Posts tagged statism

Source: http://www.lewrockwell.com

Patriotism

by Ron Paul

Before the U.S. House of Representatives, May 22, 2007

Madam Speaker,
for some, patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. For others,
it means dissent against a government’s abuse of the people’s rights.

I have never
met a politician in Washington or any American, for that matter,
who chose to be called unpatriotic. Nor have I met anyone who did
not believe he wholeheartedly supported our troops, wherever they
may be.

What I have
heard all too frequently from various individuals are sharp accusations
that, because their political opponents disagree with them on the
need for foreign military entanglements, they were unpatriotic,
un-American evildoers deserving contempt.

The original
American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist
with force the oppressive power of King George. I accept the definition

of patriotism as that effort to resist oppressive state power.

The true patriot
is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of self-interest
for himself, his family, and the future of his country to resist
government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism
means obedience to the state. Resistance need not be violent, but
the civil disobedience that might be required involves confrontation
with the state and invites possible imprisonment.

Peaceful,
nonviolent revolutions against tyranny have been every bit as successful
as those involving military confrontation. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., achieved great political successes by practicing
nonviolence, and yet they suffered physically at the hands of the
state. But whether the resistance against government tyrants is
nonviolent or physically violent, the effort to overthrow state
oppression qualifies as true patriotism.

True patriotism
today has gotten a bad name, at least from the government and the
press. Those who now challenge the unconstitutional methods of imposing
an income tax on us, or force us to use a monetary system designed
to serve the rich at the expense of the poor are routinely condemned.
These American patriots are sadly looked down upon by many. They
are never praised as champions of liberty as Gandhi and Martin Luther
King have been.

Liberals,
who withhold their taxes as a protest against war, are vilified
as well, especially by conservatives. Unquestioned loyalty to the
state is especially demanded in times of war. Lack of support for
a war policy is said to be unpatriotic. Arguments against a particular
policy that endorses a war, once it is started, are always said
to be endangering the troops in the field. This, they blatantly
claim, is unpatriotic, and all dissent must stop. Yet, it is dissent
from government policies that defines the true patriot and champion

of liberty.

It is conveniently
ignored that the only authentic way to best support the troops is
to keep them out of dangerous undeclared no-win wars that are politically
inspired. Sending troops off to war for reasons that are not truly
related to national security and, for that matter, may even damage
our security, is hardly a way to patriotically support the troops.

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