If We Want Trump To Matter We Need To Do Likewise, If We Want Ron Paul To Matter We Need To Do Likewise
It was 2005-ish when a loved one had me read an article from a man he called “The Honorable Ron Paul.” I had never heard of him. Though I had been involved in local politics, I did not care for politicians at the federal level.
Within three years, I helped organize local groups in support of Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential run, helped organize what was chronologically the first Tea Party gathering of the contemporary Tea Party movement, and then later even moved quite a ways away and upended my life in an effort to advance the goals of that campaign.
I would run for office myself on the same principles and would spend a great deal of time advancing them in small brushfires of teaching, advocacy, and activism. I watched the rippling effects of the 2008 Ron Paul campaign give birth to 1.) the Tea Party movement, 2.) the Bitcoin industry, 3.) the Trump 2016 campaign, and 4.) Trump presidency.
A Paulian Principle
Ron Paul had a principle he often followed as a Congressman. He would say that if others in Congress voted as he did, that the American people would have a Congress that promotes freedom. He was often the lone “no” vote. That did not stop him from being the lone vote.
Four years from now, Donald Trump will be one man in American history. We are not effective on our own. We are effective in whose lives we touch and who we inspire to do likewise. Accordingly, we may choose to be like the Ron Pauls of the world and the Donald Trumps of the world — men who sacrifice much in life in order to speak the truth and promote the truth.
I do not consider Donald Trump and Ron Paul to be perfect replicas of each other. I consider both to have run for President with a willingness to be Molotov cocktails for the American people to throw at their establishment class, to paraphrase Michael Moore’s 2016 movie TrumpLand.
If we recognize the role of such men when they stick their necks out there, and we appreciate that, then we must recognize our role in the situation as well.
A Troubling Trend
Over the past several years, millions of conservatives, libertarians, devout religious people, sensible moderates, sensible liberals, and other upstanding Americans moved from the state of California that I call home.
They, then, proceeded to do exactly what they did in California that helped turn California into a grade A crap-hole: nothing.
The most prosperous and resource-rich corner of the American Empire, the state of California, can legitimately be called a grade A crap-hole. Next to the largest body of water on the planet, California has a drought. Next to the largest body of water on the planet, the fire hydrants are empty. The list of comparable examples is long.
Your Disobedience Is Needed
I have done some nasty things in politics. I have burned do-nothing office holders who were rubber stamps for Newsom, but who would play nice in the media on Fox News. I have burned Republicans, so-called conservat
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
