I often read the pieces by people on the left and appreciate their points of view, even if I don't think they are correct. And, I think that I am personally secure in the belief that liberty and individual rights are something worth supporting and protecting. Thus, these pieces do not threaten me or any belief system that I have.

It is instructive, however, to see just how the ethos of individual liberty has deteriorated in the United States. Comments such as "far out" and "weird" and "strange" in describing Ron Paul's positions do not say as much about Paul as it does about the people uttering them. We have lost much, and I am glad that there is at least one -- only one, but that is more than usual -- serious candidate who is bringing these issues to the forefront.

As much as anything, Ron Paul's candidacy tells us as much about what we have lost as well as what a Ron Paul presidency would be like.