Topic: Politics
Vindication, Affirmation and Marching Orders Ron Paul says it all in his recent announcement about the next phase in the Campaign for Libertyby Jahfre Fire Eater
(libertarian)
Friday, June 13, 2008
I didn't need to write an article to elaborate on or express my interpretation of Ron Paul's announcement regarding the continuation of his Campaign for Liberty. He very clearly described his future efforts and his vision for the efforts of those who understand this campaign. Since they align perfectly with what I have been doing all my life, and writing about for the past year, I have nothing to add at this time. This isn't rocket science folks. The defense of individual liberty isn't an event, or even a cycle, for some of us; it is a lifelong, daily way of life.
To me and all the others who were involved in this struggle since before we ever heard of Ron Paul, neither his LP bid in 1988 nor this year's bid were about winning the Presidency. They were about changing the way Americans think about the role of government, the rule of law and the value of the individual to a constructive, productive, sustainable, Conservative perspective. This campaign never ends.
Detractors will pounce on Dr. Paul's defeat and shutout by the political elite who run the GOP and the Conservative portion of mass media as a victory. Good. I encourage them to think this is over. We give up, we can't be nominated, our efforts were for naught, you can relax now. Don't bother to attend your monthly GOP meetings or to participate in shaping your local candidates, the GOP power brokers have all that well in hand for you. You can go back to hating Muslims, Mexicans and Democrats for their reactions to the policies of the liberal empire builders in Congress...all of them, both the Democrats and the Republicans.
Once the emotional, fear-laden rhetoric that constantly emanates from the political elite is revealed to be insubstantial, irrelevant or else a direct consequence of grandly misguided attempts to achieve the exact opposite result, one can never return to a complacent state where that propaganda has the effect desired by its sources. As evidence I can offer these personal experiences.
1. An angry, drunken man with a victim's mentality towards his ability to effect political change has become a happy, empowered precinct captain. Once he realized he had been duped into swallowing the whole I'm-a-powerless-victim-of-my-corrupt-government nonsense and began to focus instead on how to use the power and talents he does have to make our community a better place to live by promoting conservative principles locally, his whole outlook on life changed. It is possible that this man's conservative activism has averted another Ruby Ridge incident. Thankfully, we'll never know now.
2. In the course of conducting dozens of seminars in communities all over the state we saw several very encouraging results. Our seminars were focused on helping recovering apathetic conservatives (Ron Paul revolutionaries) become effective in shaping the future of our government by participating in their local GOP. We stress the long-term importance of exemplifying "trickle up integrity" to the candidates they would interact with as well as to the unprincipled ends-justify-the-means crowd who had taken over the GOP, displacing all conservative influence in the process. Two very interesting results have been evident in several of these communities. First, several of the folks who attended our seminars are now either running for local office or holding committee offices in their local GOP. Second, and far more satisfying, are the responses from some of the Democrats who attended our seminars who suddenly realized, as one woman put it, "Oh my God, I'm a conservative. This will take some getting use to because I've been a Democrat all my life. I can't go back now."
Dr. Paul is the ultimate example of how to be the change you want to see yet so many of his supposed supporters think he should stop doing what he has been doing for the past several decades and do something futile and destructive like running as a 3rd party candidate or officially endorsing a 3rd party candidate. I suspect most people who think that way will agree with the GOP "unity" zombies that Dr. Paul and his Paultards, his Paulistas or whatever other dismissive label they use, have been defeated. All I can say to them is be well but be gone. Go back to your 3rd party (or independent) sandbox and exchange outrages with the other members of your choir. Argue about who is the most true to their ideals. Criticise anyone who isn't sitting in the sand with you. Play with your plastic shovels and pails and be indignantly self-righetous about it. Just don't think anyone else is fooled into thinking you are doing anything constructive towards the goal of political change. Youhavechosentomarginalizeyourselfandplaythevictim.
Taking responsibility for your choices is the first step toward getting out of the sandbox and exchanging your toy tools for the power tools. For those who have the determination and the guts to step out of their comfort zone, I welcome you to join us in continuing Dr. Paul's Campaign for Liberty as we relentlessly convert the most powerful political tool on the planet into a conservative tool instead of the liberal one neocons prefer.
Tomorrow, the defense of conservative principles continues...with our without you. Your choice.
Jahfre Fire Eater
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