Saturday, October 6, 2007

The Temptatious Dangers of Ron Paul



Many months ago I fell under the allure of Ron Paul -- the Republican Hero of the Internet. With all the support coming from sites such as YouTube and Digg, it was difficult not to notice the sensation which was taking American apathy by storm. People who once saw the government as a breeding ground for corruption and perversion began waving the Republican flag in opposition to the Totalitarian ruler at the helm of our Executive Branch. It wasn't until his appearance on the Colbert Report that I began to question the wisdom of a "Strict Constitutionalist."

Steven ended by naming a variety of organizations which Ron Paul responded to by raising his hand in support of their abolishment. Department of Education? Tear it down! Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, the IRS: ABSOLUTELY! (Raising his hand even higher to the amusement of the crowd.) UNICEF? Well, he would tear that one down last. Apparently the rights and well being of our children aren't so high on Ron Paul's list as to warrant their destruction right from the start. Really shows the compassion he shows for America's future.

In the immortally misquoted words of Bill Hicks: "The Anti-Marketing Market is a Huge Market!" So many Americans have become so overwhelmingly disenchanted by the corruption of the American Government that they've adopted a "Tear It All Down" mentality. Furthermore, the rising prices of every aspect of our lives have left many without the ability to keep up with all the new iPod models. These two attitudes have created an "Anti-Government" market which seeks to destroy any regulations that carry the stink of Socialism, selling the country instead on the benefits of Capitalism.

What surprises me is the fact that so many have failed to recognize the effects of Privatization -- what Noam Chomsky and the Bolivarian Revolution refers to as NeoLiberalism. Once our Oil and Energy were sold to private institutions the prices began to soar. As the country continues to decline we see the rise in Privatization in our roads, our schools, our medicine -- everything a society needs to both survive and prosper. Instead of control over these vital organs resting in the hands of the people, Ron Paul advocates issuing command to the Corporations, depending on the power of the dollar as the great equalizer.

To entrust the Almighty Dollar in place of our vote is to welcome a class division unlike any we've seen in this country, where the wealthy wield the power of governments (with enormous economies and privately funded militaries). While your dollar may carry enormous influence over McDonald's Dollar Menu, it won't mean squat when you go to fill up your gas tank, or pay your electricity bill, or post on the Internet where usage requirements prohibit the slander of your service provider, assuming you're able to afford them.

In order to get past the temptatious dangers of Ron Paul, you need something that he clearly rails again: A Plan. The Founders had a plan when they Drafted the Constitution. They knew that a single document would not protect our Democracy alone, that its Citizens would be required to be vigilant, and make the necessary amendments to protect them from the rich and the powerful who wield enough influence to shackle the people in the shadow of the Kings they fought so hard to overthrow. Tearing everything down is not the answer. Building a better tomorrow is.

Recognize that the Cold War has evolved into a War against the People. Every Democratic state our government has overthrown was an attempt to keep control over the resources out of the People's hands. Time and time again the Military Industrial Corporations have funded military dictators by supplying them with weapons and money, only to turn around around "free" the people by unleashing the American Government. We're currently caught in this same war, with the same players fighting for the same resources.

Allow me set the record straight by highlighting the fact that a Democracy is "by the people, for the people." This huge conspiracy that the eradication of Government is the only path to Freedom is a myth. The Government is Our Voice! We must be vigilant to make our vote count. Relying on the dollar to represent us is absolute insanity! The same Government you fear meddling in all your personal affairs would be replaced by a Corporation which dictates your rights to you. Such a choice would effectively mean the end of Democracy as we know it.

The solution is Open Source. Do NOT vote to silence your voice in Government, but instead: Show your support for the system that replaced the backbone of the Internet, the Internet Browser, the corrupt channels of media, the music and entertainment industry with Open Source. This is our revolution: The Open Source Revolution. We must carry this to the highest levels of Government in order to ensure that the People are in control, NOT the Corporations. We must be strong and enact the Open Source philosophy on our Constitution in order to ensure that Democracy remains "by the people, for the people."

11 comments:

ilovetheconstitution said...

This article is ridiculous. What you seem to not realize is that the corporations are the ones who are making the rules with regulations to keep the competition out.

We have a government who works for the corporations and not the people. That is corporatism, or facism.

Unknown said...

I agree with you completely (with the exception of your first line).

The solution is not to roll back Democracy 200 years but to advance it by Opening the Source to the people.

Texas Little El said...

Interesting that you missed the mark so completely.

