Katie Scarlett O'Hara is the main character in the novel and movie, *Gone with the Wind.* In the story, Scarlett is the oldest daughter of an Irish/Catholic immigrant and his French aristocratic wife in mid-nineteenth century Georgia. The family builds an opulent plantation they name Tara just south of Atlanta in Jonesboro. Scarlett loves her father and her home but is otherwise completely self-absorbed.
Before the Civil War, Scarlett is the coquettish belle of the ball attending soirees where she flirts with and torments young men who fall in love with her beauty and burning sexual energy. Scarlett is in love with melancholic Ashley who is love with Melanie. At one of these parties, Scarlett throws herself at Ashley as they are alone in a drawing room. Ashely rebuffs her advance and withdraws. Scarlett throws a vase against the wall in a rage only to find Rhett Butler lying on the couch who has overheard the previous exchange between Scarlett and Ashley. Rhett is immediately intrigued by Scarlett's beauty and energy as are most men. The audience, though, immediately recognizes that Rhett is the man for Scarlett. He is the only one who can tame and domesticate her, which is what she needs.
The story unfolds as the tension builds between the two properly matched couples, Ashley/Melanie and Rhett/Scarlett. Scarlett resists Rhett while being intrigued by him as she marries several other men along the way toward finally marrying Rhett. The entire time, she dreams of marrying Ashely who is married to Melanie. Finally, Scarlett wrecks her marriage with Rhett only realizing what the audience saw all along--that she was intended for Rhett, not Ashely.
Scarlett comes to her senses too late as Rhett walks out the door saying to Scarlett in reply to her question what will happen to her if he leaves her, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." The final scene in the story finds Scarlett pulling herself together after crying over Rhett's leaving and her worrying over how to get Rhett back saying, "I can't let him go. I can't. There must be some way to bring him back. Oh I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow. (She closes the door.) But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do? (She falls forward onto the ascending stairs.) What is there that matters?...Tara!...Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"
Scarlett represents both the Old South belle and the New South businesswoman. In both settings that change so drastically in the story and in reality, Atlanta moves from a semi-feudalistic society of manners and morals to a raucous business climate in which everything goes. Scarlett uses her beauty, charm, and craftiness in both social climates to attain her ends. Scarlett gains most everything she thinks she wants through sheer willpower and moral compromise with the exception of Ashley only to realize too late that she has lost her integrity and what she really needs. The story unfolds as a mirror to Atlanta as it has sold itself out for money and acceptability. This is why Atlanta's Southern culture is tragically "Gone with the Wind."
Before the Civil War, Scarlett is the coquettish belle of the ball attending soirees where she flirts with and torments young men who fall in love with her beauty and burning sexual energy. Scarlett is in love with melancholic Ashley who is love with Melanie. At one of these parties, Scarlett throws herself at Ashley as they are alone in a drawing room. Ashely rebuffs her advance and withdraws. Scarlett throws a vase against the wall in a rage only to find Rhett Butler lying on the couch who has overheard the previous exchange between Scarlett and Ashley. Rhett is immediately intrigued by Scarlett's beauty and energy as are most men. The audience, though, immediately recognizes that Rhett is the man for Scarlett. He is the only one who can tame and domesticate her, which is what she needs.
The story unfolds as the tension builds between the two properly matched couples, Ashley/Melanie and Rhett/Scarlett. Scarlett resists Rhett while being intrigued by him as she marries several other men along the way toward finally marrying Rhett. The entire time, she dreams of marrying Ashely who is married to Melanie. Finally, Scarlett wrecks her marriage with Rhett only realizing what the audience saw all along--that she was intended for Rhett, not Ashely.
Scarlett comes to her senses too late as Rhett walks out the door saying to Scarlett in reply to her question what will happen to her if he leaves her, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." The final scene in the story finds Scarlett pulling herself together after crying over Rhett's leaving and her worrying over how to get Rhett back saying, "I can't let him go. I can't. There must be some way to bring him back. Oh I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow. (She closes the door.) But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do? (She falls forward onto the ascending stairs.) What is there that matters?...Tara!...Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"
Scarlett represents both the Old South belle and the New South businesswoman. In both settings that change so drastically in the story and in reality, Atlanta moves from a semi-feudalistic society of manners and morals to a raucous business climate in which everything goes. Scarlett uses her beauty, charm, and craftiness in both social climates to attain her ends. Scarlett gains most everything she thinks she wants through sheer willpower and moral compromise with the exception of Ashley only to realize too late that she has lost her integrity and what she really needs. The story unfolds as a mirror to Atlanta as it has sold itself out for money and acceptability. This is why Atlanta's Southern culture is tragically "Gone with the Wind."
