Topic: Ron Paul
"Time to Stand Up and Resist"--Ron Paul Ron Paul spoke in friendly country in Montana last night. His message remains the same.by rtbohan
(Libertarian)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Ron Paul was in friendly country yesterday when he traveled to Missoula, Montana to speak at the University of Montana.
Of course, Representative Paul is always in friendly country when he speaks on a college or university campus. His campaign is strongly supported by the young voters in this country. In Missoula, however, he was speaking in a county and city in which he had won the Republican Party caucus and in which even the daily paper supports his message.(www.missoulian.com) . There was also coverage of the event in some of the other newspapers in the state. The Billings Gazette carried a short mention of the speech from the A.P. The Great Falls Tribune carried a good report by John S. Adams, the paper's capital correspondent (www.greatfallstribune.com).
Dr. Paul did not go to Montana to admire the Big Sky country or to talk about hunting and fishing. He went to deliver his urgent message to the voters of the state. He spoke about the government's attempt to frighten the people of American so they would roll over and obey any command from the government. "I would say it's time not to roll over but to stand up and resist", he said.
The message, however muffled by the press is getting through across the country. It can be seen in the efforts to send Ron Paul supporters as delegates to the Republican National Convention. It can be seen in the resistance of at least some Governors to the bullying tactics of the DHS over the Real I.D.
Representative Paul again told his supporters that he does not expect to win the Republican Party nomination this year, and that he will not run as a third party or independent candidate. But he did not regard that as important. "I think of myself as less important than my message". He is getting that message out.
In my opinion, Representative Paul made only one misstatement in his speech in Missoula. It was when he said, "I think the revolution is alive and well in Montana."
That was an understatement.
The revolution is alive and well throughout the United States.
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2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved.
Published: Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Last modified: Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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There is a great undercurrent racing among the People ready to rise to the surface. The troubles of the next few years will mobilize more People then at any time during our history. Despite the levels of complancency that is apparent on the surface of our society there is an awakening, relatively unseen, unheard...a remnant. I firmly believe that. It is far different than the 60s, this is a movement of People that come for such a broad specturm of life that it will eventually be impossible for the government to ignore, though they will try.
People are not naturally inclined toward revolution, they must be pressed into it by the circumstances of life combined with those who are willing to incite the flames of revolt and resistance.
It will happen, there are simply too many issues facing this country that the entrenchment politicans have no substantial answers for, no solutions only platitudes of empty promises, vain slogans and idiotic programs doomed to failure.
Ron Paul will still be in the race as John McCain raises his right hand and puts his left on some ancient book full of mysticism and sorcery as he takes the oath of office.
Hate to burst your bubble, Republicae, but revolution will not come. The Empire will crumble due to outside forces chipping away while the masses are distracted, just as they were in ancient times. Honestly, the only revolt that might occur will be forced to go underground instantly, with all the insane provisions the Bush Administration has passed, carefully planning for this moment.
Even then, the people who do revolt will find themselves alone, ridiculed by the indifferent press, and then eventually on a first class trip to Guantanamo or whatever nefarious prison there is that we don't know about.
Spence...read my piece on the Death Nel for the Federal Reserve. The one thing that you did not cover is that this government is completely and absolutely dependent upon a Monetary System that has a very definite terminal life span. All of its military power, its police power, it ability to coerce and enforce its power is totally dependent upon that system and that system is rapidly reaching its maximum possible life span.
I can guarantee you that the revolution will come and there will be little if anything that this government will be able to do to prevent it. There will of course be a period of time when the government will attempt to control, by force, its ability to maintain power, it will fail.
All the well-crafted acts, laws, and policies, as well as all the police agencies being implemented will be a short-term stop-gap for those who continue to believe they can prop up The State.
Once again, this Statist Machine must have fuel for its power and that fuel is the Fiat Money Makers, their days are numbered because the System is cankered with a cancer that cannot be cut out or cured.
As the People, whose monthly wages won't be able to buy a bowl of pottage, realize what has happened, why it has happened and who is responsible for it, then we will see them arise. It always happens when the "misery-level" rises above the "tolerance-level".
There must be those ready to stand in the gap at that time, to direct the upheaval toward the ideals of Liberty and Constitutional Order. That is the only thing that will reign the chaos into sanity. When the People see the answer, that it was there all the time, then they will look for answers of uncommon sense and the principles upon which this country was first Founded will prove to be the answer. We must be prepared to take the high ground.
Kempson, taking his usual shot at the Bible. If it is McCain, perhaps he can take his oath of office on the Communist, er I mean the Humanist Manifesto.
