起石
理想主義者
下星期二，美國共和黨即將開始2012年總統大選的州初選，第一站就是愛俄華州的共和黨區初選。雖然在過去的一年多時間裏，共和黨自己以及主流媒體用盡各種手段來忽視，邊緣化，甚至排擠的手段對付得克薩斯州的眾議員Ron Paul， 今天，卻得到了相反的效果。據最新的幾個民意調查，Ron Paul 已經穩穩地占據了民意的第一名，而且很有希望贏得這個初選的第一站。當然，當然，贏得初選，甚至大選都從來不是Ron Paul 的最終願望。散播他的信念，和讓大眾了解事實，才是他的最高願望，因為“信念比炸彈和武裝的軍隊更強大”。
“反對大政府，反對政府幹涉經濟，反對幹涉他國內政，反對財政赤字，堅持憲法治國，自由市場經濟，健康貨幣及政策，取消美聯儲，公民享受最大自由” - Ron Paul 在過去的30多年裏，堅持不懈的立場，在今天終於得到了大眾的賞識，而且被公認為華盛頓唯一的誠實的政客。當然，這個代價就是30年來主流的冷嘲熱諷，排擠和忽視，但他不懈的努力，和今天網絡傳播的力量，讓普通大眾可以不通過“主流媒體”而得到真正的信息。而Ron Paul 的信息和信念，就像是陽光一樣，撒到今天充滿黑暗的世界。讓大眾看到這個世界的一線希望，也讓那些躲藏在陰暗角落的騙子和強盜膽寒。
下麵是一些Ron Paul 的一些摘錄，讓你感受到他充滿力量的照亮黑暗的信息：
“Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are more powerful than bombings or armies or guns. And this is because ideas are capable of spreading without limit. They are behind all the choices we make. They can transform the world in a way that governments and armies cannot. Fighting for liberty with ideas makes more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power. With ideas, we can make real change that lasts.”
信念對於塑造一個社會非常重要。事實上，信念比炸彈和武裝的軍隊更強大。因為它可以被無限製地傳播。它是我們所有選擇的依據。它用以改變這個世界的方式沒有任何政府和軍隊可以做到的。依靠信念為自由而戰對我來講，比依靠武器和政治權力更有效力。
- Ron Paul, Liberty Defined: The 50 Urgent Issues That Affect Our Freedom
“Under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority to hold states “accountable” for their education performance…In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats.”
美國憲法之下，聯邦政府沒有權力要求各州對教育的成績負責...在建國之父設想的自由社會裏，學校要對家長負責，而不是聯邦的官僚們。
- Ron Paul
“I’m convinced that you never have to give up liberties to be safe. I think you’re less safe when you give up your liberties.”
我相信你永遠不需要為安全而犧牲自由。我認為當你放棄自由時，你會更不安全。
- Ron Paul
“Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives.
自由的定義不是安全。自由的定義是公民生存而不被政府幹擾的能力。政府不可能創造一個沒有危險的世界，我們也不能幻想有這麽一個虛構的世界。隻有一個極權主義的社會才會宣稱絕對的安全是值得信任的，因為它會要求政府對公民生活的絕對控製。
- Ron Paul
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.”
講真話在謊言帝國裏是叛國罪。
- Ron Paul, The Revolution: A Manifesto
“Mr. Speaker, I once again find myself compelled to vote against the annual budget resolution for a very simple reason: it makes government bigger.”
“發言人先生，我發現我再次迫使我投票反對年度預算立案，隻是為了一個很簡單的道理：它使政府變得更龐大。”
- Ron Paul
“The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions. We do not have the right to rob our neighbors to make up for our mistakes, neither does our neighbor have any right to tell us how to live, so long as we aren’t infringing on their rights. Freedom to make bad decisions is inherent in the freedom to make good ones. If we are only free to make good decisions, we are not really free.”
作為一個自由的美利堅公民的最基本的原則就是我們每個個人要為我們自己的生活及決定負責。我們沒有權力為掩蓋我們的錯失而去掠奪我們的鄰居，我們的鄰居，在我們不侵犯他們的權力情況下，也沒有權力指教我們如何生活。作錯誤決定的自由和作正確決定的自由是與生俱來的。如果我們隻有作正確決定的自由，那我們就不是有真正的自由。
- Ron Paul
“Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.”
失去自由是因為自滿和奉承的心態。當我們接受或甚至歡迎那些車輛盤查點，隨機搜查，強製的身份證，以及街上軍隊式的警察，我們就已經失去了美利堅傳統中最重要的部分。美利堅是因為抗議，革命，及不相信政府而誕生的。卑躬屈膝的社會不會長久也不值得獲得自由。
- Ron Paul
“Failure of government programs prompts more determined effort, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away…whether is it is the war on poverty, drugs, terrorism…or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here or there, is a small price to pay…The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so.”
政府計劃的失敗引發（政府）更多的投入，而同時自由的喪失卻被忽視了，或者被合理化了..不管是那些針對貧窮，毒品，及恐怖的戰爭，甚至針對今天的希特勒，那個愛國的呼籲不過是用來說服大眾在這裏，或那裏犧牲一點自由，不過是一點代價而已...最後的結果卻是，更加恐怖，和甚至更多的恐怖。
- Ron Paul
“When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans.”
當聯邦政府每年花費的比征收的稅要多時，它隻有3個選擇：提高稅收，印鈔，或者借錢。這些行為使政客們受益，卻使美國大眾受害。
- Ron Paul
“A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank.”
資本主義的體製是以健康的貨幣為假設的，而不是被中央銀行控製的法幣。資本主義製度是保護自願基礎上的合同，以及利率是由儲蓄決定的，而不是由中央銀行製造出的信用。
- Ron Paul
“The original American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist with force the oppressive power of King George…Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security.”
最初的美利堅愛國者是那些勇於抵製國王喬治壓迫的個人...愛國往往是和異議者緊密相聯的，而不是盲目地追求安全及保險。
- Ron Paul
“As many frustrated Americans who have joined the Tea Party realize, we cannot stand against big government at home while supporting it abroad. We cannot talk about fiscal responsibility while spending trillions on occupying and bullying the rest of the world. We cannot talk about the budget deficit and spiraling domestic spending without looking at the costs of maintaining an American empire of more than 700 military bases in more than 120 foreign countries. We cannot pat ourselves on the back for cutting a few thousand dollars from a nature preserve or an inner-city swimming pool at home while turning a blind eye to a Pentagon budget that nearly equals those of the rest of the world combined.”
作為那些參加了“茶黨”的灰心的美國大眾應該明白，我們不能忍受大政府在國內，也不能支持它在海外。我們不能在談論財政義務的同時，卻花費上萬億去占領和威嚇整個世界。我們不能隻談論財政赤字和高漲的政府消費，而不問一下我們為了維護美利堅帝國的在120多個國家的700多軍事基地的成本。我們不能隻是隨便減少一些自然資源和城市遊泳池的支出，同時無視五角大樓的幾乎和所有其他國家加在一起一樣多的預算。
- Ron Paul
“It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking.”
一世紀的戰爭和一世紀的中央銀行的同時存在並不是偶然的事件。
