The title of this blog post should be something about Ron Paul, because that's what I feel I need to write about. However, it would be disingenuous for me to jump in and start trying to post serious political commentary when I have not established any credibility, and I need to do a lot of convincing before anyone is going to believe that I am going to update this blog regularly. I'm probably the most skeptical.
I don't want to get people all excited about "Stephen the Intellectually Stimulating Blogger with a Penchant for Controversy, Honesty, and Ambivalence" and then disappear into the night. I should be dignified, and show you what it is to cry. I know and care what my heart is for. I want to change illusion into something real.
Regarding Ron Paul, I find myself unwittingly falling in line as a supporter again this time around, even though I have not been very involved in politics since 2008. I've started occasionally watching C-SPAN again, but I don't read the news, watch the news, and I've barely even been listening to NPR. A few years ago I would have been able to list off all the important topics of the day and tell you where I stand, and maybe even persuade your thinking. Now I'm vaguely aware that there's some underwear scandal, the Congress is probably in session, Obama is still the president, someone killed Osama Bin Laden a while back, and there are 10 to 15 Republicans running for president.
I discovered Ron Paul was one of those candidates from accidentally watching his announcement on C-SPAN in the break room at work. Up to that point, I thought Rand Paul was supposed to be the member of the Paul family that was running, or that maybe Ron Paul was endorsing Gary Johnson. Oh, look. I know the name Gary Johnson. He used to be Governor of New Mexico (I think). Libertarians like him. And he's running for president. So yeah. I know a couple of things.
Going into this, I see no way I could be as enthusiastic as I was in 2007. I'm old, jaded, work a 9-to-5 job, have a son, and I've become something of a realist. With that said, my problem with Ron Paul is still that he's generally too moderate, and I lean more anarchist than anything. If I've toned down my ideology at all, it should make me more inclined to like Ron Paul. But I don't know if that's the case yet. I hope he has grown in the past couple of years, with the birth of the "Tea Party" movement and with the changes that have taken place in the economy and across the political landscape. I will be more critical of him than I was way back in my naive early 20's.
That's all I have for now, since I still don't read the news. I'll let you know if and when I learn anything new. In general, not just on this topic.
Love,
Stephen
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