Americans who are crying out for answers and demanding an end to Washington's hegemony --- need to clean house in DC asap by any means necessary
On Apr 24, 1:38 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > Liberty DefinedBy Ron Paul > Published 04/15/11The following is the Introduction toLiberty Defined, Ron > Paul's newest book, to be released on April 19, 2011America's history and > political ethos are all about liberty. The Declaration of Independence > declares that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable > rights, but notice how both life and the pursuit of happiness also depend on > liberty as a fundamental bedrock of our country. We use the word almost as a > cliche. But do we know what it means? Can we recognize it when we see it? > More importantly, can we recognize the opposite of liberty when it is sold to > us as a form of freedom? > Liberty means to exercise human rights in any manner a person chooses so long > as it does not interfere with the exercise of the rights of others. This > means, above all else, keeping government out of our lives. Only this path > leads to the unleashing of human energies that build civilization, provide > security, generate wealth, and protect the people from systematic rights > violations. In this sense, only liberty can truly ward off tyranny, the great > and eternal foe of mankind. > The definition of liberty I use is the same one that was accepted by Thomas > Jefferson and his generation. It is the understanding derived from the great > freedom tradition, for Jefferson himself took his understanding from John > Locke (1632-1704). I use the term “liberal” without irony or contempt, for > the liberal tradition in the true sense, dating from the late Middle Ages > until the early part of the twentieth century,1 was devoted to freeing > society from the shackles of the state. This is an agenda I embrace, and one > that I believe all Americans should embrace. > To believe in liberty is not to believe in any particular social and economic > outcome. It is to trust in the spontaneous order that emerges when the state > does not intervene in human volition and human cooperation. It permits people > to work out their problems for themselves, build lives for themselves, take > risks and accept responsibility for the results, and make their own decisions. > Do our leaders in Washington believe in liberty? They sometimes say they do. > I don't think they are telling the truth. The existence of the wealth- > extracting leviathan state in Washington, DC, a cartoonishly massive > machinery that no one can control and yet few ever seriously challenge, a > monster that is a constant presence in every aspect of our lives, is proof > enough that our leaders do not believe. Neither party is truly dedicated to > the classical, fundamental ideals that gave rise to the American Revolution. > Of course, the costs of this leviathan are incalculably large. The twentieth > century endured two world wars, a worldwide depression, and a forty- five- > year "Cold War" with two superpowers facing off with tens of thousands of > intercontinental missiles armed with nuclear warheads. And yet the threat of > government today, all over the world, may well present a greater danger than > anything that occurred in the twentieth century. We are policed everywhere we > go: work, shopping, home, and church. Nothing is private anymore: not > property, not family, not even our houses of worship. We are encouraged to > spy on each other and to stand passively as government agents scan us, harass > us, and put us in our place day after day. If you object, you are put on a > hit list. If you fight to reveal the truth, as WikiLeaks or other websites > have done, you are targeted and can be crushed. Sometimes it seems like we > are living in a dystopian novel like 1984 or Brave New World, complete with > ever less economic freedom. Some will say that this is hyperbole; others will > understand exactly what I'm talking about. > What is at stake is the American dream itself, which in turn is wrapped up > with our standard of living. Too often, we underestimate what the phrase > "standard of living" really means. In my mind, it deals directly with all > issues that affect our material well-being, and therefore affects our outlook > on life itself: whether we are hopeful or despairing, whether we expect > progression or regression, whether we think our children will be better off > or worse off than we are. All of these considerations go to the heart of the > idea of happiness. The phrase “standard of living” comprises nearly all we > expect out of life on this earth. It is, simply, how we are able to define > our lives. > Our standards of living are made possible by the blessed institution of > liberty. When liberty is under attack, everything we hold dear is under > attack. Governments, by their very nature, notoriously compete with liberty, > even when the stated purpose for establishing a particular government is to > protect liberty. > Take the United States, for example. Our country was established with the > greatest ideals and respect for individual freedom ever known. Yet look at > where we are today: runaway spending and uncontrollable debt; a monstrous > bureaucracy regulating our every move; total disregard for private property, > free markets, sound money, and personal privacy; and a foreign policy of > military expansionism. The restraints placed on our government in the > Constitution by the Founders did not work. Powerful special interests rule, > and there seems to be no way to fi ght against them. While the middle class > is being destroyed, the poor suffer, the justly rich are being looted, and > the unjustly rich are getting richer. The wealth of the country has fallen > into the hands of a few at the expense of the many. Some say this is because > of a lack of regulations on Wall Street, but that is not right. The root of > this issue reaches far deeper than that. > The threat to liberty is not limited to the United States. Dollar hegemony > has globalized the crisis. Nothing like this has