Middle Brick Road

Saturday I missed the day of writing, and it was nice, maybe weekends are for relaxing. Saturday night I veg’d out debating online and I was in the middle of responding to the question below when it was getting so long and detailed that I realized I should make this my next post.

I was asked a legitimate, albeit ironic question from someone who does not support Ron Paul. The irony I find in the question is that I was asked whether or not I was a Republican, as I have been deemed a Democrat so many times before.

This is the question:

“So you’re a republican then? Because you are aware that Ron Paul stands with his party on all social & economic issues, & other then his foreign policy stances (which by the way would never happen because he has to work with the congress) he is a dyed in the wool republican. So you’re a republican Kacey? Because Ron Paul certainly is a republican & his record & speeches don’t betray that ideology.

Abortion should be illegal no matter the circumstance.
Businesses should be allowed to discriminate.
Homosexuals should have no rights.
We should be an isolationist country.
We should dismantle the federal government dept. by dept.
Businesses should be permitted to do what they like to employees & the environment without recourse or oversight.

Are these things you actually support? Yes he has a progressive (idealistic) foreign policy & wants to legalize weed, but that is all he has going for him.”

I am a die hard independent. I look at all issues, people and form my conclusions. I have voted for members of nearly every party.

Ron Paul’s policies are sadly misunderstood by many. When I first heard about Ron Paul it was fall of 2007 at the Virginia State Fair. I was in the vendor area and came across the Ron Paul booth when I was approached by a volunteer. As soon as I heard Paul was a Republican, I started to run off and told them there was no way, but I was urged that Ron Paul was different and that I had to check him out. Being the natural investigator that I am, I did and Ron Paul got my vote in the 2008 Primary.

Even still, I voted for Obama, and pushed for him. I was as active for Obama in 2008 election as I am for Ron Paul now. This blog post is my response to the question posed and my attempt to show you the principle of liberty. Please view this short video introduction of liberty, the concept Ron Paul bases his policies and decisions on, before you read the rest of my response to the question.

Ron Paul is a Republican and his personal feelings by and large do to be fair, lean that way. However, his principle of liberty and his libertarian principles do not always apply his policies in the typical Republican fashion. Instead, Paul’s policies revolve around small sensible federal government and returning power and resources to the states.

Ron Paul is personally pro-life, but his policies under the We the People Act would leave things up to the states, individually on all personal issues that were intended to be handled locally, to meet local needs. We are a large country and it is absurd to think that the federal government who is out of touch, has the people’s best interests at heart. Power in the hands of the states is how our government was intended to work. More power in the hands of the people, less power in the hands of the federal government. Ron Paul’s policies follow this logic. I cannot disagree with this logic, it would encourage people to become more active in their local community, to make sure their voices are heard or to relocate where the political majority better suits their belief system. Is that not the reason why we have fifty individual states in the first place?

And as far as the LGBT movement, I support equal rights for everyone, however if you legislate for them like they are special then they will be special, different, etc., The We the People Act should also tackle this issue which would effectively re-enact legislation allowing or disallowing marriage already made in several states. I believe in their rights, but I do not believe that people of a different sexual orientation are special. In fact they are no more special than you or I, they are just people and they should be treated as people, with kindness and compassion. If they have a ceremony uniting them, it seems to me under Ron Paul’s legislation and logic of liberty, that the union would be recognized.

Right or not, businesses DO discriminate today to uphold whatever image they wish to project. I’ve experienced it when attempting to go to an upscale club in Old Town Pasadena with one of my best friends, Nakia. I was absolutely offended, but that establishment was bad-mouthed (the worst kind of publicity) and never got my return business. They didn’t want to let in their establishment, what they thought was a mixed couple. Sure, it pissed me off but do I really want to give ass hats like that my business in the first place? No, I don’t. I’m glad they didn’t let us in just to take our money and judge us all night. Nakia asserts that Old Town has gotten better accepting ‘swag’ in recent years, although I no longer live in the So Cal area so I cannot assert this myself.

Either way the point that the Civil Liberties Act is anything more than just a piece of legislation is moot, paper has no power, if it did people would not be met by police using unnecessary force and violence at Occupy Encampments and Rallies, instead their 1st amendment rights would be recognized. Haven’t seen it? The preceding link offers some examples of the crimes against the 1st Amendment as proof that even our oldest legislation still needs to be protected by the people and means nothing unless we the people enforce it ourselves.

People can and DO refuse to serve people without shirts, shoes, proper attire, affiliations with certain groups such as biker gangs, etc.. Should we also begin to legislate those policies or is it acceptable for a 5 star restaurant to have dress requirements, effectively discriminating against the poor?

Agree with Ron Paul’s policies or not, legislating everything is a slippery slope. The Civil Liberties Act did not magically make everyone get along either. Some businesses chose not to comply, just as some businesses here in Virginia have chosen to find their own unique ways out of a smoking ban or to ignore it altogether.

Changes are made on an personal level. Minds have to be changed, not legislation and Paul seems to understand that. He also understands that forcing someone to do something with their own life or property infringes on their liberty.

Locally there was a mechanic shop in Colonial Heights that had racist items hanging up in the shop. A few years ago a few Virginia State students boycotted the business insisting the signs be taken down, saying they wanted to spend money there but they would not offer their business to the repair shop until the racist material was taken down. It took less than 20 students, but it worked and the shop owner took the racist material down and has not put it back up since, and now the shop owner gets the business from the nearby University. No one had to legislate that the material could not be posted, the will of the people won out.