Spence, your post is the expression of the quaking submissiveness that permeates the populace of this country. Blinded by the fear of repercussions brought on by standing up and defending yourself . Hoping that some outside force will free you. No one was ever made free by wishing it were so. No one has ever gained freedom by quivering in their home, fearing the sound of heavy footsteps outside their door. Freedom must be deliberately demanded and vigorously defended. The immortal words of John F. Kennedy have begun to resonate among the people: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
Hey folks - thought I'd let you know - I was part of the press at Paul's press availability beforehand - I write for a weekly paper so the story's going to come out in about 48 hours.
It ended up being an (approx.) 1400 word write-up with the unique focus of Paul's direct response in the conference to Clinton claiming she would 'obliterate' Iran if it attacked Israel. He eloquently put that Israel has 300 nukes to Iran's possibility of one and that they can adequately handle themselves. Also, he said "If she's making those kind of commitments, maybe she doesn't understand what the presidency is".
head over to http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com - it should be up in the next 48 hours. Hope you guys like it.
Hillary is little more than a hack for the military industrial complex, as is McCain and even Obama. They are all bought and paid for...I hope the coppers in their pockets are worth the price of treason to them.
Republicae, by your own evidence, there will not be a government to rebel to at this time. While I do agree that the Federal Reserve cannot sustain itself much longer, there are other interests, not just the ones seeded in our government, that do not see it in their bests interests for a 'revolution' to be carried out, much less succeed.
By time the citizenry of this country are ready to revolt, they will "wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered" just as Jefferson predicted. It is not the gov't then, that they will rebel to, but each other. Who can worry about what problems the gov't did or did not do when they're simply trying to stay afloat? I don't mean to suggest that such a revolt is inevitable. Indeed, I think it is very possible, but I don't believe it will come at the opportune time and directed at the core threat.
But, what irks me more is Rudoku's comment:
"Spence, your post is the expression of the quaking submissiveness that permeates the populace of this country."
Care to elaborate on that? Is it perhaps my bent for realism and my fear over the repetition of history's mistakes that inspires such straw man attacks?
"Blinded by the fear of repercussions brought on by standing up and defending yourself . Hoping that some outside force will free you."
Funny. I don't remember saying any of this. How did you derive that from my meaning, I wonder? Because truly, the only significant meaning is authorial intent, which is something you cannot prove. To further address your comment, I can only guess that you meant that by me suggesting that the empire would crumble due to outside forces, I believed the only chance for salvation came from outside forces. If that is the case, you could not have taken what I said more wrong.
If anything, as I mentioned to Republicae, too many interests have united behind our gov't, beyond our control and power of observation, to warrant any intervention. Indeed, we have pissed the rest of the world off so as to break any chance for redemption. Ask anyone around the world and more often than not, someone will mix Americans up with their gov't.
Think about how the Roman Empire fell. While the masses squabbled away their days distracted by the circles of corruption, barbarian tribes positioned themselves to exact revenge. Whether you believe in a literal or figurative correlation to this or none at all is irrelevant. It's happening to us already.
Blowing away trillions of dollars to "defend" the Middle East from the problem we created, international corporations buying up once-proud American companies here at home- there are too many incidents to account for.
"No one was ever made free by wishing it were so. No one has ever gained freedom by quivering in their home, fearing the sound of heavy footsteps outside their door. Freedom must be deliberately demanded and vigorously defended."
You seem to contradict yourself. How is "outsider intervention" so different from the force of the mob? It's still relatively alien to the slow course of diplomacy. And would you tell all the Ron Paul supporters that are trying to infiltrate the GOP today and peaceably restore our country's dignity to just go home? I don't think so. Nobody's suggesting that we ask for your rights. Indeed, they're going out and demanding them and leaving the shotguns at home.
Also, tell me this. If you're so ready for revolution, please tell me how you intend to make your first stand and when. No BS please, I honestly intend to hear your plans. Another part of my skepticism of a real revolt comes full on from the fact that the citizens that know better today are stretched thin and divided across our nation. The original revolution started with a bloc making their influence felt one city at a time in the 13 colonies. Apathy was also not something taken for granted, like it is today.
To close, please do not make arrogant assumptions or imply I am a defeatist purely due to my observations on reality. They may be harsher than you're willing to admit, sure, but that does not mean that I personally agree with them myself. I am more than willing to stand up for this country, but I will not waste my life in a futile effort that has come too late. As they all say, the sheeple better wake up soon and the revolution will be at their door tomorrow- and indeed, we would almost surely win. But every day is one day closer to a lost horizon. I am young, angry, and more than willing to take on my duties, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that when I demand something, it does not come in vain.