Scarlett O'Hara: "Where will I go, what will I do?"
Rhett Butler: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
Rhett Butler: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
by Tex in Tex February 16, 2008
United States nineteenth century general most well-known for his leadership of the Federal "Western" army in 1864-1865 during the American Civil War. He also fought against Indians in the American West after the war.
General Sherman is the originator of the modern concept of "total war." In moving through Georgia and then into the Carolinas, Sherman devised a strategy of deliberately targeting civilians for attack. He also targeted the homes and personal property of the civilians of the South who posed no military threat to Union forces. Such targeting of civilians for attack had been considered immoral at the time. The goal of such a strategy was purely utilitarian. It did not matter who morally deserved attack on this view, but instead the only question became the total number of lives saved versus lives lost as well as aggregate gains and losses in supplies and property.
During the siege of Atlanta in the summer of 1864, Sherman decided to order the bombardment of distinctly civilian areas of Atlanta with the express purpose of terrorizing the civilian population into pressuring the Confederate military and political leadership to surrender. Civilians, including slaves, were killed as intended by General Sherman and his subordinates. Confederate General John Bell Hood protested the targeted killings of non-combatants as uncivilized and inhuman. Sherman ignored the appeals by Hood to target only Confederate military positions and personnel. His infamous comment in response to such appeals was "War is Hell."
After the fall of Atlanta to Federal forces in early September 1864, the city was occupied for two months. General Sherman ordered the civilian population evacuated by force. After the evacuation of the city by civilians, General Sherman ordered the city to be burned to the ground. The civilians who were forced to leave Atlanta had to live in the woods for months with no provisions or shelter. He then proceeded through Georgia on his way to Savannah burning and destroying towns, farms, and plantations. His men looted the private property and destroyed civilians' homes leaving them destitute and without provision. After the capture of Savannah, which he spared, he continued into South Carolina where his tactics of "total war" accelerated in their savage ruthlessness culminating in the Federal army burning Columbia, South Carolina to the ground.
Such vicious tactics established the mind-set and military precedent for using civilians as pawns in a military conflict. Such tactics had previously been deemed morally unacceptable. The deliberate targeting of civilians for attack was taken up in World War II ending in the deaths of millions. The bombing of European cities by both sides of the war and Japanese cities by the U.S. as well as attacks on civilians in China, the Philippines, and Korea by Japan were consistent with and encouraged by Sherman's precedent. The logic of saving lives in the long-run by these tactics seems to have been refuted by history.
Modern terrorism also follows the same basic strategy of targeting helpless non-combatants for attack in order to terrorize the remaining citizens into capitulation.
The contemporary American practice of only targeting military personnel for deliberate attack reverses the policy of the American government instituted by General Sherman in Atlanta in 1864. The policy of killing sufficient numbers of civilians and destroying their homes to force surrender has been recognized as the mark of only the most barbarous kind of terrorist, such as those who perpetrated the September 11 attacks.
General Sherman is the originator of the modern concept of "total war." In moving through Georgia and then into the Carolinas, Sherman devised a strategy of deliberately targeting civilians for attack. He also targeted the homes and personal property of the civilians of the South who posed no military threat to Union forces. Such targeting of civilians for attack had been considered immoral at the time. The goal of such a strategy was purely utilitarian. It did not matter who morally deserved attack on this view, but instead the only question became the total number of lives saved versus lives lost as well as aggregate gains and losses in supplies and property.
During the siege of Atlanta in the summer of 1864, Sherman decided to order the bombardment of distinctly civilian areas of Atlanta with the express purpose of terrorizing the civilian population into pressuring the Confederate military and political leadership to surrender. Civilians, including slaves, were killed as intended by General Sherman and his subordinates. Confederate General John Bell Hood protested the targeted killings of non-combatants as uncivilized and inhuman. Sherman ignored the appeals by Hood to target only Confederate military positions and personnel. His infamous comment in response to such appeals was "War is Hell."
