Why You Should Vote for Ron Paul

by Justin Ptak

I got involved in politics because of the tragic decisions I saw our so-called statesmen making in Washington D.C. I was troubled by the laws being passed that impact our lives on a daily basis. Those crucial issues of our day that no man or woman can sit back and let be decided by those out of touch and unresponsive from the first day they get into office. These men and women who state they are public servants doing the common good, and yet are nothing but petty thieves with silver tongues and shiny three thousand dollar suits. To quote: "Don't steal, the government hates competition." An informed electorate is our only hope for the future. We can no longer afford to let the Federal Reserve act as a common pickpocket. Nor allow the military industrial complex to pillage and plunder around the world as they blaze a trail of bloody innocence.

I never thought of running for President when I was a hall monitor and felt the awesome yet abusive power over other people. Nor do I want to become President in order to continue the family tradition. And, I do not seek this office to enlarge the riches of my friends or those who have donated to my campaign. I will grant neither privilege nor favor to reward loyalty or support.

I aspire to the presidency to give you back control of your lives. I do not know how to run your life. Unlike many others in this race, I do not pretend to. I want the American people to enjoy the privileges of our forefathers and experience the benefits of self-determination that they fought and died for. Those are your right and privilege that the founding fathers in their infinite wisdom bestowed upon us if only we are willing to preserve them.

This is the greatest challenge we face today.

We live in a time of a constantly deflating dollar. A time where we see deficits and debt increase at levels we have not seen in 40 years. Our civil liberties are vanishing at the whim of the president's signature. It is a time when our empire is expanding and causing untold devastation and destruction with no end in sight.

I want to make a difference, to send a message to the world that the remnant is still alive, that it is growing stronger and stronger every day as its message spreads by word of mouth, roads, byways, and the amazing electronic superhighway. And, foremost, to educate the citizenry that we can indeed return to the path of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

I believe that we can become a beacon of hope for the world. We can regain the goodwill that we once enjoyed as a symbol of hope and opportunity for all. We can once again aspire to be "the shining city on the hill" that Ronald Reagan once dreamed of. But, we cannot achieve this by robbing from Peter's grandchildren to pay the privileged Paul's of today.

We will have to face the reality of this path toward destruction that we have set ourselves on by listening to the false promises of politicians without principle. We will have to make tough choices and take responsibility. Responsibility both personally as it relates to our own lives and as a whole when it comes to matters of finance and friendly relations with the rest of the world. The American people yearn for this freedom. We all yearn for the ability to be free to choose and direct and determine the future of our own lives and that of our families. We, as citizens, also seek to restrain the growth of government and even decrease its size in order to take back our lives and limit the burden that we place on our children and our children's children.

We cannot let this go on anymore. It is just that simple. If we are set on this course then we are destined for "the dust heap of history." It is a hard fact to swallow, but it is a certainty. We shall follow the fate of Rome. Or, we will become another chapter in the history books just as the British Empire has.

Fortunately, we have time to redirect and set sail upon a new wind of respect for life and liberty. Our time is running out, but it is not too late. The choice is ours to dedicate ourselves with new determination toward that often heard phrase, but rarely executed: a new birth of freedom.

We are no longer disparate voices in the wilderness without a cause to rally around. The time is now to join together around principle and send a message to the powers that be that it will not be more business as usual on K Street, Wall Street, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, 1400 Defense Pentagon, and, certainly not at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

December 15, 2011

Justin Ptak [send him mail] is an entrepreneur and was a Margaret T. Rowley fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.