On November 14, 2012, Ron Paul delivered his farewell speech on the Floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
This may well be the
last time I speak on the House Floor. At
the end of the year I’ll leave Congress after 23 years in office over a 36 year
period. My goals in 1976 were the same
as they are today: promote peace and
prosperity by a strict adherence to the principles of individual liberty.
It was my opinion, that
the course the U.S. embarked on in the latter part of the 20th Century would
bring us a major financial crisis and engulf us in a foreign policy that would
overextend us and undermine our national security.
To achieve the goals I
sought, government would have had to shrink in size and scope, reduce spending,
change the monetary system, and reject the unsustainable costs of policing the
world and expanding the American Empire.
The problems seemed to
be overwhelming and impossible to solve, yet from my view point, just following
the constraints placed on the federal government by the Constitution would have
been a good place to start.
How Much Did I
Accomplish?
In many ways, according
to conventional wisdom, my off-and-on career in Congress, from 1976 to 2012,
accomplished very little. No named
legislation, no named federal buildings or highways—thank goodness. In spite of my efforts, the government has
grown exponentially, taxes remain excessive, and the prolific increase of
incomprehensible regulations continues.
Wars are constant and pursued without Congressional declaration,
deficits rise to the sky, poverty is rampant and dependency on the federal
government is now worse than any time in our history.
All this with minimal
concerns for the deficits and unfunded liabilities that common sense tells us
cannot go on much longer. A grand, but
never mentioned, bipartisan agreement allows for the well-kept secret that keeps
the spending going. One side doesn’t
give up one penny on military spending, the other side doesn’t give up one
penny on welfare spending, while both sides support the bailouts and subsidies
for the banking and corporate
elite. And the spending continues as the
economy weakens and the downward spiral continues. As the government continues fiddling around,
our liberties and our wealth burn in the flames of a foreign policy that makes
us less safe.
The major stumbling
block to real change in Washington is the total resistance to admitting that
the country is broke. This has made compromising, just to agree to increase
spending, inevitable since neither side has any intention of cutting spending.
The country and the
Congress will remain divisive since there’s no “loot left to divvy up.”
Without this
recognition the spenders in Washington will continue the march toward a fiscal
cliff much bigger than the one anticipated this coming January.
I have thought a lot
about why those of us who believe in liberty, as a solution, have done so
poorly in convincing others of its benefits.
If liberty is what we claim it is- the principle that protects all
personal, social and economic decisions necessary for maximum prosperity and
the best chance for peace- it should be an easy sell. Yet, history has shown that the masses have
been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever
fulfilled.
Authoritarianism vs.
Liberty
If authoritarianism
leads to poverty and war and less freedom for all individuals and is controlled
by rich special interests, the people should be begging for liberty. There certainly was a strong enough sentiment
for more freedom at the time of our founding that motivated those who were
willing to fight in the revolution against the powerful British government.
During my time in
Congress the appetite for liberty has been quite weak; the understanding of its
significance negligible. Yet the good
news is that compared to 1976 when I first came to Congress, the desire for
more freedom and less government in 2012 is much greater and growing,
especially in grassroots America. Tens of thousands of teenagers and college
age students are, with great enthusiasm, welcoming the message of liberty.
I have a few thoughts
as to why the people of a country like ours, once the freest and most
prosperous, allowed the conditions to deteriorate to the degree that they have.
Freedom, private
property, and enforceable voluntary contracts, generate wealth. In our early history we were very much aware
of this. But in the early part of the
20th century our politicians promoted the notion that the tax and monetary
systems had to change if we were to involve ourselves in excessive domestic and
military spending. That is why Congress gave us the Federal Reserve and the
income tax. The majority of Americans
and many government officials agreed that sacrificing some liberty was necessary
to carry out what some claimed to be “progressive” ideas. Pure democracy became
acceptable.
They failed to
recognized that what they were doing was exactly opposite of what the colonists
were seeking when they broke away from the British.
Some complain that my
arguments makes no sense, since great wealth and the standard of living
improved for many Americans over the
last 100 years, even with these new policies.