After the fall of Atlanta to Federal forces in early September 1864, the city was occupied for two months. General Sherman ordered the civilian population evacuated by force. After the evacuation of the city by civilians, General Sherman ordered the city to be burned to the ground. The civilians who were forced to leave Atlanta had to live in the woods for months with no provisions or shelter. He then proceeded through Georgia on his way to Savannah burning and destroying towns, farms, and plantations. His men looted the private property and destroyed civilians' homes leaving them destitute and without provision. After the capture of Savannah, which he spared, he continued into South Carolina where his tactics of "total war" accelerated in their savage ruthlessness culminating in the Federal army burning Columbia, South Carolina to the ground.
Such vicious tactics established the mind-set and military precedent for using civilians as pawns in a military conflict. Such tactics had previously been deemed morally unacceptable. The deliberate targeting of civilians for attack was taken up in World War II ending in the deaths of millions. The bombing of European cities by both sides of the war and Japanese cities by the U.S. as well as attacks on civilians in China, the Philippines, and Korea by Japan were consistent with and encouraged by Sherman's precedent. The logic of saving lives in the long-run by these tactics seems to have been refuted by history.
Modern terrorism also follows the same basic strategy of targeting helpless non-combatants for attack in order to terrorize the remaining citizens into capitulation.
The contemporary American practice of only targeting military personnel for deliberate attack reverses the policy of the American government instituted by General Sherman in Atlanta in 1864. The policy of killing sufficient numbers of civilians and destroying their homes to force surrender has been recognized as the mark of only the most barbarous kind of terrorist, such as those who perpetrated the September 11 attacks.
General William T. Sherman meeting Yasser Arafat in Hell: "Good job killing those innocent people...You got what you wanted from the killings...I did the same in Atlanta in 1864."
by Tex in Tex February 03, 2008
Liberal elitist hipster: That is so horrible that MacDonald's is everywhere in the world. They are breaking down indigenous culture and traditional folkways. Monoculture everywhere! It is sickening. (Moments later) It is so wonderful that we are breaking down backward ways of life in the American South and any other traditional culture. We want to spread the cosmopolitan ethos everywhere. I am a citizen of the world!
by Tex in Tex February 22, 2008
The path that God has provided for reconciliation with him. He has disclosed himself to humans through the experiences of selected people, notably Abraham and his descendants through his son Issac. These people were brought into immediate contact with God in trials and blessings so that people might come to love and trust him. The record of these experiences are recorded in the Bible. These experiences are examples and invitations for everyone.
God is tripartite: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The penultimate event in human history was when God the Son assumed human identity in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a perfect life and then allowed himself to be crucified by the Jews and Romans then in power in Judea. Ultimately, the crucifixion was a crucial part of the original plan to redeem humans from the sin they fell into in the Garden of Eden after God had created perfect humans in a perfect world. Each human falls into sin himself/herself through their own choices recapitulating Adam and Eve's original sin. Jesus assumed humans' sins and paid the retributive price to God the Father for them. Jesus was then resurrected from the dead three days later to overcome death for all humans and to verify his divine identity to humans.
Jesus loves all people, including those who have ridiculed him on this website. He reaches out in love to them. All it takes for a relationship with him is to accept his sacrificial death on the Cross to cover our sins from God the Father. This acceptance is a pure act of faith that does not first require attempts to justify oneself in God's eyes. God simply requires that a person accept his Son as his/her Savior and his/her Lord.
If a person rejects God by rejecting his Son, then God will grant the wish of the person to be left alone for eternity. But when God's presence is not manifest, then nothing good is present to be enjoyed. People in Hell are quarantined from the rest of God's Creation which enjoys his full presence. These people receive only just punishment for their sins committed while on Earth.
The act of faith that reconciles the person with God is a rational act that is supported by the historical accuracy of the Bible and the verification of such miracles as Jesus' resurrection (if he did not rise from the dead, then why did not his adversaries display his dead body? If the disciples stole his body, why did they willingly allow themselves to be tortured to death when they could have revealed what actually happened to his body and cut a deal with the Roman and Jewish authorities?) As Pascal observed, belief is rational because it is a good bet--nothing to lose and everything to gain, while the non-believers' payoff matrix is the reverse of the believers' matrix. As William James observed, this decision is required by each of us whatever one might decide.
