Ron Paul's Final Question: Is There Any Explanation For It All?

{Editor’s Note: This is the 32nd - and FINAL - installment of a series of articles attempting to address the 32 questions posed by Ron Paul in his recent farewell speech given in front of Congress. Check out the previous installment, "Why Should Anyone Be Surprised That Congress Has No Credibility?" }We here at Lions Of Liberty are a fairly passionate bunch.   This is why, despite all of us having incredibly busy lives both professionally and personally, we chose to take on the task of answering all of Ron Paul's 32 Questions from his historic farewell speech denouncing government monopoly on violence over the last month or so.  It can often be difficult to find time to sit down and write and overcome bouts of writer's block.  But if Ron Paul can spend the better part of 35 years mingling among the "psychopathic authoritarians" (his words!) in Congress just for the slim hope of advancing the cause of liberty, the least we can do is bust our liberty-lovin' butts for a month or so to help flesh out his ideas.Dr. Paul asked each one of his 32 questions for a very specific reason, and I am confident in saying that it is not because he    expects the members of Congress who bothered to sit through his speech to actually pay attention, change their ways, reject government solutions and embrace the ideas of liberty.  No, Dr. Paul was explicitly speaking not to the Congress, but both to and for the people.  He was expressing, through both specific examples and rhetorical questions, the frustrations and concerns that many Americans have with the direction of government and our society as a whole.Ron Paul's final question, in full:

Is there any explanation for all the deception, the unhappiness, the fear of the future, the loss of confidence in our leaders, the distrust, the anger, and the frustration?

Now, on our 32nd and final installment of this series, Ron Paul has delivered us our own Christmas miracle by actually providing an answer to his final question.  And it couldn't have come soon enough! How many ways can we tell you that liberty is the answer? Well 31 and counting so far...but for #32, we'll turn it back over to Dr. Paul himself for the grand finale:

Yes, there is, and there's a way to reverse these attitudes.  The negative perceptions are logical and a consequence of bad policies bringing about our problems. Identification of the problems and recognizing the cause allow the proper changes to come easy.

The crux of Dr. Paul's speech and his 32 questions is that we must be sympathetic with those who are upset with the way things are and help to educate them.  We must reject government solutions to problems at all levels, because doing so is the only way to credibly point out that the problem is government or the State, defined by Murray Rothbard as:

that institution which possesses one or both (almost always both) of the following properties: (1) it acquires its income by the physical coercion known as "taxation"; and (2) it asserts and usually obtains a coerced monopoly of the provision of defense service (police and courts) over a given territorial area.

       We have all been trained from a very young age that whenever there is a problem we must turn to government  - an organization which supposedly represents us - for the solution.  It is very logical that Congress has lost all credibility with most people. But it's important that we point out that the problem isn't simply that we have the wrong people in government; rather the problem is that they look to the collective use of force i.e. government, as the solution.Libertarians are often chided as "complainers" offering "no solutions".  We can be seen by many as ranting lunatics who always find things to complain about, blame it all on the government and never offer a solution.  These labels are understandable when we remember that each and every one of us, even hardcore anarcho-capitalists who oversee libertarian websites with their college buddies, at one time saw things the same way.  There isn't a writer among us who could honestly say that they weren't at one time what we would now deride as a "Statist".  It is important to remember this, especially when attempting to communicate the ideas of liberty to others.Whenever problems spring up, no matter their true cause, rest assured that those in government will be calling for more power, more bills, more laws, more centralized solutions.  They will continually drive home the point: have fear and turn to us, the State, for the solution.It is the task of the libertarian to say,  "fear not".  We must not only point out the problems, but show others that there is another way, and it's called liberty. When we find people who are upset about loss of work or the bad economy and call for taxing the rich as a solution, don't just call them a "liberal" and roll your eyes.  Instead, listen to them.  Ask them why they think the economy is so bad? Ask them, what do they know about money? Ask them if they know about the Federal Reserve, and that it is not a government agency but rather a private bank granted a monopoly on money? Many will not understand you and will shrug you off. That's okay. Not everybody is ready or even interested in hearing what you have to say. So what? Move on, and do so with respect and courtesy.  If nothing else, you may have planted a seed that will sprout in their minds later down the road.  But there's no time to wait around watering it when there's an entire world of more fertile soil out there.The internet has enabled us to communicate at an unprecedented level.  Literally anyone with functioning fingers and internet access can start a blog, make a YouTube video, or just start tweeting out their favorite Ron Paul quotes.  Much of your work will fall on deaf ears.  That's ok. Demanding immediate results are what central planners do. Non centralized liberty messengers should not concern themselves with seeing the direct fruits of their labor.  Rather, we should just continue to plant seeds and spread ideas. Because we never know when a seed will sprout and what effect that will have.Take the case of Eric Michael. Five or so years ago he was driving along and saw a "Google Ron Paul" bumper sticker.  He had never heard of Ron Paul and didn't know whoever had the bumper sticker, but nonetheless for whatever reason decided to follow through and Google'd Ron Paul.  Fast-forward five years and Eric Michael had become the creator and distributor of the "Ron Paul Super Brochure", which made it's way to 3.5 million households during the 2012 election cycle.  That's 3.5 million households getting the ideas of liberty delivered directly to their front door, all because of one bumper sticker. There are logical explanations for all of the problems and the resulting emotional distress we see in our society.  But we will never change them by using the same methods as those who caused them.  As oversimplified as it sounds, all of our problems can be traced back to the rejection of the ideas of liberty.  The solution is to wholly embrace and embody those ideas with enthusiasm, enthusiasm that will spread like wildfire and plant seeds of liberty over every inch of scorched Statist Earth.As Dr. Paul stated at the close of his farewell speech:

I have come to one firm conviction after many years of trying to figure out "the plain truth of things." The best chance for achieving peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people worldwide, is to purse the cause of LIBERTY.If you find this to be a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land.

It just so happens that we do, Dr. Paul.  And spread it we shall.We hope a few of you will join us along the way.Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may we all find happiness through the pursuit of liberty.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!