bobbyw24
03-03-2008, 06:10 AM
http://www.nolanchart.com/article2998.html
The Evolution of the Ron Paul Movement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. What we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by MikeFoster
(Libertarian)
For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. I myself have felt almost excluded because of the push to work from within the Republican party. I then thought about all those Paul Patriots who's States have not yet had their primaries. They may feel excluded too. Even those who are working so hard to be Paul Republicans -- they may also be feeling it. I then realized that what we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.
A Bug in the Virtual Machine
The suggestion that the Movement is falling apart is infecting many of us like a virus, and affecting us deeply. Imagine if, in the MSM as well as on the web, there were tens of thousands of reports of a new, infectious flu virus and the evidence disproving these reports was not reported. How many people do you think would suddenly contract this flu? I think there would be many.
We are not seeing the "big picture". There are many wonderful things happening within the Movement, but it takes enormous effort and those individuals don't have time to blog and constantly chat about what they are doing. So now it is time to see this virus for what it is: hypnotic suggestion. Let us debug this "program".
Goals and the Means of Achieving Them
In the early stages of the Movement we had one goal, and we generally agreed on the means by which to accomplish the goal. Now things are different. The goal is more abstract and the means much more numerous. Yet I think we all can agree on an over-all goal. If I might presume to paraphrase it, it is to so affect the thinking of individuals that they come to love and cherish the ideas of Liberty and Constitutionalism.
No one person, nor group of people, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to join the Republican party, nor the Libertarian party, nor any other political organization. We may as well accept this, get over it, and push on. No one, not even Ron Paul, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to walk the same path to the goal. But it seems a simple fact is being over-looked: we all have basically the same goal! Do we all have to walk the same path to get to that goal? No! Besides, it is simply not going to happen.
Ron Paul supporters initially came from a wide spectrum of political thought: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, etc. It is more natural for each of us, after having been seeded with "Pauleolibertarianism", to take this seed back into the political group from which we came. In this way the Message of Liberty and Constitutionalism will have the broadest effect over time.
Our Greater Bond
Some people may choose to work from within the Republican party. Some people may choose to work from within the Libertarian, Constitution or other parties. Some people may choose to completely ignore political parties! But all of us, as the Ron Paul Movement, have common goals. Our greater bond is in these common goals, not in their methods of implementation.
We must continue to support each other, regardless of political affiliation, because this Movement is more than a mere political movement. Yes, we need more Paul Republicans, and we also need more Paul Democrats, more Paul Libertarians and more Paul Independents.
A Call for Unity
I am not talking about forming yet another political organization, even if it claims to be a non-partisan "coalition". There are already too many political organizations, they have not fulfilled their promises and they are much too expensive. But this is just my opinion.
As for Ron Paul supporters: Let's support each other! Restore the "out of the box" thinking that characterized the early grassroots movement and characterizes some of the innovative initiatives currently taking shape. We have the same goal in sight! Let's agree to disagree on the "path" toward our common goal.
In many ways Ron Paul's Presidential bid has been incredibly successful. Was that success due to any particular political organization? No, it was not. I submit that this Movement is not a Revolution, but rather it is an Evolution. This Evolution requires radical thinking -- no less radical than that thinking which has brought us to this point.
We are not fracturing -- we are evolving.
-- From the Heart of Dixie
The Evolution of the Ron Paul Movement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. What we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by MikeFoster
(Libertarian)
For those of us who have intently followed every single Ron Paul-related article, blog-post and comment, it may appear that the Movement is fracturing. I myself have felt almost excluded because of the push to work from within the Republican party. I then thought about all those Paul Patriots who's States have not yet had their primaries. They may feel excluded too. Even those who are working so hard to be Paul Republicans -- they may also be feeling it. I then realized that what we are seeing is not fracturing, but something much more natural.
A Bug in the Virtual Machine
The suggestion that the Movement is falling apart is infecting many of us like a virus, and affecting us deeply. Imagine if, in the MSM as well as on the web, there were tens of thousands of reports of a new, infectious flu virus and the evidence disproving these reports was not reported. How many people do you think would suddenly contract this flu? I think there would be many.
We are not seeing the "big picture". There are many wonderful things happening within the Movement, but it takes enormous effort and those individuals don't have time to blog and constantly chat about what they are doing. So now it is time to see this virus for what it is: hypnotic suggestion. Let us debug this "program".
Goals and the Means of Achieving Them
In the early stages of the Movement we had one goal, and we generally agreed on the means by which to accomplish the goal. Now things are different. The goal is more abstract and the means much more numerous. Yet I think we all can agree on an over-all goal. If I might presume to paraphrase it, it is to so affect the thinking of individuals that they come to love and cherish the ideas of Liberty and Constitutionalism.
No one person, nor group of people, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to join the Republican party, nor the Libertarian party, nor any other political organization. We may as well accept this, get over it, and push on. No one, not even Ron Paul, will be able to convince ALL Ron Paul supporters to walk the same path to the goal. But it seems a simple fact is being over-looked: we all have basically the same goal! Do we all have to walk the same path to get to that goal? No! Besides, it is simply not going to happen.
Ron Paul supporters initially came from a wide spectrum of political thought: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, etc. It is more natural for each of us, after having been seeded with "Pauleolibertarianism", to take this seed back into the political group from which we came. In this way the Message of Liberty and Constitutionalism will have the broadest effect over time.
Our Greater Bond
Some people may choose to work from within the Republican party. Some people may choose to work from within the Libertarian, Constitution or other parties. Some people may choose to completely ignore political parties! But all of us, as the Ron Paul Movement, have common goals. Our greater bond is in these common goals, not in their methods of implementation.
We must continue to support each other, regardless of political affiliation, because this Movement is more than a mere political movement. Yes, we need more Paul Republicans, and we also need more Paul Democrats, more Paul Libertarians and more Paul Independents.
A Call for Unity
I am not talking about forming yet another political organization, even if it claims to be a non-partisan "coalition". There are already too many political organizations, they have not fulfilled their promises and they are much too expensive. But this is just my opinion.
As for Ron Paul supporters: Let's support each other! Restore the "out of the box" thinking that characterized the early grassroots movement and characterizes some of the innovative initiatives currently taking shape. We have the same goal in sight! Let's agree to disagree on the "path" toward our common goal.
In many ways Ron Paul's Presidential bid has been incredibly successful. Was that success due to any particular political organization? No, it was not. I submit that this Movement is not a Revolution, but rather it is an Evolution. This Evolution requires radical thinking -- no less radical than that thinking which has brought us to this point.
We are not fracturing -- we are evolving.
-- From the Heart of Dixie