Ron Paul continues to be a voice of reason when there are precious few left. Though I don't agree with all of his positions, especially domestic, I do think his take on foreign policy is one hundred per cent spot on. He's one of the few political figures who correctly equates the nonsensical policies (lately exemplified by the almost farcical security scrutiny given airline travelers) with an indefensible empirical foreign policy that is not only bankrupting the country financially but in terms of common sense as well.
Quite simply stated, to paraphrase, the viewpoint is this... if we weren't all over the world fucking with people, they wouldn't be fucking with us. The idea that anybody hates our freedom is ludicrous. What they hate is us meddling in their affairs. What they hate is drone missiles and full on invasions. What they hate is us entering their homes and homelands, doing as we wish, ostensibly for their own good. What they hate is us building military bases that never go away. And as long as we continue these policies, our country will continue to deteriorate, from both outside and inside forces.
To me, this is a no-brainer. Many thinking individuals agree. The majority of Americans think that our involvement in long term overseas military ventures is unsustainable if not flat wrong. And yet, we continue to do it... year after year, generation after generation.
Were Ron Paul a Democrat or Independent, he would be railed at by the "right" as being un-patriotic, if not un-American. However, being that he's a Republican, and from Texas to boot, they really can't accuse him of such. The "left" pretty much ignores him as well, as he is, after all, a member of the ostensibly "enemy" camp. And still, whenever given the opportunity, he continues to point out the glaringly obvious reality that the messy bed we are currently tossing and turning in as a nation was in fact made by us.
Does this give hope that voices of reason will prevail? Not really. There are too many voices, both shrill and subtle, that wish the unreasonableness to continue. Because it is, after all, hugely profitable. But it is nice, even blatantly good, to hear at least one voice of truth in a cacophony of lies and half truths from both sides of the political aisle.
Glad to hear that a Republican is thinking level headed. Kudos to Ron Paul. Profitable to set up bases in other countries and for access to more oil? Is that why we keep doing such?
ReplyDeleteActually, Ron Paul is more a Libertarian than a Republican--at least he was when I lived in the Houston area and he was my Congressman. I think he even ran for president once as a Libertarian (obviously, he didn't win). It certainly will be interesting in Washington now that his son Rand is in the Senate. Hmmm...too bad he's considered to be too far off the beaten path to have a legitimate shot at being Speaker of the House.
ReplyDelete