God is tripartite: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The penultimate event in human history was when God the Son assumed human identity in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a perfect life and then allowed himself to be crucified by the Jews and Romans then in power in Judea. Ultimately, the crucifixion was a crucial part of the original plan to redeem humans from the sin they fell into in the Garden of Eden after God had created perfect humans in a perfect world. Each human falls into sin himself/herself through their own choices recapitulating Adam and Eve's original sin. Jesus assumed humans' sins and paid the retributive price to God the Father for them. Jesus was then resurrected from the dead three days later to overcome death for all humans and to verify his divine identity to humans.
Jesus loves all people, including those who have ridiculed him on this website. He reaches out in love to them. All it takes for a relationship with him is to accept his sacrificial death on the Cross to cover our sins from God the Father. This acceptance is a pure act of faith that does not first require attempts to justify oneself in God's eyes. God simply requires that a person accept his Son as his/her Savior and his/her Lord.
If a person rejects God by rejecting his Son, then God will grant the wish of the person to be left alone for eternity. But when God's presence is not manifest, then nothing good is present to be enjoyed. People in Hell are quarantined from the rest of God's Creation which enjoys his full presence. These people receive only just punishment for their sins committed while on Earth.
The act of faith that reconciles the person with God is a rational act that is supported by the historical accuracy of the Bible and the verification of such miracles as Jesus' resurrection (if he did not rise from the dead, then why did not his adversaries display his dead body? If the disciples stole his body, why did they willingly allow themselves to be tortured to death when they could have revealed what actually happened to his body and cut a deal with the Roman and Jewish authorities?) As Pascal observed, belief is rational because it is a good bet--nothing to lose and everything to gain, while the non-believers' payoff matrix is the reverse of the believers' matrix. As William James observed, this decision is required by each of us whatever one might decide.
If you were to die tonight and were to come face to face with God, why should he let you into his Heaven? The answer that Christianity provides is: Because of the price Jesus paid for my sins on the Cross and my acceptance of this sacrifice to atone for my personal sins.
by Tex in Tex February 05, 2008
Capital city of Georgia. Originally named Terminus because of its strategic location for transportation. It became known as Marthasville named for the daughter of an early mayor. In the 1850's the name of the emerging city was changed to Atlanta. There are conflicting stories on the name--one is that Atlanta was named for the ancient lost city of Atlantis while another story is that it is a shortened name for the railroad connection with the West, Atlantica-Pacifica.
Atlanta was and is a central trade and transportation center. The fall of Atlanta in 1864 was key to the Federal effort to preserve the Union. The psychological boost to the Northern cause as well as the economic impact of the loss of Atlanta to the Confederacy insured the re-election of President Lincoln who had faced a serious challenge to his presidency in the 1864 election due to many Northerners' weariness of war. The city was burned by General Sherman after a forced evacuation of the civilians. The Confederates destroyed their armaments adding to the destruction of the city. Civilians had to live in the woods for months after Sherman's destruction of the city.
After the war, the city rebuilt turning to a modern commercial economy encouraged by the vision of Henry Grady. This more business-oriented approach formed the basis of the "New South." The New South replaced the traditional, Jeffersonian view of Southern culture that focused on tranquility and cooperation with a Hamiltonian view that emphasizes competition and frenetic activity. This ethos has been taken up and intensified by 20th Century political, business, and media leaders in Atlanta. The symbol of Atlanta, the Phoenix, is descriptive of how the native Atlantans of the late 19th Century rebuilt the city after its destruction by the Federal government.
The New South philosophy that worked well to rebuild Atlanta from the ashes that the Federal government left Atlanta in has now morphed into a cut-throat, anti-social "ethic" that Jefferson feared would take hold if the Hamiltonian view became dominant. Atlanta is now characterized by greed and aggressiveness. People there are typically hyper-active, aggressive, and detached. The political, economic climate is solidly pro-growth at all costs.
The only social bond in Atlanta is commercialism. Atlanta is a boomtown with people flooding into the area simply to make money. No one has anything in common. People rarely know their neighbors or care to do so.
There is no common culture to facilitate establishing and maintaining contacts and relationships. There is no effort to preserve culture in Atlanta. If anyone attempts to do so, they are likely to be labeled a racist. Mary Rose, Charlie Rose's former wife and a former anchor woman in Atlanta, has taken the lead to restore and open Martha Mitchell's house to the public. The house of the *Gone with the Wind* author was torched several times by arsonists who were determined to destroy one of the few landmarks not already demolished by developers. The fires were likely politically and racially motivated. "White Columns," the studio for Channel 2 that was built in the Greek-revival style was demolished and replaced by a modern building. People who come to town looking for traditional Southern culture and vestiges of Atlanta's past are discouraged from such interests. Tourists will find nothing like the charm and history of Savannah, Charleston, or New Orleans in Atlanta. Virtually all references to Atlanta's past have been torn down or suppressed by this modern cabal to make Atlanta into a monocultural icon.
