Don't Go Down the Chute at the Charnel House!

By Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.

I post, comment and generally spout off on a LOT of message boards and news sites- from international Media Conglomerates all the way down to the Little Blogs That Could. In my travels around cyberspace, I see a lot of anti-intellectual arguments about Ron Paul, such as "OMG, the Paulites are out tonight", "what a Paultard" and on and on ad-nauseum. Many posters (and even journalists) then proceeded to 'add nothing to the debate' with dismissive (and inaccurate) comments about things like the ridiculously inaccurate "Ron Paul's an isolationist" neo-con talking point, or just plain rude and sophomoric name-calling. This is (unfortunately) typical of much of what Ron Paul and his supporters are up against. Even if you wikipedia the vast difference between 'isolationism' and 'non-interventionism' (apparently many MUST get their info from there!), it's easy to dissemble that argument, and quite frankly, most of the simplistic and fallacious arguments against Dr. Paul.

Meanwhile, Ron Paul's supporters (most of them) soldier on through the ad-hominem attacks, the glittering generalities, the straw man attacks and all the other dishonest propaganda tactics, and continue to ask the hard questions in a reasonable manner. They also persist in deflecting and destroying the jingoistic bumper-sticker neo-con big government talking points thrown at them that are the only intellectual (!) ammunition many opponents seem to have against Dr. Paul.

Denigrating a candidate or his supporters in a simplistic and non-productive way is not 'debate'. It is propaganda. But it IS effective in deflecting the debate away from the issue being argued, and causing the attackee to either defend himself, or go back at the attacker in a similar manner. This is EXACTLY the purpose of such attacks- just ask Saul Alinsky! We, as supporters of Ron Paul and even more importantly, advocates of the principles that he espouses, must resist the temptation to respond in like fashion to the puerile attacks that we continually endure.

Instead, we need to continue the REAL debate and wake people up to how they are being robbed, jobbed and lobbed into the flaming pit of economic serfdom! We need to keep alive debate about the REAL issues facing America; the horrible cost in both lives and economically of the 5 (at least)  wars; the downward spiral that crony capitalism and corruption in D.C. have put this country into both economically and socially; the deleterious effects of the 'War On Terror' and War On Drugs'- whose only REAL effects seem to be the enrichment of those well-connected to the government (crony capitalism) and the massive consolidation of government power at the expense of the wealth, welfare and Civil Liberties of the vast majority of Americans; the phony and destructive 'efforts' of Congress and the President to negotiate a budget (none for three years now!) and the even more ridiculous Kabuki Dance about 'cutting' the budget that doesn't even use real or real-time numbers- let alone accomplish anything within the realm of reality!

Now, they may call us 'Paultard' or say how 'loony' these ideas are.... I welcome such attacks! They only serve to prove the points I have outlined above, and to put lie to the empty arguments being used against the fight for Liberty. When we respond in a rational and calm manner (yet still forceful and determined), we begin to win the argument by staking out the moral and intellectual high ground, and refusing to climb in the quicksand pit of emotional propaganda.

We need to wake up America- or else we will ALL continue to be led like political sheeple down the chute at the Government Charnel House.