Ron Paul and the New Revolutionaries
by Karen Kwiatkowski Apologies to Tolstoy, but if happy families are all alike, the Ron Paul family is joyously ebullient in a hundred different ways. Ron Paul and the New Revolutionaries is the book that can help explain that happiness, and more importantly, help others understand the Ron Paul phenomenon. Contributors to the book include Walter Block, Jacob Hornberger, and me, along with a number of local activists from various political parties who have discovered Dr. Paul, and can’t – like the rest of us – stop talking about him. Each contributor discusses their favorite issue, and explains why Dr. Paul inspires their faith and their imagination, and why they believe he should be leading this country. It’s also a fun book, includes lots of nice photographs, and can be downloaded for a bit less than the cover price. Trent launched this book project a few months before both semester exams and his wedding. Now, there are a lot of people who would say, "Young man, you ought to settle down, and do one thing at a time. First your studies, then your marriage, then, if you still have time, then you can spend some time on your hobby of … well, trying to save the Republic." I’m really glad no one got to him, because now is really the time for all of us to dedicate ourselves to this little mission. The republican form isn’t perfect, and neither is our Constitution. But this form and this constitution are not yet dead, and may yet have power to constrain the leviathan, and repel its incessant clawing for more power, more control, more tax receipts, more war and more welfare. A president like Ron Paul would be a good first step. Most of us – oriented toward liberty and history and justice and did I say liberty? – already know this, of course. What is both fascinating and thrilling is that the agents of leviathan also know this! Thus, today I celebrate 19-year-old Trent Hill. I see him as a David facing a Goliath. Based on events occurring just this week, I have the perfect Goliath-figure in mind. It must be Jamie Kerchick, 23-year-old aspiring writer, currently an assistant editor at the New Republic. Jamie has been described rather uncharitably in the LRC Blog as a PFY, in response to his recent smear piece on Dr. Paul. He recently called himself a libertarian, saying, "I generally believe that government makes a mess of things and that society is better off when the state only does what’s absolutely necessary." Jamie is no libertarian, and apparently he is often dateless as well, lending credence to his possible membership in the league of pimply-faced youth. He seems endlessly disappointed in love, and impossibly conflicted in philosophy. While equipped with a Yale degree, he apparently followed the George W. Bush educational program rather than that of say, John Hersey. But all this is forgivable, and perhaps could even be charming, in a different time. Jamie is a perfect Goliath because he serves higher masters who need him to avoid personal embarrassment and accountability. Like Goliath, he appears to be powerfully armed, and has done his part to inspire some short-term fear among those who care about Dr. Paul and those who love liberty. Like Goliath, he is easily destroyed with a small smooth pebble of truth, slung by a young man who heard the call, and despite misgivings and unimaginable odds, answered it by doing what he could do based on personal skills and faith – not his age or experience. I see Trent, with his completed Ron Paul and the New Revolutionaries, as a modern day David, in a battle that takes place not in a sandy field but in the world of information and perception that pits the quiet truth against the incessant barks of big government and its eager media hounds. In the story of Goliath, it is not always remembered that Goliath had four brothers – hence the need for not just one, but five smooth stones. Fortunately for the remnant, the truth is both free and formidable. What’s needed is simply the courage to wield that truth, to share it, to defend it, and to live it. I recommend Trent Hill’s book, and while we all consider boycotting the New Republic and its advertisers, we would do well to share a copy – along with Ron Paul’s own books and the latest from the Ron Paul campaign – with others who enjoy and appreciate liberty but may still be uncertain that Ron Paul is the right candidate for the American presidency in 2008.
Trent Hill has a done a fine job with his publication of Ron Paul and the New Revolutionaries. It’s another stone in our shepherd’s bag, and it can help future Ron Paul supporters around the country discover their inner Jefferson, even as the war parties and their giants rage.
January 11, 2008 LRC columnist Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D. [send her mail], a retired USAF lieutenant colonel, has written on defense issues with a libertarian perspective for MilitaryWeek.com, hosted the call-in radio show American Forum, and blogs occasionally for Huffingtonpost.com and Liberty and Power. To receive automatic announcements of new articles, click here. Copyright © 2008 Karen Kwiatkowski |
Let
us be completely clear. Ron Paul is the right candidate for the
American presidency in 2008. He is the only Republican who can defeat
any Democrat – and as the democratic turnout in New Hampshire showed,
well over half of Americans have fundamentally rejected the McCain-Giuliani-Romney-Huckabee-Thompson
warfare- welfare state. Sadly, these change seekers seem to believe
that an Obama, a Clinton or an Edwards can somehow make the endless
wars they support more worthy, and the welfare they hope to oversee
more worthwhile. 