Why I'm Voting for Ron Paul

In 2007 Gabe was deployed to a war we were becoming less sure of and I was attending school in California. Every day I walked alone to and from my classes, digesting silently {well, mostly silently} what I was learning. One particular day I was heading back to my car and saw an elderly gentleman standing on a campus sidewalk with a stack of bright green fliers. In case you've forgotten, the 2008 election season started quite early {maybe because there could be no incumbent} and it was clear that the gentleman was peddling another R/D politician. As students passed he would enthusiastically offer a bit of green propaganda and every time he was either ignored or turned down. As I approached I saw this happen several times so that by the time I got to him my sympathies outweighed my ambivalence. I took one and {as I remember} asked him about this congressman just to make him feel like he wasn't wasting his time. I don't think I actually listened.

Because I lived in the best place eva, I drove down to the beach to meet up with my dad. When I arrived he was still surfing so I prepared myself for a nap. The sun was shining right through the driver's side window and impeding my slumber so I grabbed whatever paper was around and stuck it in the crevice. I am not an easy sleeper so it didn't take long for my eyes to be open, wandering around the car. The bright green, now glowing, flier caught my attention and I began reading it's content*.

END THE FEDERAL RESERVE

ABOLISH THE IRS

GET OUT OF IRAQ

I remember thinking these things sounded insane... And way too good to be true. I was intrigued, but skeptical. When I spoke with Gabe that day I told him to look up this guy named Ron Paul... And so we entered the rabbit hole.

Ron Paul is not your average politician. He has a consistent voting record. His ideology {one I find appealing and worth working for} follows itself to logical conclusions. He isn't afraid to tell us what is really happening  in a time of sickening sugar coating {and has an actual plan to fix it}. Basically, he takes his job seriously. He has also been married to the same woman for 55 years which may not mean much to a lot of people, but along with everything else, it supports my suspicion that the guy is chalk full of integrity.

The United States is in a very, very precarious position. We are in more debt than our founders could have even fathomed {and to countries that we really don't want to be indebted to}, we are fighting {and entering} unsustainable wars, we have a welfare system that is not only leaching our tax dollars, but will not be able to provide care for the people paying into it, we have no legitimate plan to cut spending, we keep printing money and raising the "debt ceiling" {if the grave problem with that isn't clear I'm thinking Congress just needs to play a few rounds of Monopoly by their own "House Rules"}, our personal freedoms are expiring rapidly, and nobody really wants to admit that there is a problem.

Plus a movie ticket is like $12 now. That's just gross.

I don't think that Ron Paul is any kind of savior. Pragmatically, I don't think he will really get elected {but I hope he does}. I don't think that even if he did, he could do everything that needs to be done because Congress will still have a say. But I do think that our best chance at not completely collapsing within the next decade or so is having Dr. Paul - or someone like him - for a president.

I believe that God judges nations by their leaders; this is probably most true in an "experiment" like ours in which the people get to actually elect the person they want to trust most. I also believe that as Christians who belong to a Kingdom, we do not have to worry about our domicile. However, we are here. And while we are here I think we are supposed to abide by the laws, stand up for the weak, and most importantly, bring this Kingdom to the people around us. In this country we are able to do all those things {not completely, but in part} simply by being active citizens. We get to vote, we get to protest, we get to petition and draw attention to suffering, we get to organize help. It's a unique spot in our world and in history!

While I no longer consider myself primarily "American," and I no longer carry any patriotism or nationalism, I do feel blessed to be a citizen in a country founded on personal liberty and social justice. And like the Apostle Paul claimed his Roman right for a trial, I claim my American one to actually employ the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence by holding my leaders accountable.

I'm voting for Ron Paul and encouraging others to do the same because, honestly, I very much like the comforts we enjoy and I'd like to see them preserved for my kids and grandkids. I think it's true that a wise generation leaves the world better, not worse, for their posterity. I believe voting for Ron Paul is a prudent step in the direction of preservation. I would love for our children to grow up with liberties that so many other people around the world don't have. Fortunately my hope - our hope - is not in anything made by fallible minds. If the American ideal dies and the country is owned by China or something I will be sad because it will make things more difficult for a time, but America is not our home. It has been a very nice visit, but whenever God chooses to end it, we'll rest in the Kingdom He's established no matter where we are on the map. In the meantime, I'll do what I reasonably can to keep the ideal alive.

For more insight go to my husband's blog. He is very wise and well-informed and despite his blog's title, quite entertaining. :)

We went to a rally in Spokane last week and {of course} I snapped some photos!

*Just from memory; I don't remember exactly what it said. :)