The thing to remember for those wanting a revolution is that while it does often come when the misery level rises above the tolerance level, it is rarely successful or in the favor of individual rights unless a solid number of individuals are independently prosperous, are not hopeless dependents upon those institutions towards whom the revolution is directed, and have already shouldered the burden of individual responsibility that individual liberty requires.
I have encountered people with guns who talk strongly of the need for a revolution to clean up the system. But I look at them and what do I see? A person who must buy their guns and ammunition from one of the many corporations who grease this system. They also require the food supplied by this system. They also depend on their jobs provided by this system. They also tend to blame politicians, the government, corporations, etc... for a long list of difficulties they experience in their lives.
If such people engaged in revolution and actually won, what kind of society would they create afterwards? Such people know only dependence. No matter how much they may speak of liberty and quote the founding fathers or other free thinking independent people, their lives are mired in dependence and they have no real first hand knowledge of the true responsibility that liberty requires.
Before anyone speaks of revolution, let them undergo personal revolutions. The first step is as easy as turning off the television and reclaiming the 12 years the average american currently loses watching television. Learn to cook. Learn to build. Learn to fix. Start your own business. Network with other like minded small business people, strive to patronize only those businesses run by politically like minded people. If a million libertarian minded people did this last part alone, we would become an economic force that could not easily be ignored.
If we can not take such steps now, taking ownership of the problems in our lives now and changing ourselves now for the better, we will fail were a revolution to come, whether we won a political or violent confrontation or not.
Ron Paul is one man(a man I deeply admire, respect, and wish would be our next president), but he could not change things just by getting elected president. We must improve ourselves and take steps to take the power that we daily give to corporations, back into our own hands. If we can not do that, then we will continue to have more of the same, because that will be what we deserve.
Let us live now as free people, recognizing that liberty is not bestowed by governments, but is our natural right. The best a government can ever do is recognize it is our right to be free. If we convince ourselves that the government is the source of liberty, and so wait for things to change at the top before we change ourselves, the revolution will be lost before it even starts.
That's exactly it, Ben. I think you said this in another thread. Again, well said. What many of you fail to introduce in your arguments is something he brought up. If everyone's hearts and minds are not in personal liberty, it doesn't matter if a 1000 revolutions are fought- you'll never achieve it.
Think of the socialist uprisings in the last century.
If you truly want a revolution, you're going to have one of these. Let's not forget how stupid the masses are and how difficult it is to teach them a lesson. All they will know is that their capitalist republic that thrived for more than a 150 years before it slowly started becoming the huge mess is now a huge failure. They will embrace the mob rule that our founders feared.
Is that really what you guys want? With all this gung-ho, "I told ya so" and bring-on-the-revolution rhetoric I'm seeing, it certainly seems so.
I would most definitely prefer that there never need be a revolution however, I think, from what I have seen and what I see, that revolution will be thrust upon us by a convergence of circumstances. Not the least of which will be economic. The question is will there be those who are prepared to stand in the gap when these events happen or will they simply be swept away with the masses into a societal chaos that could very easily produce a far more feudal type of society then we are prepared or willing to accept.
Now, according to debt mass calculations [and if you look at the various signals within both the domestic and global economies] you will see evidence that the Fiat Monetary System has already reached a point where has reached its practical limitation point and is now entering into the terminal stage. Whether we know it or not, we will experience something that no one living has experienced and it will prove to be one of the most devastating periods in human history...whether we are prepared or not. I prefer to be prepared.
Once again, I'm not refuting the possibility of a revolution. Just by the time it comes, the opportunity to direct its energy and message will have been lost. This I'm sure is not preferable to anyone. But that indeed is the more likely event. The revolution that we want needs to start happening now, and it can't just be about some invisible misery meter. It truly needs to be a philosophical, perhaps even spiritual turning point. And when was the last time you saw a mass transition in one of those areas in history during or even right before a revolution?
But more often than not, this whole social collapse is usually a red herring, when the simple resolution to this impending crisis will likely coincide with some other interesting developments to force some new government on us. I think, despite all the eagerness to revolt now and such and make meaningless stands, that the masses will simply embrace a new gov't once it is lost in the chaos.
I don't see why you shifted to making this case into a platform for preparations and such, however. If you mean that you plan on becoming more self-sufficient, no one's denying that you have a right to, or indeed, shouldn't prepare yourself at all.
I just would like to know exactly what this "preparation" entails. If it is simply self-reliance, as I referred to above, then how does this in anyway contribute to a solution? We should ramp up our efforts to educate others, and that way, they will perpetuate our own beliefs for us.
The first part of countering a trap is knowing of its existence. The second part is to spring the trap. And if things remain in the sorry state it is today, I see little opportunity, and perhaps a less radical change coming than any of us are expecting.
