the ron paul revolution

i got a chance to grab some coffee with a few friends from church. they're a couple who settled in sacramento about the same time i arrived, so we've got that connection. other than that, we don't have much in common, except that the guy's name is chris.

anyway, chris was wearing a ron paul 2008 shirt, so i asked him why he likes ron paul. he responded with a barrage of federal and corporate conspiracies which have tamed the masses for a century. but before i get into that, let me say what i thought about ron paul and his fans before this conversation took place.

What I Thought About Ron Paul And His Fans

1) Ron Paul is a libertarian, a label I loosely apply to myself.
2) He wants to get rid of a lot of "federal" and corporate entities that have been around long before I was born (like the Fed).
3) He loves the constitution, and would apparently get along with Thomas Jefferson if they knew each other.
4) He's against the war in Iraq.
5) Ron Paul will not win the election, thus discouraging me from filling my brain with anything other than the above, except that...
6) Ron Paul Fans are mostly made up of annoying conspiracy theorists and arrogant, too-educated kids who are convinced that ron paul will save the world from the clutches of evil america.

so going into this conversation with my friends, i had a few presuppositions that i didn't feel the need to disclose. after all, i wanted to be fair and open-minded in hearing why someone, given number 5 of what i think, would support ron paul to the point of t-shirt-wearing. some people clearly like ron paul with a passion, and i wanted to know why.

chris started off docile but as the ball got rolling, his true passion came out, and it came in very long paragraphs. so i'll summarize what he said. feel free to skip points that you feel do not apply to yours or anyone's life.

What Chris Said In Response To My Question, "Why do you like Ron Paul?"

1) chris wants to build a house in the woods, but he can't do that because he would have to build it according to government specifications, like having the plumbing installed by a certified plumber and the electricity by a certified electrician. he'd rather do it all himself, but the government doesn't let him.
2) the dollar has devalued itself because of a corporation called the Federal Reserve Bank, which from what i gathered is a monopoly that controls our money and has devalued it severely. he also said something about the gold standard that i didn't quite catch.
3) he doesn't want the US army on other nations' soil.
4) he doesn't support government subsidies of schools because these subsidies contribute to our failing education system [he tied this in with #8, somehow].
5) people helping people is more effective than the government strong-arming people in order to fuel programs and subsidies.
6) 85% of the media is controlled by five corporations, whose vested interests include not reporting honest media.
7) bill clinton was elected because he was backed by the bilderberg group, which i learned tonite to be a conference of 130 influential people who dictate the happenings of the world (a la manchurian candidate... without the brainwashing... or with??!?)
8) americans are very educated but are unaware of the societal under workings that control their meager lives.
9) for all these huge problems, knowledged citizens can fight back by... i don't remember what he said to that point actually.

ok so as you can see, chris didn't really answer my question about why he likes ron paul, but he did help enlighten me with a new set of thoughts about ron paul and his fans, which i will summarize here:

What I Now Think About Ron Paul And His Fans:

1) Ron Paul wants to help Americans move to the woods and build houses without the assistance of plumbers or electricians.
2) He will get rid of taxes, government programs and subsidies in order to allow Americans the joy of helping out one another on their own accord.
3) Ron Paul is to the scheming Bilderberg group what Chuck Norris is to bad guys - an inspirational character that defeats fictional evil.
4) He will release the vice grip of media conglomerates to the hands of the people.
5) Ron Paul will remove the government's evil schemes from the US public school system, finally allowing teachers to arm their students with the know-how to defeat oppressors (who to students are their teachers).
6) He's against the war in Iraq.
7) Ron Paul's fans are even more cynical and angry than I am (chris can build a house in the woods if he wants, but those darned government rules misplace his energy from housing-construction to anger) and this makes me feel good about myself.

and, finally, here's why i think the ron paul revolution is a waste of time and energy.

1) i have to fix the christmas lights outside my house tomorrow, even though i think christmas lights are a pain and i turn them off every night since i can see them from my room. but my mom likes them, so i need to fix them.
2) i have a take-home exam to turn in tomorrow.
3) i got food poisoning this past weekend and i threw up in the middle of the night. i had to grade exams the next day for six hours, and then take a two hour exam.
4) my sister is making holiday cards for people, and they look gr8!
5) i really like music, but i don't think i like micro-house. i've tried hard to like it but after giving it an honest listen, i think i'd prefer more ambient music or more melodic music.
6) at church last week, a woman challenged us to give up our shoes for the homeless.