The Civil Rights Movement is what should not lose credit, especially today. I cannot think of a time where Ron Paul has discredited the movement, only the legislation. In fact Ron Paul calls Martin Luther King Jr. his hero! He believes in leaving things up to the people, I’m not too lazy to be involved and to be honest, I think that is exactly the change that we need. More people involved, and active in their communities, working together and staying INFORMED. That does not mean watching the evening news, it means doing real research and looking at several sources on both sides for the same topic.

And when it comes to hiring workers here in the GOP South I guarantee you there is discrimination. Unfortunately because of the laws, these companies only seem to offer equality. Anyone who deviates from the norm is discriminated against in the workplace, some companies are worse than others, but the practices still exist.

The isolationist point is moot. Saying Ron Paul is an isolationist because he doesn’t want to invade other countries unnecessarily is like saying your neighbor is a hermit because they don’t come bust out your windows every night, climb in your bed and make sure you’re “okay”. Ron Paul’s foreign policy is non-interventionist. Whatever your beliefs are surrounding 9/11, ask yourself why it took nearly a year for Bush to declare war? And who benefited from that war? I didn’t, the people of Iraq didn’t, you didn’t, our liberty didn’t . . . so who did benefit? Oil Subsidies? War profiteers? People seeking to destroy our freedoms little by little, in the name of security? No thank you, I would rather have a President who knows what happens when we unnecessarily attack other countries. Think about the children whose countries are being attacked by U.S. Soldiers. How do you think they will feel about the United States and Americans when they grow up? If we left them, orphans, killed their families, their friends, left them permanently disfigured or without limbs and invaded their nation . . . how do you think they will feel towards us? And what will that mean in twenty years when the children of these nations we have invaded are grown? Solving real problems is one thing, invading other countries based on propaganda and lies is another, what if Ron Paul is Right, and going to war will only destroy us?.

It isn’t rocket science that the federal government is heavily flawed. Dismantling the inefficient agencies run by the federal government is logical, and would be done systematically. Getting rid of things like the IRS, restructuring or ending the Federal Reserve, ending the income tax, ending foreign aid, securing borders and bringing the troops home to do so, repealing the Patriot Act, returning power to the states such as in the 9th and 10th Amendments, abolishing corporate subsidies and forcing big companies to fight in a free market economy without help from the federal government.

Personally, just ending the income tax would fuel local economies . . . in my home alone and mind you after Obama took office my husband and I make nearly $35,000 less than we did three years ago and we are both still working full-time, we are employed, just underemployed. But that income tax would put an extra $600 a month in our house. That is money we could use to eat out, have date nights, leisure time, buy extra stuff, spoil the kids, dogs etc., research shows that most people who earn less than six figures spend all of their money. (Sorry that I don’t have a source for this, but think about your own spending habits here). People spending that money locally all the time would give financial resources through income and property taxes to fund things to suit local needs. That extra money may also be the little extra that many people need to get off government assistance, and if they still need it, what is wrong with seeking it on a local level and through private charities?

Businesses should not be allowed to do what they want to, to employees, but legislation is a piece of paper, it doesn’t stop anything. Hiring immigrants is illegal, but people still hire and exploit these people. Companies like Home Depot and other people who hire part-time workers find ways to avoid paying for healthcare for workers. I worked there in 2001, part-time at 40 hours a week for 11 weeks, on the 12th week I was dropped to less than 20 hours, making me ineligible for full-time status, a raise and benefits . . . the following week, I worked my 40 hours again. The only thing that these companies see and understand is MONEY. They love that stuff, so be cautious who is getting your money. Where do you shop? Who do you buy from? Do they have ethical practices or do the companies exploit their workers?

LEGISLATION is PAPER . . . . exposing these policies and changing our habits, our consumer habits will change these companies and create better policies. If you have not seen it yet I highly recommend the Story of Stuff , figure out where you fit in our economy and make changes. Use your economic voice and buy products from companies with ethical business practices. Write letters, etc. Nothing changes unless WE change. The government does not protect us now. At a federal level in distant Washington D.C. where their only interest is financial gain and remaining in office.  Local, local, local . . . be active, if you have a nearby factory, check them out. Inquire about their practices, if they’re reluctant to tell you what’s going on, they probably have something to hide.

If you’re asking if I believe in fueling local economies with an increased tax base through repeal of the income tax and shrinking down our federal government, who is incapable of looking out for the interests of the people effectively and returning power to state and local governments to handle people’s needs more accurately, then yes, I believe in that.

As far as the general comment saying that Ron Paul, “has a progressive (idealistic) foreign policy & wants to legalize weed, but that is all he has going for him” . . . I hope that after what you’ve read, you see more than that. Ending the drug war has a direct effect on minorities.  Ron Paul understands this. I urge you to watch his statement and come to your own conclusion about Ron Paul.

When it comes to the attacks on Ron Paul as a racist. Please, tell me anyone in the 70+ age group who has never used a racial slur, especially in the South. It doesn’t make it right, but things must also be taken in time and context. Even if Paul wrote the letters which he vehemently denies doing, most were written in the 80′s and 90′s . . . and just to remind you of what was happening then.  Use good judgement from what you’ve read and ask yourself if you think Ron Paul is a racist . . . I cannot make your mind up for you or tell you what to think, I can merely encourage you to do so. To be very fair I am giving you all the pieces of information (which by the way I recommend you check out every link in this post, if you do not, you’re cheating yourself) this whole conversation started with a post that I read. I found it fairly biased and with only a few biased resources and it really angered me until the last two paragraphs. I urge you to read it as you can only think for yourself if you have all the information.

I also urge you to share this post with your friends and to Follow the Middle Brick Road if you like hearing what I have to say.