Farewell to Congress
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Transcript
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 manufacturer 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 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.
Ron
Paul
Full Transcript via Campaign
For Liberty
Full video of Paul's address, courtesy of C-SPAN, is
posted here:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/ron-paul-departs-with-our-c...
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