This article was originally published at uncoverthenews.com on July 20th, 2008
As anyone who has been paying attention to the Ron Paul r3VOLution knows, the movement was never really about getting Ron Paul elected president – although that certainly should have happened considering the other (cough) candidates and it would have been the icing on the cake – it was about getting the message of freedom back into the American consciousness. His was a campaign about getting rid of the Fed and returning to honest money. His was a campaign about dismantling the IRS, eliminating the income tax and allowing the people to keep the fruits of their labor. It was a campaign about ending not only the war in Iraq, but American involvement in all wars. It was about bringing home not only the men fighting and dying on foreign battlefields, but those conducting their everyday lives on bases even in peaceful countries where our imperial presence is maintained. It was about paring down the centralized federal government to a more manageable size and freeing ourselves from its omnipresence. Basically, it was about changing the paradigm we live in and ridding ourselves of our dependency on government.
It is difficult, however, to build a structure upside down. A pyramid with its point planted firmly in the ground and its base floating in the air high above is destined to fall over one day. Politics in a republic can follow a similar fate. The head of government can accomplish nothing if his base is spread out far above him trying to outflank him to maintain power. In order for the structure to maintain its stability, it must be built from the bottom up. It is therefore necessary to start electing freedom loving politicians to local offices and as representatives. These are the slabs of stone we will be able to build upon as we structure our political system to support smaller government of an individual mindset rather than the collectivist, socialist style system of authoritarian government we have today. Anyone who understands this message of liberty, is principled and can afford to do so should run for local office and try to start by reducing the size of local government. These people can do something such as signing a smaller government pledge in order to show their sincerity.
It may take a while for a peaceful revolution like this to bear fruit, but it would be well worth it. These principles I write about were actually abandoned long ago by the politicos of this country. Many people may feel that we have been a free nation all along when in reality the flaws and injustices of the system have been evident for some decades. Only now are they getting so pervasive that so many are beginning to realize what has been going on. Many people would like to believe that the prosperity we´ve seen over the latter half of the twentieth century was the product of good governance when it reality it was the product of a much less regulated marketplace and a much more voluntary society. The coming crises many see coming are the result of government regulation and policies and the fact that we have yet to pay back the massive debt that has kept this nation afloat for so long. Big government will lead to big collapse.
Such a revolution would be well worth it because it would plant the seeds and knowledge of the liberty ideal in the minds of those who live through it, making it harder for such tyranny as we have now to once again take hold. It would be easy for one to give up, to look at the opposition and believe they are too powerful, too many, and too entrenched to defeat. What could such a small number do against what appears to be so many allied with such a powerful elite? But the numbers game is disingenuous. The masses are easy to sway and once they begin to realize what is to be gained in a free society and how they will benefit they should come around. They will work harder and be more productive when they are working for themselves. A small number of dedicated individuals will indeed have a good chance of defeating the establishment as the message spreads. Why? Mostly because such a group stands upon the moral high ground.
Ours is a peaceful revolution. I realize that this has been tried before and not much has come from it, so what makes this one so different? It is not hard these days to see the violence inherent in the system. The people are starting to tear down the veneer of legitimacy the government has painted over itself for the past few decades. They are beginning to recognize the coercive and violent nature of the gang that controls the streets of Washington DC. They are beginning to understand that these people have been stealing from them and giving their money to a powerful elite for a long time now. They are looking to their roots and realizing that the founding fathers saw this possibility and provided for it when they wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Many are starting to demand that government no longer infringe upon their rights, including the right to keep the fruits of their labor. When they do so, they are arrested, charged with a victimless crime, and then thrown into a cold cell for a number a years. Society suffers from such occurrences. These people have been removed from our lives and their productivity removed from the marketplace. This is not the way to run a civil society.
Ron Paul and his supporters have shown us a better way. They have bravely stood up to the establishment where others have taken a safer route and gone along with the propaganda. We can allow for greater personal freedom and responsibility. We can reinstate honest money into the system. We can remove our troops from all foreign lands. We can interact internationally on a peaceful base of trade and diplomacy without threatening and flexing our military muscle. Such an America would be good for us and good for the world. Now is not the time to give up and turn your back on the movement. Even though none of the presidential candidates are discussing such issues with any kind of seriousness, electing instead to discuss policies that have already failed, we have not yet lost. We can make the change happen from the bottom up. Talk about these issues to your friends and neighbors. Elect local officials who believe in freedom. If one is not running, than run yourself. Elect congressmen who support smaller government. Most importantly, get involved in whatever way works best for you.
We may have lost a battle, but we are a long way from losing a war. Our socialist government did not establish itself overnight, certainly one wouldn´t expect the individualist government to do so. We can turn this thing around, but it will take some effort. Provide a stronger base and we will build upon it a better structure that will last into the millennia, a structure our progeny can continue to prosper in. This is the nature of the revolution, Ron Paul style.
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