Ron Paul Woke Me from My Neoconservative Coma

{Editor's note: This is the 2nd installment of a series of testimonials by Lions of Liberty bloggers detailing our personal journeys of how we arrived at our beliefs, and why we support Congressman Ron Paul for President. You can check out the 1st installment here.}One of my first clear memories was watching the early news coverage of the first Iraq war, Operation Desert Storm. I was seven years old in January of ’91 and this was my first experience with war. There are certain events I remember prior to that, but nothing is nearly as vivid as watching bombs rain down over Baghdad.  The explosions were captivating as they illuminated the skies over Iraq and Kuwait.  It was like watching a fireworks show. My young mind never grew concerned for the people below, where the bombs were falling.  At that point it my life, this feeling did not seem strange, but now looking back on it I feel downright disgusted with America's love for war. During my childhood, through my teens, and into my early twenties I embraced the war culture that is so prevalent in our schools and media. Throughout my life I have never been shy to let my opinion be heard.  I have backed away from very few confrontations during my twenty eight years on this earth. Unfortunately, in my youth, I bought the media narrative and was fooled into believing that there were significant differences between Republicans and Democrats. Often, I found myself arguing with Democrats over the merits of the United States government meddling in foreign countries.  Remember, during the Bush administration, when liberals followed up on their anti-war rhetoric with passionate activism?  During these debates my logic was eerily similar to that of today’s mainstream Republicans.  During the George W. Bush years I often found myself defending the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Bush Doctrine in totality.  I, like so many others, bought the neoconservative lie that democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan was crucial to Middle Eastern prosperity and would serve as a beacon of freedom in an otherwise desolate area.I still held these views in my mid twenties when I moved to California.  I specifically recall one night in the summer of 2007, when I met an old college friend at an unimpressive bar in the Inland Empire.  As we sat there, knocking back double whiskey and cokes, my friend (the Editor in Chief of this website) broached the topic of our government’s foreign policy.  I had mistakenly categorized my friend as a bleeding heart liberal.  You can imagine my surprise, when he said he was not supporting Hilary Clinton or Barack Obama for President!  He was going to support a man by the name of Ron Paul, a Republican Congressman from Texas.  He said that Ron Paul was a different breed of politician, a true statesman, who was not bought and sold by special interests.  He stressed the biggest difference between Dr. Paul and his opponents on either side of the isle was his strict adherence to a non-interventionist foreign policy. This is a foreign policy that emphasizes the avoidance of entangling alliances and respect for other nation’s sovereignty.  When we discussed the term blowback, it challenged my long held interventionist beliefs and opened my eyes to the unintended consequence that are the result of the the United States meddling in the affairs of foreign nations.  This was the first time I had ever seriously considered the negative impacts of the US government's aggressive foreign policy. Several months later at a GOP debate, I watched in awe as Dr. Paul schooled Rudy Giuliani on this very same topic.  Many pundits point to this moment as the start of the Ron Paul Revolution.  Here’s the footage of that historic night.As I wrote in an earlier blog post, I started to awake from my partisan slumber, in college when I began to question the actions and impacts of the Federal Reserve System.  As I began to research Dr. Paul I was very excited to learn that he wanted to challenge and change our nation’s monetary policy.  It was his stance on the Federal Reserve which encouraged me to read, The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve.  This book literally changed my entire perspective on how governments and banks operate.  I highly recommend reading it to anyone who is fed up with the Federal Reserve's devaluation of our money.The more I researched Dr. Ron Paul, the more I found that I agreed with his common sense approach to politics.  I was amazed to learn, that during his more than twenty years serving in congress, he had not once voted to raise taxes or for an unbalanced budget.  He gained my immediate support for his campaign to audit the Federal Reserve and in his opposition to TARP, the bank bailouts, and the bailout of the auto industry.  To me, the most incredible trait that characterizes Ron Paul is his willingness to speak the truth, no matter what the consequences.  His undaunted demeanor shines through in his bold stance favoring bringing our troops home from around the globe.  This is the reason why Ron Paul gets more financial support from our troops than the all the other Republican candidates combined, and more than the Commander in Chief himself, President Obama. Congressman Ron Paul is a man that never wavers from his principles and refuses to pander to select voting blocks.  He is also a practical man who understands our nation’s problems are so significant that they must be repealed incrementally, just as they were enforced.  Dr. Paul accepts that Americans need to first recognize the cause of the issues we face today.  Like any good doctor, Ron Paul realizes the need to treat the cause of the illness, without killing the patient.  Many in the political establishment would have you believe that if Congressman Paul was elected president his policies would plunge the nation into a state of chaos.  In contrast, the opposite is true.  Our country would be freer and more secure during a Ron Paul Presidency.  During his first days in office he would start the process of bringing the troops home from abroad. This would allow our country to save this money, instead of wasting it to advance the empire. These resources could instead be applied to balancing the budget and stabilizing the government's financial problems at home. The entitlement programs are all broken and will not survive unless our government pursues a sustainable foreign policy.  Ron Paul is the only Presidential candidate and one of the few politicians that have presented a plan towards balancing the budget and ensuring those who currently rely on government assistance will not be left to fend for themselves.Ron Paul's ideas challenged my long held political views and forced me to reevaluate my opinions regarding what the role of government should be in our lives.  It is my sincere hope, that by sharing my experience, I have encouraged you to take a long look Ron Paul for President in 2012 and encouraged you to review your own political ideology.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!