But the damage to the
market economy, and the currency, has been insidious and steady. It took a long time to consume our wealth,
destroy the currency and undermine productivity and get our financial
obligations to a point of no return. Confidence sometimes lasts longer than
deserved. Most of our wealth today depends on debt.
The wealth that we
enjoyed and seemed to be endless, allowed concern for the principle of a free
society to be neglected. As long as most
people believed the material abundance would last forever, worrying about
protecting a competitive productive economy and individual liberty seemed
unnecessary.
The Age of
Redistribution
This neglect ushered in
an age of redistribution of wealth by government kowtowing to any and all
special interests, except for those who just wanted to left alone. That is why today money in politics far
surpasses money currently going into research and development and productive
entrepreneurial efforts.
The material benefits
became more important than the understanding and promoting the principles of
liberty and a free market. It is good
that material abundance is a result of liberty but if materialism is all that
we care about, problems are guaranteed.
The crisis arrived
because the illusion that wealth and prosperity would last forever has ended.
Since it was based on debt and a pretense that debt can be papered over by an
out-of-control fiat monetary system, it was doomed to fail. We have ended up with a system that doesn’t
produce enough even to finance the debt and no fundamental understanding of why
a free society is crucial to reversing these trends.
If this is not
recognized, the recovery will linger for a long time. Bigger government, more spending, more debt,
more poverty for the middle class, and a more intense scramble by the elite
special interests will continue.
We Need an Intellectual
Awakening
Without an intellectual
awakening, the turning point will be driven by economic law. A dollar crisis will bring the current
out-of-control system to its knees.
If it’s not accepted
that big government, fiat money, ignoring liberty, central economic planning,
welfarism, and warfarism caused our crisis we can expect a continuous and
dangerous march toward corporatism and even fascism with even more loss of our
liberties. Prosperity for a large middle
class though will become an abstract dream.
This continuous move is
no different than what we have seen in how our financial crisis of 2008 was
handled. Congress first directed, with
bipartisan support, bailouts for the wealthy.
Then it was the Federal Reserve with its endless quantitative easing. If
at first it doesn’t succeed try again; QE1, QE2, and QE3 and with no results we
try QE indefinitely—that is until it too fails.
There’s a cost to all of this and let me assure you delaying the payment
is no longer an option. The rules of the
market will extract its pound of flesh and it won’t be pretty.
The current crisis
elicits a lot of pessimism. And the
pessimism adds to less confidence in the future. The two feed on themselves, making our
situation worse.
If the underlying cause
of the crisis is not understood we cannot solve our problems. The issues of
warfare, welfare, deficits, inflationism, corporatism, bailouts and
authoritarianism cannot be ignored. By
only expanding these policies we cannot expect good results.
Everyone claims support
for freedom. But too often it’s for
one’s own freedom and not for others.
Too many believe that there must be limits on freedom. They argue that
freedom must be directed and managed to achieve fairness and equality thus
making it acceptable to curtail, through force, certain liberties.
Some decide what and
whose freedoms are to be limited. These
are the politicians whose goal in life is power. Their success depends on gaining
support from special interests.
No More ‘isms’
The great news is the
answer is not to be found in more “isms.”
The answers are to be found in more liberty which cost so much
less. Under these circumstances spending
goes down, wealth production goes up, and the quality of life improves.
Just this
recognition—especially if we move in this direction—increases optimism which in
itself is beneficial. The follow through
with sound policies are required which must be understood and supported by the people.
But there is good
evidence that the generation coming of age at the present time is supportive of
moving in the direction of more liberty and self-reliance. The more this change
in direction and the solutions become known, the quicker will be the return of
optimism.
Our job, for those of
us who believe that a different system than the
one that we have had for the last 100 years, has driven us to this unsustainable
crisis, is to be more convincing that there is a wonderful, uncomplicated, and
moral system that provides the answers.
We had a taste of it in our early history. We need not give up on the
notion of advancing this cause.
It worked, but we
allowed our leaders to concentrate on the material abundance that freedom
generates, while ignoring freedom itself.
