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It is important for Gaia members who also favor Ron Paul to speak to their Parents and let them know how they feel about subjects such as civil liberties, national debt, war, corporations, and sovereignty.


What is Sovereignty?
Sovereignty is the idea that a country can rule itself however it desires without some other government stepping in to create Taxes (like the British did with early Americans), force rule (Like Rome did with most of Europe, or Khan did with China), or invade (like the Nazis did with France).

The rules of sovereignty are like the rules of Parenting. We may not always agree with parents, but we trust their wisdom and would not want to be given up for adoption, with few exceptions. Having some other country tell you what to do is like having a stranger try to be your Mom or your Dad - unless your existing government is a tyrannical or irresponsible monster, that's not right.

What is Liberty?
Here in New York, we have a thing called the Statue of Liberty. It has the date July 4th 1776 engraved on it, representing the day we declared independence from the rule of the British. Why did we resist the British? Because they wanted us to pay taxes on our products. That tax rate was actually lower than our taxes today.

Liberty is freedom. Liberty is the power to make and act on your choices. Whether it is the ability to choose to Apply to Harvard or the ability of Harvard to choose to say "No", or the choice between apples and oranges, Wheat Bread and White, Paper and Plastic, B or C on the multiple Choice exam - without liberty, what is the point of living?

Imagine if someone tried to tell you how to eat an ice cream cone, how to go to the bathroom, or what car you should buy. Now imagine if it wasn't advice, but orders, with penalties? Many of you were born after many liberties - freedoms - no longer existed.

Let me tell you, I remember a time when recycling bottles and cans was done before recycling bins were manufactured. In those days, people LOVED to recycle because they could earn money by doing so. I personally stripped abandoned copper wire, turned in bottles and cans, and could afford to buy food, toys, or clothing with the same money. Today the money people earn is almost worthless. I recall when bicycle helmets weren't required, and you didn't get a ticket for jaywalking. I recall a time when there was no curfew, and yelling bomb, fire, or terrorist didn't get you sent to a prison. I recall a time when backpacks weren't transparent, when a can opener didn't get you kicked off an airplane, and people smoked in bars away from the fresh air. I recall a time when peanut butter wasn't an allergy, owning land meant OWNING land, and radio shack sold parts for radios. I recall being able to drive a considerable distance and finding a place to camp.

And yet, I didn't have the rights my parents did - they had rifle clubs on campus, camped for free, cut wood and set fires without permits, had cars with no seat belts, guns with no license, and could be on a first name basis with the doctors and police. Being sued was unheard of and taken very seriously.

I would guess my grandparents had more rights than my parents did, and so on, back to the days of pioneers. But something you aught to know. 20, 40, and 60 years ago, these people didn't burn down the whole forest, they didn't go on killing sprees at their schools, they didn't get mindlessly slaughtered in car accidents and riding bicycles, and they didn't die at the age of 30-40 like many experts claim. Most lived over 50 and many over 80 to 90.

Point is, your world will not suddenly explode if you have civil liberties... It didn't end for our grand parents, and it shouldn't end with us.

Oh and by the way, I agree that we should tell our parents. Hey! We might even be able to convert them too Ron Paulinism, I converted my Latin teacher, and he hates politics.

I just posted a link to a video in the video thread about a 14 year old boy that made his dad shift from Guiliani to Ron Paul... very inspiring. Ron Paul even talked about this kid. Great story.

Hubby is working my parents pretty hard and I think Mom is converting to the Cause... she keeps asking me when Paul is coming to Denver (she lives in Golden). Pretty tough sell considering she worked IN the Nixon White House.

You know, about the whole Freedom to Fascism bit-- Russo (who is LP) and Paul were good pals long before making that. Sometime afterward, Russo is said to have been the one who asked Paul to run. What's even weirder is that once Paul really picked up momentum after the Guy Fawkes bomb, Russo quietly passed on. He'd been ill for a while, but it was a little unexpected to those of us here in the LPC. It was like Russo's job was done or whatever.

One last note. Some parents may find the FtF film too much at once to believe, and may dismiss it as anti-government ranting. If you suspect your parent is cynical enough to be in that category, then there are lots of other clips out there on YouTube that you can use to illustrate his plank. He covered that during Leno as I recall, for instance and that might be less threatening to some parents.