually say that he is really a hot item on the internet as a hint to where they can go to satisfy their curiosity. I'm very certain most people, if not pressured, will naturally take a liking to what they see and will support Ron Paul. We don't so much need to sell him as much as we just need to expose him. His message sells itself.
by
jwharton (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments)
on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 1:06:19 AM
6 comments
How would you rate this?
You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.
It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....
Must Read (
Well Said (
News (
Touching (
Funny (
Supported (
Interesting (
Inspiring (
Valuable (