Now we have neither, but the door is open, out of necessity, for an
answer. The answer available is based on
the Constitution, individual liberty and prohibiting the use of government
force to provide privileges and benefits to all special interests.
After over 100 years we
face a society quite different from the one that was intended by the
Founders. In many ways their efforts to
protect future generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed. Skeptics, at the time the Constitution was
written in 1787, warned us of today’s possible outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion of our
liberties and the reassurance our great abundance gave us, allowed the process
to evolve into the dangerous period in which we now live.
Dependency on
Government Largesse
Today we face a
dependency on government largesse for almost every need. Our liberties are restricted and government
operates outside the rule of law, protecting and rewarding those who buy or
coerce government into satisfying their demands. Here are a few examples:
Undeclared wars are commonplace.
Welfare for the rich and poor is considered
an entitlement.
The economy is overregulated, overtaxed and
grossly distorted by a deeply flawed monetary system.
Debt is growing exponentially.
The
Patriot Act and FISA legislation passed without much debate have resulted in a
steady erosion of our 4th Amendment rights.
Tragically our government engages in
preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression, with no complaints from the
American people.
The drone warfare we are pursuing worldwide
is destined to end badly for us as the hatred builds for innocent lives lost
and the international laws flaunted. Once we are financially weakened and
militarily challenged, there will be a lot resentment thrown our way.
It’s now the law of the land that the
military can arrest American citizens, hold them indefinitely, without charges
or a trial.
Rampant hostility toward free trade is
supported by a large number in Washington.
Supporters of sanctions, currency
manipulation and WTO trade retaliation, call the true free traders
“isolationists.”
Sanctions are used to punish countries that
don’t follow our orders.
Bailouts and guarantees for all kinds of
misbehavior are routine.
Central economic planning through monetary
policy, regulations and legislative mandates has been an acceptable policy.
Questions
Excessive government
has created such a mess it prompts many questions:
Why are sick people who use medical marijuana
put in prison?
Why does the federal government restrict
the drinking of raw milk?
Why can’t Americans manufacture rope and
other products from hemp?
Why are Americans not allowed to use gold
and silver as legal tender as mandated by the Constitution?
Why is Germany concerned enough to consider
repatriating their gold held by the FED for her in New York? Is it that the trust in the U.S. and dollar
supremacy beginning to wane?
Why do our political leaders believe it’s
unnecessary to thoroughly audit our own gold?
Why can’t Americans decide which type of
light bulbs they can buy?
Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the
rights of any American traveling by air?
Why should there be mandatory
sentences—even up to life for crimes without victims—as our drug laws require?
Why have we allowed the federal government
to regulate commodes in our homes?
Why is it political suicide for anyone to
criticize AIPAC ?
Why haven’t we given up on the drug war
since it’s an obvious failure and violates the people’s rights? Has nobody
noticed that the authorities can’t even keep drugs out of the prisons? How can
making our entire society a prison solve the problem?
Why
do we sacrifice so much getting needlessly involved in border disputes and
civil strife around the world and ignore the root cause of the most deadly
border in the world -the one between Mexico and the US?
Why does Congress willingly give up its prerogatives
to the Executive Branch?
Why does changing the party in power never
change policy? Could it be that the views of both parties are essentially the
same?
Why did the big banks, the large
corporations, and foreign banks and foreign central banks get bailed out in
2008 and the middle class lost their jobs and their homes?
Why do so many in the government and the
federal officials believe that creating money out of thin air creates wealth?
Why do so many accept the deeply flawed principle
that government bureaucrats and politicians can protect us from ourselves
without totally destroying the principle of liberty?
Why can’t people understand that war always
destroys wealth and liberty?
Why is there so little concern for the
Executive Order that gives the President authority to establish a “kill list,”
including American citizens, of those targeted for assassination?
Why is patriotism thought to be blind
loyalty to the government and the politicians who run it, rather than loyalty
to the principles of liberty and support for the people? Real patriotism is a
willingness to challenge the government when it’s wrong.
Why is it is claimed that if people
won’t or can’t take care of their own
needs, that people in government can do it for them?
