Ron Paul And I: A Revelation Via Education

 {Editor's note: This is the 4th 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 the others out here, here and here}Ah, the life of an outspoken, bumper-sticker-toting Ron Paul advocate is not an easy one. I'm sure anyone reading this blog who is a fan of the man, Liberty's own Obi Wan Kenobi, has learned that to embrace Ron Paul is to be challenged at every turn, from all sides.The liberals challenge his stances on abortion, gay rights, education, social services, economic policy and due to the publication of the very few (but nonetheless still tragic) racially tinged newsletters, his stance on race.Republicans debate the merits of his economic plan, but more so his take on foreign policy and the fight against terror and drugs which oddly enough is where most liberals agree with him.Because of the constant barrage of questions, accusations and pure ignorance that surround us, becoming a fan of Ron Paul absolutely demands one thing above all else: an education. I don't mean education in the sense that one has to hold a degree from a higher institution of learning, or take classes at the Mises Institute (which one of our authors actually does). I mean simply that those who understand where Ron Paul is coming from have taken it upon themselves to become more than well versed in economics, foreign policy, the Constitution, states rights and personal liberties in order to explain and combat accusations from friends, loved ones and even strangers. And I leave a lot out when I limit the topics to just those few subjects. However, the education for many of us begins before we embrace Paul's stances, as we had to first understand why he felt the way he did, before we could support him.Oftentimes people who haven't  known me for that long, or even those who have but didn't notice my outspoken criticism of the system we operate under, simply assume that I am a die hard Republican/Libertarian and always have been. This could not be farther from the truth. My parents were both independent and the earliest voting record I can recall had them both voting for Dukakis. I can remember laughing at their choice then (apparently I was a Republican when I was 8), as I liked the elder Bush.I was also a fan originally of Bush the younger and voted for him in his first election, when he ran on a platform on non-interventionist foreign policy and fiscal restraint. Obviously, words did not translate into actions...and I came to despise him. When The Patriot Act was enacted and I learned of all the liberties it stripped from Americans, I was outraged. And as an atheist, I also have a strong aversion to language like "god told me to" when it comes to making decisions for a country going into an unconstitutional war. This is another reason why I respect Ron Paul so much in that he takes his religious beliefs out of government.In 2004 I voted Kerry, who I saw as the lesser of two evils, and I still believe to this day wouldn't have done the damage to the country that Bush did. I was registered Democrat for that election. So as you can see, I was not one to tote a party line. I vote for the person who I feel can best right the country, and who best embodies my ideals.It was a couple years after Kerry's defeat and well into Bush's 2nd horrible term that I was introduced to Ron Paul, who had ideas that I hadn't heard - vast, aggressive concepts for reigning in the government. For reducing the control the government would have over its citizens. I began to read. Everything. Not just items from Ron Paul, or that were provided me by my Paul-aggrandizing friend, but from both sides of the issues. I wanted to make my own decision on the matter, weighing truth from propaganda.Slowly, but surely I began to see what amazing sense Paul made. How far our government had pushed us and what dire straights we were in as a once proud nation had now turned into an overextended empire. How my money and the value of the dollar was being decreased daily by the corrupt and unaccountable FED. And how much my personal liberties were at stake.My self-education allowed me to understand the cause and effect that Paul was trying to produce with his sweeping plans. And in a matter of months, I was dedicated to getting the man elected. I arranged fundraisers with another author of this blog (Marc), canvassed door to door, donated, and tried as hard as I could to get the word out. It was much, much harder to crack the walls people put up then when they heard the name "Ron Paul" than it is today, but even then I had Democrats I didn't know, standing on their doorsteps admitting that he made sense...but that they wouldn't cross the party line for him.I still hear that a lot. A very good, very hardcore liberal, friend of mine admitted he would vote for Ron Paul over Obama if he had the option. I think there are a lot of those types out there. And that gives me hope. Because even if Ron doesn't get the nod as the Republican candidate to face off against Obama, his ideas have become mainstream. The education continues, and "Ron Paul Republican" is a phrase commonplace among up and coming politicians. Ron Paul supporters aren't nuts or kooks, as the mainstream media and some of the dumber, blind liberals would like the world to believe. In a nutshell, we are simply educated.Hopefully sharing this story will help people give Paul a chance. It's never easy getting someone with a closed mind to open their eyes to something new, but maybe my example - as a socially liberal, fiscally conservative man about town - will strike a chord, and one more person will be toting a Ron Paul 2012 bumper sticker.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!