Although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and their situation is, in some respects, one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked... in which I have spoken of so many important things done by Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply, To the superiority of their women.

--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Confessions of a Paulbot


 A great analysis of what the Liberty Movement is all about via a Daily Pauler.
We supporters of Ron Paul have been labeled with a number of unflattering terms over the years. But one of my favorites is the term "Paulbot".
The term conjures up images of clone armies; mindless hordes sweeping locust-like across the political landscape.
The irony is almost laughable.
We "Paulbots" are some of the most diverse and undisciplined bunch of people you will ever meet. Far from compromising our individuality to some hypothetical hivemind, we tend to be so opinionated and independent in our thinking that it is hard for us to agree on a time for tea.
Of any group of Americans today, we are probably the LEAST likely to fall into lockstep behind a populist demagogue or charismatic cult figure.
And yet that doesn't stop our detractors from trying to marginalize us through fear and ignorance. They intentionally confuse our conviction and enthusiasm with fanaticism. Sophisticated cynicism is an attitude that has been encouraged by the political establishment. Any group that truly threatens the status quo is automatically labeled a "cult". And this is a task made simpler because it has been so long since any large group of people have acted decisively, intelligently, AND independently without a hidden agenda.
But is it a cult when many people simultaneously decide to vacate a burning building?
And therein lies the ultimate irony.
We "Paulbots" are the ones who have seen the danger. We don't share a common religion or even an ideology. We disagree with one another about many things and often don't even agree with Ron Paul. But we DO share a love for our freedom, and we HAVE seen enough of the truth to know that it is in jeopardy.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man WILL behave oddly. And if you get enough one-eyed men together they will inevitably act with inexplicable passion and in unison to things that are invisible to the majority.
As a result it is easy for our opponents to label us as "wacky," our behavior as "bizarre," and our movement a "cult."
Easy, but very, VERY wrong.
Am I a "Paulbot"?
Sure, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
But that doesn't mean what you think it means.
 

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