Why did we ever give the government a safe
haven for initiating violence against the people?
Why do some members defend free markets,
but not civil liberties?
Why do some members defend civil liberties
but not free markets? Aren’t they the same?
Why don’t more defend both economic liberty
and personal liberty?
Why are there not more individuals who seek
to intellectually influence others to bring about positive changes than those
who seek power to force others to obey their commands?
Why does the use of religion to support a
social gospel and preemptive wars, both of which requires authoritarians to use
violence, or the threat of violence, go unchallenged? Aggression and forced
redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with the teachings of the world’s
great religions.
Why do we allow the government and the
Federal Reserve to disseminate false information dealing with both economic
and foreign policy?
Why is democracy held in such high esteem
when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the
dictates of the majority?
Why
should anyone be surprised that Congress has no credibility, since there’s such
a disconnect between what politicians say and what they do?
Is there any explanation for all the
deception, the unhappiness, the fear of the future, the loss of confidence in
our leaders, the distrust, the anger and frustration? Yes there is, and there’s a way to reverse
these attitudes. The negative
perceptions are logical and a consequence of bad policies bringing about our
problems. Identification of the problems
and recognizing the cause allow the proper changes to come easy.
Trust Yourself, Not the
Government
Too many people have
for too long placed too much confidence and trust in government and not enough
in themselves. Fortunately, many are now
becoming aware of the seriousness of the gross mistakes of the past several
decades. The blame is shared by both
political parties. Many Americans now
are demanding to hear the plain truth of things and want the demagoguing to
stop. Without this first step, solutions
are impossible.
Seeking the truth and
finding the answers in liberty and self-reliance promotes the optimism
necessary for restoring prosperity. The
task is not that difficult if politics doesn’t get in the way.
We have allowed
ourselves to get into such a mess for various reasons.
Politicians deceive
themselves as to how wealth is produced.
Excessive confidence is placed in the judgment of politicians and
bureaucrats. This replaces the
confidence in a free society. Too many
in high places of authority became convinced that only they, armed with arbitrary government power, can
bring about fairness, while facilitating wealth production. This always proves to be a utopian dream and
destroys wealth and liberty. It
impoverishes the people and rewards the special interests who end up
controlling both political parties.
It’s no surprise then
that much of what goes on in Washington is driven by aggressive partisanship
and power seeking, with philosophic differences being minor.
Economic Ignorance
Economic ignorance is
commonplace. Keynesianism continues to
thrive, although today it is facing healthy and enthusiastic rebuttals. Believers in military Keynesianism and domestic
Keynesianism continue to desperately promote their failed policies, as the
economy languishes in a deep slumber.
Supporters of all
government edicts use humanitarian arguments to justify them.
Humanitarian arguments
are always used to justify government mandates related to the economy, monetary
policy, foreign policy, and personal liberty.
This is on purpose to make it more difficult to challenge. But, initiating violence for humanitarian
reasons is still violence. Good
intentions are no excuse and are just as harmful as when people use force with
bad intentions. The results are always
negative.
The immoral use of
force is the source of man’s political problems. Sadly, many religious groups, secular
organizations, and psychopathic authoritarians endorse government initiated
force to change the world. Even when the
desired goals are well-intentioned—or especially when well-intentioned—the
results are dismal. The good results
sought never materialize. The new
problems created require even more government force as a solution. The net result is institutionalizing
government initiated violence and morally justifying it on humanitarian
grounds.
This is the same
fundamental reason our government uses
force for invading other countries at
will, central economic planning at home, and the regulation of personal liberty
and habits of our citizens.
It is rather strange,
that unless one has a criminal mind and no respect for other people and their
property, no one claims it’s permissible to go into one’s neighbor’s house and
tell them how to behave, what they can eat, smoke and drink or how to spend
their money.
Yet, rarely is it asked
why it is morally acceptable that a stranger with a badge and a gun can do the
same thing in the name of law and order.
Any resistance is met with brute force, fines, taxes, arrests, and even
imprisonment. This is done more frequently every day without a proper search
warrant.