ever happened before. All > economies are interrelated and dependent on the dollar's maintaining its > value while at the same time the endless expansion of the dollar money supply > is expected to bail out everyone. > This dollar globalization is made more dangerous by nearly all governments > acting irresponsibly by expanding their powers and living beyond their means. > Worldwide debt is a problem that will continue to grow if we continue on this > path. Yet all governments, and especially ours, do not hesitate to further > expand their powers at the expense of liberty in a futile effort to force an > outcome of their design on us. They simply expand and plummet further into > debt. > Understanding how governments always compete with liberty and destroy > progress, creativity, and prosperity is crucial to our effort to reverse the > course on which we find ourselves. The contest between abusive government > power and individual freedom is an age- old problem. The concept of liberty, > recognized as a natural right, has required thousands of years to be > understood by the masses in reaction to the tyranny imposed by those whose > only desire is to rule over others and live off their enslavement. > This conflict was understood by the defenders of the Roman Republic, the > Israelites of the Old Testament, the rebellious barons of 1215 who demanded > the right of habeas corpus, and certainly by the Founders of this country, > who imagined the possibility of a society without kings and despots and > thereby established a framework that has inspired liberation movements ever > since. It is understood by growing numbers of Americans who are crying out > for answers and demanding an end to Washington's hegemony over the country > and the world. > And yet even among the friends of liberty, many people are deceived into > believing that government can make them safe from all harm, provide fairly > distributed economic security, and improve individual moral behavior. If the > government is granted a monopoly on the use of force to achieve these goals, > history shows that that power is always abused. Every single time. > Over the centuries, progress has been made in understanding the concept of > individual liberty and the need to constantly remain vigilant in order to > limit government's abuse of its powers. Though steady progress has been made, > periodic setbacks and stagnations have occurred. For the past one hundred > years, the United States and most of the world have witnessed a setback for > the cause of liberty. Despite all the advances in technology, despite a more > refi ned understanding of the rights of minorities, despite all the economic > advances, the individual has far less protection against the state than a > century ago. > Since the beginning of the last century, many seeds of destruction have been > planted that are now maturing into a systematic assault on our freedoms. With > a horrendous financial and currency crisis both upon us and looming into the > future as far as the eye can see, it has become quite apparent that the > national debt is unsustainable, liberty is threatened, and the people's anger > and fears are growing. Most importantly, it is now clear that government > promises and panaceas are worthless. Government has once again failed and the > demand for change is growing louder by the day. Just witness the dramatic > back- and- forth swings of the parties in power. > The only thing that the promises of government did was to delude the people > into a false sense of security. Complacency and mistrust generated a > tremendous moral hazard, causing dangerous behavior by a large number of > people. Self-reliance and individual responsibility were replaced by > organized thugs who weaseled their way into achieving control over the > process whereby the looted wealth of the country was distributed. > The choice we now face: further steps toward authoritarianism or a renewed > effort in promoting the cause of liberty. There is no third option. This > course must incorporate a modern and more sophisticated understanding of the > magnificence of the market economy, especially the moral and practical > urgency of monetary reform. The abysmal shortcomings of a government power > that undermines the creative genius of free minds and private property must > be fully understood. > This conflict between government and liberty, brought to a boiling point by > the world's biggest bankruptcy in history, has generated the angry protests > that have spontaneously broken out around the country -- and the world. The > producers are rebelling and the recipients of largess are angry and restless. > The crisis demands an intellectual revolution. Fortunately, this revolution > is under way, and if one earnestly looks for it, it can be found. > Participation in it is open to everyone. Not only have our ideas of liberty > developed over centuries, they are currently being eagerly debated, and a > modern, advanced understanding of the concept is on the horizon. The > Revolution is alive and well. > The idea of this book is not to provide a blueprint for the future or an > all-encompassing defense of a libertarian program. What I offer here are > thoughts on a series of controversial topics that tend to confuse people, and > these are interpreted in light of my own experience and my thinking. I > present not final answers but rather guideposts for thinking seriously about > these topics. I certainly do not expect every reader to agree with my > beliefs, but I do hope that I can inspire serious, fundamental, and > independent- minded thinking and debate on them. > Above all, the theme is liberty. The goal is liberty. The results of liberty > are all the things we love, none of which can be finally provided by > government. We must have the opportunity to provide them for ourselves, as > individuals, as families, as a society, and as a country. Off we go: A to > Z.http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1413 -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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