Ron Paul's Manifesto Against 'False Choice'by
J.
H. Huebert How frustrating it must be to be Ron Paul. The Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate always said there was no justification for war with Iraq – no weapons of mass destruction, no threat to the United States – and his colleagues in Congress and most of the American people ignored him. Ron Paul also saw that we were headed for a financial collapse and runaway inflation because of the Federal Reserve Bank – and his colleagues in Congress and almost all of the American people ignored him. Now, Americans realize the war was wrong, and they want the troops to come home – but they still vote for candidates who won't promise to bring the troops home and who are ready or even eager to commit troops elsewhere. Now, Americans know the economy's in a recession, if not a depression, and inflation worries loom – but still they vote for candidates who offer no serious monetary reform. Apparently there is much educational work to be done – and now Ron Paul is taking up that challenge, too. His new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, presents his political philosophy and provides a blueprint for restoring a peaceful, prosperous American Republic. Paul shows how Republican politicians pull the wool over conservatives' eyes. While campaigning, they'll pick on isolated instances of government waste and promise to abolish them, leading voters to believe they're supporting the small-government candidate. But once in office, the politicians invariably support greatly increased spending in other areas. "And," Paul writes, "nothing changes."
Paul argues that voters need to reject the "false choice" between Republicans and Democrats. Whatever their superficial differences, both parties and their candidates will drive the country further down the path of ever-bigger government, empire and economic ruin. If Americans want to get something different from what they've always gotten from Washington, they need to demand radical changes now. The book explains what those changes should be. In foreign policy, Paul proposes bringing the troops home not only from Iraq, but also from all the places they're stationed around the world. He shows how this was the policy of the founding fathers and explains why it would work today. He documents well his claim that we face terrorist threats only because of our Middle East meddling. "When our government meddles around the world, it can stir up hornet's nests and thereby jeopardize the safety of the American people," he writes. Recognizing that isn't a matter of siding with terrorists – it's "just common sense." The book's penultimate chapter may be its most important, as it discusses what Paul calls the "forbidden issue in American politics": our monetary system. People know we have a Federal Reserve and that it somehow affects our economy, but they know little about how it works. Paul clearly explains how the Fed's printing more money makes everyone's dollars worth less – and why higher prices then hurt workers long before their wages catch up. He also explains how the Federal Reserve's inflationary policy creates economic booms and busts. The solution? Stop printing more money and allow people to use money backed by gold and silver, as all our money was not so long ago. Will enough people read and heed Ron Paul's words to change our course? It's hard to say.
But for some time now, America has been an insane asylum, with the inmates running it. Isn't it about time for the American people to wake up and take the crazies out of office, and move them to a padded cell where they can't hurt themselves or anyone else? Ron Paul's book can go a long way in helping to accomplish all that and more. And that's why the crazies have such great fear of Ron Paul and his revolution. May 12, 2008 J. H. Huebert [send him mail] is an award-winning attorney, a former clerk to a judge of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and an adjunct faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Visit his website. Copyright © 2008 Orange County Register
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Democrats
fool their voters, too. They oppose Republicans' wars, at least
at election time, but they have a list of other wars they'd like
to wage in different parts of the world. "And nothing changes."
One
thing's certain, though: If you always do what you've always done,
you'll always get what you've always gotten. The failure to grasp
that simple fact is a strong indicator of insanity.