No Government Monopoly
over Initiating Violence
Restraining aggressive
behavior is one thing, but legalizing a government monopoly for initiating aggression
can only lead to exhausting liberty associated with chaos, anger and the
breakdown of civil society. Permitting
such authority and expecting saintly behavior from the bureaucrats and the
politicians is a pipe dream. We now have
a standing army of armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife,
FEMA, IRS, Corp of Engineers, etc. numbering over 100,000. Citizens are guilty until proven innocent in
the unconstitutional administrative courts.
Government in a free
society should have no authority to meddle in social activities or the economic
transactions of individuals. Nor should government meddle in the affairs of
other nations. All things peaceful, even when controversial, should be
permitted.
We must reject the
notion of prior restraint in economic activity just we do in the area of free
speech and religious liberty. But even in these areas government is starting to
use a backdoor approach of political correctness to regulate speech-a dangerous
trend. Since 9/11 monitoring speech on the internet is now a problem since
warrants are no longer required.
The Proliferation of
Federal Crimes
The Constitution
established four federal crimes. Today
the experts can’t even agree on how many federal crimes are now on the
books—they number into the thousands. No
one person can comprehend the enormity of the legal system—especially the tax
code. Due to the ill-advised drug war
and the endless federal expansion of the criminal code we have over 6 million
people under correctional suspension, more than the Soviets ever had, and more
than any other nation today, including China.
I don’t understand the complacency of the Congress and the willingness
to continue their obsession with passing more Federal laws. Mandatory sentencing laws associated with
drug laws have compounded our prison problems.
The federal register is
now 75,000 pages long and the tax code has 72,000 pages, and expands every
year. When will the people start
shouting, “enough is enough,” and demand Congress cease and desist.
Achieving Liberty
Liberty can only be
achieved when government is denied the aggressive use of force. If one seeks liberty, a precise type of
government is needed. To achieve it,
more than lip service is required.
Two choices are
available.
A government designed to protect liberty—a
natural right—as its sole objective. The
people are expected to care for themselves and reject the use of any force for
interfering with another person’s liberty.
Government is given a strictly limited authority to enforce contracts,
property ownership, settle disputes, and defend against foreign aggression.
A government that pretends to protect
liberty but is granted power to arbitrarily use force over the people and
foreign nations. Though the grant of
power many times is meant to be small and limited, it inevitably metastasizes
into an omnipotent political cancer. This is the problem for which the world has
suffered throughout the ages. Though
meant to be limited it nevertheless is a 100% sacrifice of a principle that
would-be-tyrants find irresistible. It
is used vigorously—though incrementally and insidiously. Granting power to government officials always
proves the adage that: “power corrupts.”
Once government gets a
limited concession for the use of force to mold people habits and plan the
economy, it causes a steady move toward tyrannical government. Only a revolutionary spirit can reverse the
process and deny to the government this arbitrary use of aggression. There’s no in-between. Sacrificing a little liberty for imaginary safety
always ends badly.
Today’s mess is a
result of Americans accepting option #2, even though the Founders attempted to
give us Option #1.
The results are not
good. As our liberties have been eroded
our wealth has been consumed. The wealth
we see today is based on debt and a foolish willingness on the part of foreigners
to take our dollars for goods and services. They then loan them back to us to
perpetuate our debt system. It’s amazing
that it has worked for this long but the impasse in Washington, in solving our
problems indicate that many are starting to understand the seriousness of the
world -wide debt crisis and the dangers we face. The longer this process
continues the harsher the outcome will be.
The Financial Crisis Is
a Moral Crisis
Many are now
acknowledging that a financial crisis looms but few understand it’s, in
reality, a moral crisis. It’s the moral
crisis that has allowed our liberties to be undermined and permits the
exponential growth of illegal government power.
Without a clear understanding of the nature of the crisis it will be
difficult to prevent a steady march toward tyranny and the poverty that will
accompany it.
Ultimately, the people
have to decide which form of government they want; option #1 or option #2. There is no other choice. Claiming there is a choice of a “little”
tyranny is like describing pregnancy as a “touch of pregnancy.” It is a myth to believe that a mixture of
free markets and government central economic planning is a worthy
compromise. What we see today is a
result of that type of thinking. And the
results speak for themselves.