By all means, I think that is why we are here now,t to begin the process of preparation, education and expansion of the ideals and principles of Liberty, is it not?
We must act now, not only as individuals, but as groups to influence politics, especially on the local and State levels because as the break-down begins to present we will still need to have a voluntary association of People coming together to form some type of stability within the growing chaos. This does not necessarily mean that local or State governments will continue to work as they have, but in terms of a voluntary system of cooperation that foundation will be essential to maintain the Voice and Cause of Liberty.
The goal should be, as it is already happening to a degree, to rapidly field candidates in all local and State governments; we should also focus on getting people employed within the present ancillary agencies of these governments. I personally feel that Dr. Paul's efforts to infuse the ideals of Liberty into this land have been fantastic and he has laid a foundation on which to build the political movement into a real force for change. It is but a beginning and I feel that time is relatively short due to the pressing issue of the monetary system however, there is time to place people in very strategic positions from the political arenas, to military to law enforcement.
Additionally, we should put effort into connecting with various like-minded individuals and groups in all areas of the present government structure and its ancillary agencies. There are, despite the wide-spread negativity of some within the Liberty movement, people ready to hear the message.
Preparations should include influencing every single aspect of our present government structure, including the military and law enforcement sectors. Granted, we are fighting an uphill battle especially as more and more laws are enacted to prevent such inroads into government by anything that they might perceive as a potential threat.
However, there are glimmers of hope, thanks, in part, to the criminal actions of Mr. Bush, more and more people are becoming involved. The Patriot Act has prompted over 400 communities across the country to openly declare that they will not enforce any provisions of the Act. There are now more Voices of Freedom spread across the web than ever before...so things are not as bleak as many might think. There is more activity in this country now then there has been in decades.
As long as we sustain, whether highly organized or not, a movement and a message that is available to the general public to cause them to question the direction of this government then we should have hope. As more and more stress comes into our society there will be a growing opportunity to present an alternative message and a very workable solution to them by educating them about the principles of the Republic.
I am planning on posting my first article tomorrow. It sounds like you would be an invaluable contributor then to my commentary.
I do not disagree with you in the local and state department. In fact, I think those are the areas we should be encouraging, but I see more hype in areas with diminishing returns. So it leads me to wonder if the Libertarian Party itself takes itself seriously.
Especially with the poor handling of "mainstreaming" the platform in 2006. More than just running candidates for local and state office everywhere, we need to set specific goals and tap into the power that the RP meet-up groups have unleashed.
I believe if we can take this ultra-grassroots strategy and apply it to a few "mainstream goals", we can break the 2-party duopoly in as little as 4 years.
I look forward to your commentary Spence and will contribute to your discussions. Concerning the diminishing rate of return, I am in agreement however, I think that due to circumstances and Dr. Paul's effort to publicize the message of Liberty that things may be turning favorably. Concerning the Libertarian Party, I unfortunately gave up on the party long ago due to the fact that there just didn't seem to be any direction within its structure or the manner in which it pursued its politics. It began to look like a club more than anything else.
I am also in agreement that there needs to be a concerted push to link and maintain the RP Meetup groups around the world. Every group should set specific goals to engage local, State and federal offices by fielding candidates in each and every one they possibly can in both political parties, Democrat and Republican.
I see more coming on board for the simple reason that the blunt force of reality will soon make it impossible to ignore what Dr. Paul has brought to light. As his words become reality for more and more Americans, more will look to his message and begin to question the status quo. His campaign did wonders for this country and did so in ways we have yet to fully see.
I am also in agreement that this grassroots strategy can effectively break the entrenchment parties stranglehold on American politics; my strategy for such an effort would however be through infiltration of those party structures in a similar way that RP supporters and delegates are doing with many of the State Delegate Conventions. Instead of shying away from the two parties we should absolutely invade them, overtake them and consume them until control is assured. Once that happens then it will just be a matter of continuing the effort to field candidates for each office. While I realize that may sound simplistic, it is basically the way the liberal socialist took the Democratic Party and the neo-cons took the Republican Party. I see no reason why we cannot employ the same techniques.
Indeed, you will find in my column actual goals to help cement the party's status in many of the same ways the liberals did, if without nearly as much of the ethical dilemmas.
The National Republican Convention will be VERY interesting when the delegates who SEEM to be McCain supporters, suddenly support Dr. Paul! ha ha ha
It ain't over until the fat lady sings. By the time the Democratic nominee and McCain rip each other to shreads via their campaign commercials (and you can BET they are currently getting prepared to do just that), Ron Paul will rise as the only presidential candidate.
It's going to be interesting. I'm adding new Ron Paul supporters all the time. I'm voting today at the County Clerk's office (with a PAPER ballot).
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2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved.