RonPaulforPresident2008.com Blog

Ron Paul Supporters,

Some of us have been supporting the Ron Paul campaign for many months. Others have been doing so for longer. Early on we saw that Ron Paul was the ideal candidate and are one chance to completely change the direction of the country. Ron Paul stood for constitutionalism and the libertarian values we understand and love. I know many of us lost hope in the political system long ago, but we thought we’d give it one more fight. Supporting Ron Paul was not just about pride and rational self-interest. Ron Paul rallies were always fun and meaningful. Searching for Ron Paul on Google and YouTube became an obsession. We always had hope in the campaign because we knew Ron Paul made so much sense. We thought to ourselves that all we had to do was convince the media he was a mainstream candidate. Once we had media support, voters would flock to our campaign like sheep. We never got mainstream support. Conspiracy? I do not know. Perhaps the media figured no one cared about Ron Paul. Perhaps it was not economical to cover Ron Paul because the vast majority of people were more interested in other candidates. While Ron Paul’s message is not complicated, I think we need to remember that the majority of voters do not place political philosophy as a priority when it comes to voting. If you do not believe me, talk to your peers about Ron Paul. Purely rational arguments do not go far with most people. Why do people support Barak Obama? He is hip and a good speaker. Obama does not campaign on a philosophy like Ron Paul. Obama says what people want to hear. He makes people feel good. He speaks to the herd. I know it is sometimes a rude awaking for some of us, but Ron Paul’s message is radical compared to the status quo. It is too different. The problems are country faces currently do not directly influence the lives of the American public. They are too abstract for ordinary people.
In Friedrich Nietzsche’s work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Zarathustra lives in solitude for years by himself in the wilderness. One day Zarathustra realizes that he desires to spread his wisdom to the masses. However, the wisdom he desires to share challenges the conventional values of the public. People laugh at him without understanding any of his arguments. They ridicule him. They call him crazy. Zarathustra is told by a jester that he is lucky that he has been written off as a joke. Otherwise, he would be in physical danger. Zarathustra challenged their foundational views. Ron Paul does the same when he challenges the convictions of “conservatives.” Libertarian values have been lost in American politics. Zarathustra quickly learns that there is little point trying to convince the herd of his new found wisdom. They are already lost. Instead, Zarathustra speaks only to companions who have freed themselves from the conventional beliefs of the herd.
I say this not to discourage Ron Paul supporters, but to inspire and redirect our efforts. We have accomplished so much in this campaign. We have gone so far. We set our sights high, maybe too high. Many of us had our doubts, but we still jumped to the challenge. Together as individualists, we hoped to change the direction of the most powerful political machine in the world. We ignored the realists who claimed we had no chance. We stood proud against the jesters who ridiculed our ideas because they were different. We knew deep down our ideas were the only realistic solution for our country’s woes. We may be small in numbers, but all of us know how strong our fellowship has become. No other candidate rallied so much grass roots and activist support. Alas, all of our efforts appear to be in vain because Ron Paul’s support at the polls is said to be low.
The election is not over, and our movement has only just begun. While many of us are slowly preparing ourselves for a loss in this election, we must not show weakness. Many people expect and hope the Ron Paul Revolution will fade away. They are in for a major disappointment. Many of us are young and energetic. In time, we will slowly infiltrate the party. They will not be able to stop us. We are younger, more educated, and more dedicated. We have shown that we rule the internet. Television is a declining media source. The time of the baby boomer generation is coming to a close. Soon it will be our time. This is our will to power. We want a say in our future. This is why many of us supported the campaign so strongly. Our elders did not have the luxury of the internet. The internet, as we know, is extremely powerful. We have so much information available to us. We refuse to blindly follow our political leaders. This will be our country soon. The GOP is scared of us young people. We are bold, outgoing, and blunt. We have all seen the look on the faces of the GOP base when we show up to rally Ron Paul. I remember the Republican straw poll at the Illinois state fair. It was a rainy summer day. Romney bused in supporters from all over Illinois. The Giuliani campaign showed up with four interns. To the surprise of the Illinois Republicans, the fair was flooded with Ron Paul supporters. We proudly marched and chanted through the fair. Some people thought we were crazy, others thought we were a cult, but we did not care. Unlike most of our peers, we do not jump on the bandwagon. We are skeptical of the bandwagon. We are proud to make our own decisions and create our own values. We support Ron Paul because he supports us. We must march with Ron Paul till the end. We must stay organized and support everyone who stands up for our ideals. Never show weakness. Some Ron Paul supporters have strayed because they think it is the realistic choice to support the lesser of two evils. We must encourage them to rejoin us and welcome them back. Our campaign has just begun.
Michael
Ron Paul Supporter