vendredi, septembre 09, 2011

Keep Hope Alive!

At this point in our history, an honest politician with legitimate ideas is a national treasure. Mostly because there is only one such person. Sadly, we have reached a point where voting for Ron National Treasure Paul may not be the best idea.


Because a national treasure, by its very nature, is something to preserve. And if by some miracle he gets elected, he will be dead in less than a year.


Not because he is old, or because he couldn't handle the stress of the job. He wouldn't die of natural causes (though, come to think of it, there might be an attempt to make it appear so), and he wouldn't die in an accident (despite how it might certainly look to the public). No, because he brooks no compromise, and holds fast to certain core principles, he would die at the hands of an assassin, and it wouldn't be Jodi Foster putting out the hit.


Think about it.


Based on the bizarre idea that our constitution does not designate us as the world's policeman (and based on the expense to a nation deep, DEEP in the throes of debt), Mr. Paul would immediately withdraw all troops from all foreign shores. Do you really think that extant powers within the military industrial complex would allow that? And might not the ensuing chaos in the policed nations allow the fomenting of some kind of retaliation? We're just getting started.


Based on the extreme idea that a nation deep, DEEP in the throws of debt cannot in good conscience throw money it doesn't have into swirling toilet bowls around the world, Mr. Paul would immediately phase out nearly all foreign aid. Based on the violent reaction of dependent parties in Greece and England (who went from being shiftless to riotous in seconds when their freebies were threatened), do you really think that the multitude of nations who sit with their hands out for billions in US funds would really stand up and say, "That's alright, we understand you're deep, DEEP in the throes of debt. We'll take it from here" ?


Based on the absurd idea (or the facts of the case, for those of you who are picky about these things) that the war on drugs has been a gigantic waste of federal dollars, Mr. Paul would put an end to federal drug enforcement. Should this empower the drug cartels that run Mexico with easier distribution to an expanded idiot client base, there's nothing to worry about. But if this leads to locally produced products available cheaply to a static idiot client base, thereby taking billions out of the pockets of the cartels that run Mexico, how long do you think these entities, already well versed in the art of mass and individual murder of high level officials, would leave an uncompromising president alive?


Based on the insane notion that the bailout sent billions of dollars through the anus of the FED into a mysterious corporate black hole, Mr. Paul will audit the FED, attempting to account for past expenditures, and ensure that future funds were handled in a responsible, transparent way. Do you really think that the multi-billionaires who so obviously and regularly benefit from the currently shady practices and policies would allow their golden goose to be cooked?


He would also push to make abortion a States issue, effectively removing it from the purview of the federal government. This, in the eyes of some, would be interpreted as the legalization of abortion, making President Paul a baby murderer to some very stridently active people. Do you really think that someone willing to blow up a single abortion doctor or clinic wouldn't also feel justified in forcibly removing the man who made it all legal? (on the other hand, many states would quickly make it illegal, causing a very similar problem. . .)


We're just scratching the surface here. If Ron Paul were to make good on his principles and promises, it would jeopardize the position of some very powerful, very shady individuals and entities. He would be a further threat to entities who have long been dependent on the government, from shifty corporations to shiftless individuals, all of whom would be introduced to the absurd idea that Human beings are created equal, and have equally infinite potential, and have a right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness under our limited government and everything else they are capable of (and responsible for) handling for themselves. Who's to say what might happen in the ensuing unrest? He might actually limit the expansion of government and balance the budget! Can you imagine the displeasure of the really powerful people who benefit financially from the interest on our debt, and politically from the blatant purchasing of votes with promises made with the money of others? You don't want to think about it. You don't want to believe that the flagstones of your leftist or rightist ideology are capable of evil. Or maybe you want to believe that the nation and the world would be brought to see the justice and efficiency in the principles of President Paul. The first group is in denial and the second is just plain Utopian (which is to say, stupidly believing in a world that has never and can never exist). Neither belief system will save his life.

Or perhaps we can take comfort in the fact that a principled person with actual ideas could never get elected in this country, or in the fact that a president, once in power, is beholden to so many shadowy forces that he or she is effectively hog-tied (and therefore bound, for instance to keep Gitmo open and send 30,000 extra troops into a doomed foreign war despite promising the exact opposite.) But I say that in this case we must err on the side of caution. We cannot in good conscience sign the death warrant of a national treasure, though it leaves us in political limbo.

There is absolutely NO ONE else to vote for. But don't vote for Ron Paul. Like Hope itself, it may have been the will of the Gods that he remain locked in Pandora's Box.

2 commentaires:

Megan a dit...

Have you been spying on Ben's and my after-the-kids'-bedtime conversations?

s.k.namanny a dit...

The times dictate that many of us think similar thoughts. Or at least, the smart ones.