Ron Paul

Last night Ron Paul came to speak at my school. He was interesting to say the least. More interesting were his followers, who came out en masse for this event.

Congressman Paul has some extreme ideas, including a foreign policy that emphasizes national sovereignty and involves leaving all foreign military bases. He won't call it isolationist, but that's what it is. If we pull out of the United Nations, it's not going to gain us any friends; we're going to lose the few we have left. Besides we already ignore most of the UN statutes, including the International Criminal Court and child labor laws. As long as we keep allowing them to have land in New York, they're not going to complain if we don't follow their policies.

In terms of domestic policy, he kept comparing everything including education to our religious values, asking us if we would want our religion judged by a national standard. Well, no I don't think religion should be put on a national standard, but education is the key to ensuring a prosperous future for America. True, some education should be the responsibility of the parents, but the state must take some responsibility in this regard.

I think what Ron Paul has going for him is the fact that he is a fresh face. He offers a new set of ideas to the table that really haven't been seen with this much prevalence in a major race. But we're at a precarious position in time and space right now. We need baby steps. We need to conquer the problems that we have before taking giant steps and turning the nation in a whole new direction. Ron Paul has some great ideas; they just aren't feasible for today's world.

CB