Look now at the amount of money that PAC's and Lobbyist give to campaigns.
Do you think it is only happenstance they give so much to politicians and don't expect anything back?
Of course they get something back and are willing to pay big bucks for that access.

Give me a break, Fascism, which is what our country has right now, is what you are concerned about and yet it is already here.

In Texas, Governor Rick Perry attempted to ram down the throats of Texans a drug designed only for young women to prevent HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) making it mandatory for my daughter to have this vaccine even if I didn't want her too. Guess why? Corporate influence via campaign contributions.

Go to the www.fec.gov and look at how much money, Clinton, Obama and Edwards got from PAC's and Lobbyist. Or check on the amount of money Giuliani or Thompson got.

Heck Fred Thompson WAS one of those lobbyists.

Fascism becomes more difficult when you have to deal with governments on a state by state basis.

By reducing the amount of money that the federal government can take from the tax payers the less incentive the Lobbyist have of influencing them.

I don't know who you listened to on the otherside of this issue, but if you think that Ron Paul is handing our nation over to corporations, you missed they boat. They have that access now and will fight him to prevent his becoming President.

Watch in the next two months as certain businesses start the cry that Ron Paul is anti american, or something to that effect.

Unknown said...

I'm not advocating any character assassination on the part of Ron Paul. He has a history of cutting the most fat from Government as any modern politician could claim.

However, it's irresponsible to take his good nature to the extreme, where 200+ years of Democratic advancement would be systematically undone in response to the overly pervasive corruption.

I'll say it again: Open Source is the Solution. Allow the people access to every level so that "corporate influence" would require that everyone gets their own private leer jet.

KineticReaction said...

You're absolutely wrong, with a constitutional republic, where everything is in the hands of private individuals (i.e. schools, hospitals, etc), but the law is still democratically created, the people retain full rights.

THe key is the law and police, as long as they're created democratically and not by private hands, then justice will be blind and impartial.

KineticReaction said...

"This huge conspiracy that the eradication of Government is the only path to Freedom is a myth. The Government is Our Voice!"

You're so wrong! It's actually shocking! Government is the institution of force and coercion. Government is the mechanism by the which people put restrictive bounds on each other. When people use government to limit each other's liberty (example: people voting in a government that imprisons other people for smoking marijuana, or ingesting cancer treatments not yet gone through the FDA approval process), that is evil: that is tyranny.

Since government is the institution of force and coercion, it must be limited. Taxes are the greatest form of tyranny there is. For a government to take away 30% of the fruits of your labor is a gross infringment of your liberty.

Unknown said...

"Since government is the institution of force and coercion, it must be limited."

If you're not aware of what's being done to you: the Corporations are currently promoting a number of presidential options to see which sells better to the general public.

However, you're not considering the Open Source solution. Instead, you're falling into the "Anti-Marketing Market" which makes Ron Paul so appealing.

As the voice of the people we must work to support an Open Source government, along with the control an Open Source government has over the increasingly more powerful Corporations.

To hand over the most critical elements of our society to the likes of Microsoft and Wal-Mart is absolute insanity.

KineticReaction said...

"If you're not aware of what's being done to you: the Corporations are currently promoting a number of presidential options to see which sells better to the general public."

Corporations have a right to promote anything they want. Corporations are merely a coop made up of a group of people, and since people have a right to freedom, they have a right to make any social arrangement they wish, including a corporation, and through it engage in any non-coercive business activity or campaigning they wish.

It is up to the people to stay informed and not be misled by selfish political propaganda, and instead support politicians that limit government (coercion).

Unknown said...

"Corporations are merely a coop made up of a group of people, and since people have a right to freedom."

Democracy was intended to give the power to the individual so that they would no longer be subjugated to the control of the rich and powerful.

We used to call them Monarchies, but in today's world it is the Corporations who exert pressure on entire nations of people -- a far cry from the individuals you compare their rights to.

KineticReaction said...

"Democracy was intended to give the power to the individual so that they would no longer be subjugated to the control of the rich and powerful."

Yes, that is exactly why I wrote:

"Corporations are merely a coop made up of a group of people, and since people have a right to freedom, they have a right to make any social arrangement they wish, including a corporation, and through it engage in any non-coercive business activity or campaigning they wish."

Note the term "non-coercive business activities".

If the activities of the corporations wade into the realm of coercion or fraud, then it is the job of the democratically appointed justice system that to use the coercive powers of the state to punish the corporation and force it to give compensation to the victim.

As long as the activities of corporations are non-coercive, they should not be interfered with.

Unknown said...

I take it you've missed the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.