FrankRep
05-14-2011, 01:47 PM
http://thenewamerican.com/images/stories2011/08aMay/ronpaulgreenville-t-ap.001.jpg
A recent article indicted Ron Paul for his opposition to the federal War on Drugs, as articulated during his candidates' debate in Greenville, S.C.
Article Indicts Ron Paul for His Opposition to the "War on Drugs" (http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7466-article-indicts-ron-paul-for-his-opposition-to-the-qwar-on-drugsq)
Joe Wolverton, II | The New American (http://thenewamerican.com/)
13 May 2011
...
Earlier this week, an article (http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/columnists/article/Ron-Paul-favors-legalizing-heroin-1374192.php) was published by My San Antonio online with a provocative headline meant to recriminate Dr. Paul for his belief that the “war on drugs” is unconstitutional and contrary to the timeless principles of liberty upon which it was formed.
The headline read: “Ron Paul Favors Legalizing Heroin.” Despite the author’s obvious attempt to indict Paul as some sort of immoral proponent of drug addiction or the drug trade that supplies it, it is certain that the obstetrician-turned-lawmaker would plead guilty to the charges leveled against him.
...
Dr. Paul’s response to this very common criticism of his stance on this volatile issue is again more substantial than the author admits. In fairness, perhaps the author of the article didn’t read the very logical and liberty-based defense of his position given by Dr. Paul in his newest book, Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145550145X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=145550145X). In this illuminating and unmatched apology of liberty, Paul analogizes the failure of the “war on drugs” to eradicate the drug trade or the plague of addiction to the outcome of the prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th Century:
Alcohol prohibition was destined to wreak havoc on the American people. It bred lawlessness and underworld criminal syndicates, which made huge profits. Prohibiting any desired substance inevitably leads to a black market, as history has shown countless times, and never achieves its goal of eliminating the use.
Furthermore:
Those who abuse alcohol and suffer disease or addiction, not the government or taxpayers, are responsible for their own actions.
And there’s the rub! Those who are horrified by the suggestion that drugs should be legalized, whether tacitly or passively, advocate the substitution of the government’s will for a person’s own freedom of choice. The most fundamental tenet of the principle of liberty is that one is responsible for his own choices, as well as for accepting the consequences of those actions. The prohibition of dangerous substances, alcohol in the 1920s-1930s and drugs today, is founded upon the philosophical base that common men and women are likely to make poor choices and they would benefit from having the eye of a paternalistic government looking over their shoulder to keep them from hurting themselves.
This policy, no matter how noble the underlying intent of those who endorse it, robs people of the liberty given to them by God and trains them to always look to government for the nod of approval or the rod of discipline for every act.
....
Full Story:
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7466-article-indicts-ron-paul-for-his-opposition-to-the-qwar-on-drugsq
A recent article indicted Ron Paul for his opposition to the federal War on Drugs, as articulated during his candidates' debate in Greenville, S.C.
Article Indicts Ron Paul for His Opposition to the "War on Drugs" (http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7466-article-indicts-ron-paul-for-his-opposition-to-the-qwar-on-drugsq)
Joe Wolverton, II | The New American (http://thenewamerican.com/)
13 May 2011
...
Earlier this week, an article (http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/columnists/article/Ron-Paul-favors-legalizing-heroin-1374192.php) was published by My San Antonio online with a provocative headline meant to recriminate Dr. Paul for his belief that the “war on drugs” is unconstitutional and contrary to the timeless principles of liberty upon which it was formed.
The headline read: “Ron Paul Favors Legalizing Heroin.” Despite the author’s obvious attempt to indict Paul as some sort of immoral proponent of drug addiction or the drug trade that supplies it, it is certain that the obstetrician-turned-lawmaker would plead guilty to the charges leveled against him.
...
Dr. Paul’s response to this very common criticism of his stance on this volatile issue is again more substantial than the author admits. In fairness, perhaps the author of the article didn’t read the very logical and liberty-based defense of his position given by Dr. Paul in his newest book, Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145550145X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=145550145X). In this illuminating and unmatched apology of liberty, Paul analogizes the failure of the “war on drugs” to eradicate the drug trade or the plague of addiction to the outcome of the prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th Century:
Alcohol prohibition was destined to wreak havoc on the American people. It bred lawlessness and underworld criminal syndicates, which made huge profits. Prohibiting any desired substance inevitably leads to a black market, as history has shown countless times, and never achieves its goal of eliminating the use.
Furthermore:
Those who abuse alcohol and suffer disease or addiction, not the government or taxpayers, are responsible for their own actions.
And there’s the rub! Those who are horrified by the suggestion that drugs should be legalized, whether tacitly or passively, advocate the substitution of the government’s will for a person’s own freedom of choice. The most fundamental tenet of the principle of liberty is that one is responsible for his own choices, as well as for accepting the consequences of those actions. The prohibition of dangerous substances, alcohol in the 1920s-1930s and drugs today, is founded upon the philosophical base that common men and women are likely to make poor choices and they would benefit from having the eye of a paternalistic government looking over their shoulder to keep them from hurting themselves.
This policy, no matter how noble the underlying intent of those who endorse it, robs people of the liberty given to them by God and trains them to always look to government for the nod of approval or the rod of discipline for every act.
....
Full Story:
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/7466-article-indicts-ron-paul-for-his-opposition-to-the-qwar-on-drugsq