A Culture of Violence
American now suffers
from a culture of violence. It’s easy to
reject the initiation of violence against one’s neighbor but it’s ironic that
the people arbitrarily and freely anoint government officials with monopoly
power to initiate violence against the American people—practically at will.
Because it’s the
government that initiates force, most people accept it as being
legitimate. Those who exert the force
have no sense of guilt. It is believed
by too many that governments are morally justified in initiating force
supposedly to “do good.” They
incorrectly believe that this authority has come from the “consent of the
people.” The minority, or victims of
government violence never consented to suffer the abuse of government mandates,
even when dictated by the majority.
Victims of TSA excesses never consented to this abuse.
This attitude has given
us a policy of initiating war to “do good,” as well. It is claimed that war, to
prevent war for noble purposes, is justified.
This is similar to what we were once told that: “destroying a village to save a village” was
justified. It was said by a US Secretary
of State that the loss of 500,000 Iraqis, mostly children, in the 1990s, as a
result of American bombs and sanctions, was “worth it” to achieve the “good” we
brought to the Iraqi people. And look at
the mess that Iraq is in today.
Government use of force
to mold social and economic behavior at home and abroad has justified
individuals using force on their own terms.
The fact that violence by government is seen as morally justified, is
the reason why violence will increase when the big financial crisis hits and
becomes a political crisis as well.
First, we recognize
that individuals shouldn’t initiate violence, then we give the authority to
government. Eventually, the immoral use
of government violence, when things goes badly, will be used to justify an
individual’s “right” to do the same thing. Neither the government nor
individuals have the moral right to initiate violence against another yet we
are moving toward the day when both will claim this authority. If this cycle is not reversed society will
break down.
When needs are
pressing, conditions deteriorate and rights become relative to the demands and
the whims of the majority. It’s then not
a great leap for individuals to take it upon themselves to use violence to get
what they claim is theirs. As the
economy deteriorates and the wealth discrepancies increase—as are already
occurring— violence increases as those in need take it in their own hands to
get what they believe is theirs. They
will not wait for a government rescue program.
When government
officials wield power over others to bail out the special interests, even with
disastrous results to the average citizen, they feel no guilt for the harm they
do. Those who take us into undeclared wars with many casualties resulting,
never lose sleep over the death and destruction their bad decisions caused.
They are convinced that what they do is morally justified, and the fact that
many suffer just can’t be helped.
When the street criminals
do the same thing, they too have no remorse, believing they are only taking
what is rightfully theirs. All moral
standards become relative. Whether it’s
bailouts, privileges, government subsidies or benefits for some from inflating
a currency, it’s all part of a process justified by a philosophy of forced
redistribution of wealth. Violence, or a
threat of such, is the instrument required and unfortunately is of little
concern of most members of Congress.
Some argue it’s only a
matter of “fairness” that those in need are cared for. There are two problems
with this. First, the principle is used to provide a greater amount of benefits
to the rich than the poor. Second, no one seems to be concerned about whether
or not it’s fair to those who end up paying for the benefits. The costs are
usually placed on the backs of the middle class and are hidden from the public
eye. Too many people believe government handouts are free, like printing money
out of thin air, and there is no cost. That deception is coming to an end. The
bills are coming due and that’s what the economic slowdown is all about.
Sadly, we have become
accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by government. It is the tool for telling the people how to
live, what to eat and drink, what to read and how to spend their money.
To develop a truly free
society, the issue of initiating force must be understood and rejected. Granting to government even a small amount of
force is a dangerous concession.
Limiting Government
Excesses vs. a Virtuous Moral People
Our Constitution, which
was intended to limit government power and abuse, has failed. The Founders warned that a free society
depends on a virtuous and moral people.
The current crisis reflects that their concerns were justified.
Most politicians and
pundits are aware of the problems we face but spend all their time in trying to
reform government. The sad part is that
the suggested reforms almost always lead to less freedom and the importance of a
virtuous and moral people is either ignored, or not understood. The new reforms
serve only to further undermine liberty.
