Yesterday in Ron Paul: Revisited (Part 1) , I began looking at Ron Paul on the issues for the simple fact being that I have recently been intrigued by him and his positions.
Today, I'm going to continue with what I started yesterday.
Education:
Ron Paul wants to eliminate the Department of Education. On the surface its a gotcha moment. A statement that Paul can be roasted upon. But if you dig a little deeper into the reasons being that the school systems are basically a joke. It makes some sense. Paul wants to allow for tax writeoffs for private schools and for those that homeschool.
Let me talk about homeschooling for a second. In my experience, the only people that homeschool their kids are crazy right wing religious zealots. I am not sure of the merits of homeschooled kids other than in most cases they are educated by parents without the real background or training in how to properly educate a child. I know, I know, we all think we know what's best for our kids and its all in a book right? Basic mathematical theory can be taught easily by parents. But once you start to get to a little bit of advanced mathematical theory, its best handled by a professional. The same applies to the sciences and also with grammar. What I would like to see started a lot more is a system of education via cooperatives. Essentially, you are talking a private school of sorts, just with less of the formalized structure of the same. The public education system serves a great purpose. Without it, there would really be a lack of education in this nation. We need to focus on how to truly fix our schools, and how to make maths and sciences especially a greater focus in education. It's one of the main reasons we are falling so far behind in innovation.
Energy:
Paul is in favor of energy independence. I am also. As someone who has a career in the energy industry, I'll say this, the more energy independent we as a nation are, the better this nation will become. There is a lot of talk in the media recently about the fracking going on within the oil and gas industry, and it has its warts. But there is a lot of benefits to the fracking. Its really funny, its classic NIMBYism. People jump at the bonus money and cry about obtaining royalty checks, but when its time to put up the rig to make good on said lease or to obtain said royalties, there are so, so many landowners who balk immediately. When we start talking about pipeline right of ways there are even louder cries. Let me ask this question, how do you expect to get your royalties if you cannot get the oil or gas to market? Is it a pain in the ass when it is being done? Yes. Is it largely temporary? Yes. I'll admit, I do not know nearly enough about fracking as I probably should. Its not the aspect of the industry I work in, so it does not affect me on a daily basis. There are probably more regulations coming, and they overall may not be a bad thing. Government regulators and the oil and gas industry will make it work. It benefits all parties too much to not make it work. But I'm just slightly annoyed by the drill here, drill now people who on the other hand are the OH NO! I dont want a pipeline to run through my neighborhood! Retarded.
Gun Control:
Paul is 100% behind the second amendment stating that there should be no gun control laws in this nation. I am 100% in the other corner on this. While I definitely do not want to see the repeal of the second amendment, I also do not get why we cannot ban certain types of weapons. The second amendment allows for citizens to keep and bear arms. Granted this was done largely due to the role of the militia during the founding of our nation, but that's neither here nor there. Automatic weapons should be banned. There have been way too many to count acts of violence as a direct result of these types of weapons. Its similar to what would happen in war training aka JROTC. Someone messed up, everyone pays the price. It is what it is, we need to guarantee the safety of the many and if it involves banning certain types of weapons so be it. It does not infringe on your second amendment rights, you can still bear arms, just may not be the ones you feel you are entitled to bear. I'm also of the opinion that we should be able to limit the total sum of weapons one should be able to possess but that is a different argument I suppose.
Immigration:
Paul is against immigration. He sees immigration as an economic problem by and large. I get this. But at the same time, we are an immigrant nation. We are all or something like 90% of us (probably higher) were all once immigrants. But I also get the point that Paul is making that all of the programs geared toward immigrants and helping them, i.e. allowing for free medial care, education for their kids, welfare programs Its bankrupting us! And it is, or its part of the problem. See living in a border state, I'm frustrated. I'm going to come off sounding bad with these next few statements, I really dont care. I'm bothered by the prevalence of the Spanish language in Texas. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with speaking your native language. I do not think we should be drafting official documents in multiple languages. If a private business wants to make signs in both English and Spanish, fine. I do not think you should goto your neighborhood DMV and have literature in multiple languages. Same applies to the ballot box. Its extra money we do need to be spending. To an extent the same applies to the school system. See, when my family immigrated to the United States in the mid 19th century, we had to sink or swim. Learn English, or don't eat. We make it way too easy for immigrants now. We cater to them basically. I don't get it. Maybe I'm jealous. Maybe I'm just being a cranky old man. I don't know what it is. I just don't think official paperwork should be in multiple languages. I should inquire as to whether I can obtain welfare documents in German or Italian. I'd probably be less bothered if its available in all languages, but also at the same time more annoyed by the extra cost involved in all of this.
Foreign Policy:
Paul is essentially a follower of George Washington, wary of entangling alliances and believing we need to stay out of other people's messes. While we do not need and should not be the world's policeman, there are times when we need to get involved in global politics. We need to be more mindful of things we do, and its important to have global allies, not only for political purposes but for economic ones as well. There are times when its important to be involved, what we definitely need to do is to not get involved in long term military conflicts without a formal declaration of war by Congress. If we cannot get this from Congress, war cannot be entered into. The system of checks and balances were created for a reason.
So there you have it. I think out of all of the Republican candidates I have read so far, I like Ron Paul a lot. There are some things I am against, some things I really like. But I like and respect that Paul is consistent in his views if nothing else. This is kinda scary though, am I slowly turning more into a conservative? Or maybe it is just reinforcing that I simply only lean to the left and am not hardcore liberal. If I had to vote for a Republican candidate today or tomorrow, I'm definitely choosing Paul.
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