The Significance of December 16th
234 years ago, this December 16th, American colonists placed over 300 casks and over 40 tons of tea, which they were unjustly taxed on through the Stamp Act, into Boston Harbor. On the anniversary of this heroic event this year-several thousand Ron Paul supporters will place millions of dollars worth of cash, which they are unjustly taxed on through the Federal Income Tax and the ever-evasive Inflation Tax (which, as Doctor Paul says, no one talks about) into his very own campaign fund. Both actions precipitate a revolution of freedom that will change not only American, but Human History—forever!
I was talking to my fellow campaign volunteer-Bob, on November 5th, our first big fundraiser. I said to him: “Did you see his latest fundraising numbers on the website?” He replied “yeah, I checked this morning after I donated-it’s what-two and a half million?” I stared in awe at the screen-it was about five and a half million-midday! I informed him and we both knew we were experiencing history first-hand.
As Samuel Adams said: it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in people’s minds. The Founding Fathers were that minority and so are we! Each and every one of us should be proud to be a part of this historic movement. There is something very important to realize that not every Ron Paul supporter I have corresponded with gets. This struggle we are involved in neither begins nor ends with Ron Paul-nor with us. What is going on now that we fight is nothing new. If you have seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, then you understand the dangers of too much power in the hands of government in the name of “War.” Lew Rockwell speaks of never-ending war and government’s desire to retain power through it. That is why we have wars on drugs, terrorism, poverty, etc. Curtailing of civil liberties during the time of war has happened in the Civil War, World War I and II and the current war. History often repeats itself. Perhaps the word “revolution” is misused in the name of freedom. For “revolution” implies something happening once. But this does not characterize defense of freedom. It must not only be one, but kept and protected. As Ben Franklin described our Constitutional system-“It’s a republic IF you can KEEP it!” Freedom is not “won” once, but is preserved and protected by every generation-or else lost. Ours is no different.
A few days ago I engaged in an interpersonal conversation with a career political strategist. We had a pretty fun conversation involving our mutual history of politics. The conversation eventually drifted toward the current primary phase. This yielded what was, to me, by far the most encouraging part of the dialogue. This man was a lifelong democrat and no friend to Ron Paul. We knew of each other’s political leanings, though. I said to him “I think that Ron Paul has a realistic shot of winning the nomination and the White House-people just don’t know it yet.” He replied “so do I.” If only everyone were as open-minded as that, our battle would be a lot easier. Then again, battles as important as this one rarely are-nor should they be-easy.