The compounding effect has given us this steady erosion of liberty and
the massive expansion of debt. The real
question is: if it is liberty we seek, should most of the emphasis be placed on
government reform or trying to understand what “a virtuous and moral people”
means and how to promote it. The Constitution has not prevented the people from
demanding handouts for both rich and poor in their efforts to reform the
government, while ignoring the principles of a free society. All branches of
our government today are controlled by individuals who use their power to
undermine liberty and enhance the welfare/warfare state-and frequently their
own wealth and power.
If the people are
unhappy with the government performance it must be recognized that government
is merely a reflection of an immoral society that rejected a moral government
of constitutional limitations of power and love of freedom.
If this is the problem
all the tinkering with thousands of pages of new laws and regulations will do
nothing to solve the problem.
It is self-evident that
our freedoms have been severely limited and the apparent prosperity we still
have, is nothing more than leftover wealth from a previous time. This fictitious wealth based on debt and
benefits from a false trust in our currency and credit, will play havoc with
our society when the bills come due.
This means that the full consequence of our lost liberties is yet to be
felt.
But that illusion is
now ending. Reversing a downward spiral
depends on accepting a new approach.
Expect the rapidly
expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the
revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with Constitutional
protections. We cannot expect a Federal government controlled school system to
provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of
government that threatens our liberties.
The internet will
provide the alternative to the government/media complex that controls the news
and most political propaganda. This is why it’s essential that the internet
remains free of government regulation.
Many of our religious
institutions and secular organizations support greater dependency on the state
by supporting war, welfare and corporatism and ignore the need for a virtuous
people.
I never believed that
the world or our country could be made more free by politicians, if the people
had no desire for freedom.
Under the current
circumstances the most we can hope to achieve in the political process is to
use it as a podium to reach the people to alert them of the nature of the
crisis and the importance of their need to assume responsibility for
themselves, if it is liberty that they truly seek. Without this, a constitutionally protected
free society is impossible.
If this is true, our
individual goal in life ought to be for us to seek virtue and excellence and
recognize that self-esteem and happiness only comes from using one’s natural
ability, in the most productive manner possible, according to one’s own
talents.
Productivity and
creativity are the true source of personal satisfaction. Freedom, and not
dependency, provides the environment needed to achieve these goals. Government
cannot do this for us; it only gets in the way. When the government gets
involved, the goal becomes a bailout or a subsidy and these cannot provide a
sense of personal achievement.
Achieving legislative
power and political influence should not be our goal. Most of the change, if it
is to come, will not come from the politicians, but rather from individuals,
family, friends, intellectual leaders and our religious institutions. The solution can only come from rejecting the
use of coercion, compulsion, government commands, and aggressive force, to mold
social and economic behavior. Without
accepting these restraints, inevitably the consensus will be to allow the
government to mandate economic equality and obedience to the politicians who
gain power and promote an environment that smothers the freedoms of everyone.
It is then that the responsible individuals who seek excellence and self-esteem
by being self-reliance and productive, become the true victims.
Conclusion
What are the greatest
dangers that the American people face today and impede the goal of a free
society? There are five.
1. The continuous
attack on our civil liberties which threatens the rule of law and our ability
to resist the onrush of tyranny.
2. Violent
anti-Americanism that has engulfed the world. Because the phenomenon of
“blow-back” is not understood or denied, our foreign policy is destined to keep
us involved in many wars that we have no business being in. National bankruptcy
and a greater threat to our national security will result.
3. The ease in which we
go to war, without a declaration by Congress, but accepting international
authority from the UN or NATO even for preemptive wars, otherwise known as
aggression.
4. A financial
political crisis as a consequence of excessive debt, unfunded liabilities,
spending, bailouts, and gross discrepancy in wealth distribution going from the
middle class to the rich. The danger of central economic planning, by the
Federal Reserve must be understood.
5. World government taking over local and US sovereignty by getting involved
in the issues of war, welfare, trade, banking,
a world currency, taxes, property ownership, and private ownership of
guns.
Happily, there is an
answer for these very dangerous trends.
