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Congressman
Ron Paul
Text of Video
Address – Feb.
19, 2007
Thanks for
joining me.
After serious
consideration
with my family,
and in response
to many
requests, I have
agreed to form a
presidential
exploratory
committee, as a
preliminary step
to becoming a
candidate in the
Republican
primary for the
2008 election.
My concerns for
the future of
our country are
deeply held. The
Republican Party
has floundered
in its effort to
shrink the size
of government
and restore our
constitutional
republic.
Instead, in
recent years our
deficits have
exploded,
entitlements are
out of control,
and our personal
liberties are
threatened. We
have embarked on
a dangerous and
expensive
foreign policy,
acting as the
world's
policeman and
nation builder.
Very simply, we
no longer can
afford the
extravagance of
this ever
growing and
intrusive
government, both
at home and
abroad.
Last year alone
our long-term
obligations
increased by
$4.6 trillion
dollars. The
problems seem
overwhelming,
but in reality
they are not
complex. We only
need the will to
go forward with
the solution.
We have lost our
way and strayed
from the free
society our
Founders secured
for us in the
Constitution,
but there's no
reason the
principles that
made us the
greatest nation
ever can't be
restored.
We merely need
to respect and
follow the rule
of law – the
U.S.
Constitution –
and elect
leaders
determined to
stand firm in
its defense.
Liberty once
again must
become more
important to us
than the desire
for security and
material
comfort.
Personal safety
and economic
prosperity can
only come as the
consequence of
liberty. They
cannot be
provided by an
authoritarian
government.
To expect
government to
take care of us
from cradle to
grave undermines
the principles
of liberty.
Returning to the
dark ages of
dictatorship is
no substitute
for resuming the
most modern and
grandest
experiment known
to man –
promoting human
liberty by
strictly
limiting the
arbitrary power
of government.
Political and
economic
conditions today
are at a crucial
crossroads.
A financial
crisis is
looming, and our
foreign policy
of empire
building cannot
last. Both
conditions
threaten our
prosperity,
safety, and
above all, our
liberties. The
foundation for a
police state has
been put in
place, and it's
urgent we
mobilize
resistance
before it's too
late.
But today's
problems need
not lead to
despair. Instead
we must become
energized, and
use this time of
turmoil to offer
the American
people the
solution found
in freedom in
all that we do.
We must reject
the bureaucratic
management of
our lives and
the economy.
We stand on the
threshold of a
true revolution
of ideas. As the
welfare/warfare
state loses its
steam, we now
see how the
seeds of the
freedom movement
over the past 40
years are
starting to bear
fruit.
A nation under
great stress is
ripe for a
change.
A major change
in direction is
not a
theoretical
dream, but
actually quite
possible.
Central planning
is
intellectually
bankrupt – and
it has
bankrupted our
country and
undermined our
moral
principles.
Respect for
individual
liberty and
dignity is the
only answer to
government
force, force
that serves the
politically and
economically
powerful.
Our planners and
rulers are not
geniuses, but
rather
demagogues and
would-be
dictators--always
performing their
tasks with a
cover of
humanitarian
rhetoric.
The collapse of
the Soviet
system came
swiftly and
dramatically,
without a bloody
conflict –
surprising many.
It came as no
surprise,
however, to the
devotees of
freedom who have
understood for
decades that
socialism was
doomed to fail.
Communism, like
all socialism,
failed
intellectually
and failed
practically.
And so too will
the
welfare/warfare
state fail, and
then our cause
will be heard.
The love of
liberty will not
die.
Opportunity is
now at our
doorstep.
We need now only
to mobilize the
army of true
believers to
present the case
for the
principles that
built America,
and can make her
great once
again.
The American
experiment over
the past 200+
years has
provided us with
the greatest
amount of
personal freedom
and subsequent
wealth known in
all of history.
Yet today,
because of our
careless
attitude toward
freedom and the
responsibilities
it requires, we
face a crisis
that everyone
recognizes but
few understand.
A free society
is based on the
key principle
that the
government, the
president, the
Congress, the
courts, and the
bureaucrats are
incapable of
knowing what is
best for each
and every one of
us.
They don't know
how to run the
economy,
regulate our
lives, or manage
a world empire.
A government as
a referee is
proper, but a
government that
uses arbitrary
force to direct
every aspect of
society
threatens
freedom.
Such governments
have failed
thousands of
times over the
centuries.
The time has
come for a
modern approach
to achieving
those values
that all
civilized
societies seek.
Only in a free
society do
individuals have
the best chance
to seek virtue,
strive for
excellence,
improve their
economic
well-being, and
achieve personal
happiness. It is
only through
this personal
effort that
peace and
freedom can be
secured.
The worthy goals
of civilization
can only be
achieved by
freedom loving
individuals.
When government
uses force,
liberty is
sacrificed and
the goals are
lost.
It is freedom
that is the
source of all
creative energy.
If I am to be
your president,
these are the
goals I would
seek.
I reject the
notion that we
need a president
to run our
lives, plan the
economy, or
police the
world.
Our goal always
should be the
preservation of
liberty. It is
much more
important to
protect
individual
liberty and
privacy than to
make government
even more
secretive and
powerful.
These goals are
worth fighting
for.
There is hope
for America.
Please support
me in these
efforts.
Thanks for
listening.
Source:
Ron Paul
For President
Exploratory
Committee |