What a wonderful world
it would be if everyone accepted the simple moral premise of rejecting all acts
of aggression. The retort to such a
suggestion is always: it’s too
simplistic, too idealistic, impractical, naïve, utopian, dangerous, and
unrealistic to strive for such an ideal.
The answer to that is
that for thousands of years the acceptance of government force, to rule over
the people, at the sacrifice of liberty, was considered moral and the only
available option for achieving peace and prosperity.
What could be more
utopian than that myth—considering the results especially looking at the state
sponsored killing, by nearly every government during the 20th Century,
estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.
It’s time to reconsider this grant of authority to the state.
No good has ever come
from granting monopoly power to the state to use aggression against the people
to arbitrarily mold human behavior. Such
power, when left unchecked, becomes the seed of an ugly tyranny. This method of governance has been adequately
tested, and the results are in: reality dictates we try liberty.
The idealism of non-aggression
and rejecting all offensive use of force should be tried. The idealism of government sanctioned
violence has been abused throughout history and is the primary source of
poverty and war. The theory of a society
being based on individual freedom has been around for a long time. It’s time to take a bold step and actually
permit it by advancing this cause, rather than taking a step backwards as some
would like us to do.
Today the principle of
habeas corpus, established when King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, is
under attack. There’s every reason to believe that a renewed effort with the
use of the internet that we can instead advance the cause of liberty by spreading
an uncensored message that will serve to rein in government authority and
challenge the obsession with war and welfare.
What I’m talking about
is a system of government guided by the moral principles of peace and
tolerance.
The Founders were
convinced that a free society could not exist without a moral people. Just writing rules won’t work if the people
choose to ignore them. Today the rule of
law written in the Constitution has little meaning for most Americans,
especially those who work in Washington DC.
Benjamin Franklin
claimed “only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” John Adams concurred: “Our Constitution was made for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly
inadequate to the government of any other.”
A moral people must
reject all violence in an effort to mold people’s beliefs or habits.
A society that boos or
ridicules the Golden Rule is not a moral society. All great religions endorse the Golden
Rule. The same moral standards that
individuals are required to follow should apply to all government
officials. They cannot be exempt.
The ultimate solution
is not in the hands of the government.
The solution falls on
each and every individual, with guidance from family, friends and community.
The #1 responsibility
for each of us is to change ourselves with hope that others will follow. This is of greater importance than working on
changing the government; that is secondary to promoting a virtuous
society. If we can achieve this, then
the government will change.
It doesn’t mean that
political action or holding office has no value. At times it does nudge policy
in the right direction. But what is true is that when seeking office is done
for personal aggrandizement, money or power, it becomes useless if not harmful.
When political action is taken for the right reasons it’s easy to understand
why compromise should be avoided. It also becomes clear why progress is best
achieved by working with coalitions, which bring people together, without
anyone sacrificing his principles.
Political action, to be
truly beneficial, must be directed toward changing the hearts and minds of the
people, recognizing that it’s the virtue and morality of the people that allow
liberty to flourish.
The Constitution or
more laws per se, have no value if the people’s attitudes aren’t changed.
To achieve liberty and
peace, two powerful human emotions have to be overcome. Number one is “envy” which leads to hate and
class warfare. Number two is
“intolerance” which leads to bigoted and judgmental policies. These emotions must be replaced with a much
better understanding of love, compassion, tolerance and free market economics.
Freedom, when understood, brings people together. When tried, freedom is
popular.
The problem we have
faced over the years has been that economic interventionists are swayed by
envy, whereas social interventionists are swayed by intolerance of habits and
lifestyles. The misunderstanding that tolerance is an endorsement of certain
activities, motivates many to legislate moral standards which should only be
set by individuals making their own choices. Both sides use force to deal with
these misplaced emotions. Both are authoritarians. Neither endorses
voluntarism. Both views ought to be
rejected.
I have come to one firm
conviction after these many years of trying to figure out “the plain truth of
things.” The best chance for achieving
peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people world-wide, is to pursue
the cause of LIBERTY.
If you find this to be
a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land.
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