Atlanta's business, media, and political leaders seem to suffer from a massive inferiority complex trying to curry favor with the leftist elites in the North. They hate traditional culture and actively seek to destroy it.
The city's native population has been overwhelmed by the influx of non-Georgians into the city and its surrounding suburbs. Native Atlantans are few and far between. The city's population is highly transitive. They are from all over the U.S., and since the 1996 Olympics, from all over the world. Consequently, there is very little indigenous culture in the Atlanta area. If the News Media led by WSB and the *Atlanta Journal* find any remnants of Southern culture, they will cast these traditions in racist terms trying to destroy them. At best, the Media ignores Southern traditions. Atlanta is a rootless, colorless place. It is a city "too busy to hate," but it is also a city "too busy for civility and culture."
The natural environment is beautiful. Atlanta is a city in a forest. Earlier developers who were not as greedy and irresponsible preserved the trees and natural sloping terrain. But socially and architecturally, Atlanta is now a vast wasteland. The buildings are modern and ugly. A few of the newer buildings do have some style compared with the boxy, cubist monstrosities that dominate the skyline. Tom Wolfe famously described the art museum as looking like a chemical factory.
As General Sherman said, "War is hell" when criticized for deliberately targeting civilians in Atlanta for bombardment and death. I would add to that insight that living in Atlanta now is hell.
Atlanta was and is a central trade and transportation center. The fall of Atlanta in 1864 was key to the Federal effort to preserve the Union. The psychological boost to the Northern cause as well as the economic impact of the loss of Atlanta to the Confederacy insured the re-election of President Lincoln who had faced a serious challenge to his presidency in the 1864 election due to many Northerners' weariness of war. The city was burned by General Sherman after a forced evacuation of the civilians. The Confederates destroyed their armaments adding to the destruction of the city. Civilians had to live in the woods for months after Sherman's destruction of the city.
After the war, the city rebuilt turning to a modern commercial economy encouraged by the vision of Henry Grady. This more business-oriented approach formed the basis of the "New South." The New South replaced the traditional, Jeffersonian view of Southern culture that focused on tranquility and cooperation with a Hamiltonian view that emphasizes competition and frenetic activity. This ethos has been taken up and intensified by 20th Century political, business, and media leaders in Atlanta. The symbol of Atlanta, the Phoenix, is descriptive of how the native Atlantans of the late 19th Century rebuilt the city after its destruction by the Federal government.
The New South philosophy that worked well to rebuild Atlanta from the ashes that the Federal government left Atlanta in has now morphed into a cut-throat, anti-social "ethic" that Jefferson feared would take hold if the Hamiltonian view became dominant. Atlanta is now characterized by greed and aggressiveness. People there are typically hyper-active, aggressive, and detached. The political, economic climate is solidly pro-growth at all costs.
The only social bond in Atlanta is commercialism. Atlanta is a boomtown with people flooding into the area simply to make money. No one has anything in common. People rarely know their neighbors or care to do so.
There is no common culture to facilitate establishing and maintaining contacts and relationships. There is no effort to preserve culture in Atlanta. If anyone attempts to do so, they are likely to be labeled a racist. Mary Rose, Charlie Rose's former wife and a former anchor woman in Atlanta, has taken the lead to restore and open Martha Mitchell's house to the public. The house of the *Gone with the Wind* author was torched several times by arsonists who were determined to destroy one of the few landmarks not already demolished by developers. The fires were likely politically and racially motivated. "White Columns," the studio for Channel 2 that was built in the Greek-revival style was demolished and replaced by a modern building. People who come to town looking for traditional Southern culture and vestiges of Atlanta's past are discouraged from such interests. Tourists will find nothing like the charm and history of Savannah, Charleston, or New Orleans in Atlanta. Virtually all references to Atlanta's past have been torn down or suppressed by this modern cabal to make Atlanta into a monocultural icon.
Atlanta's business, media, and political leaders seem to suffer from a massive inferiority complex trying to curry favor with the leftist elites in the North. They hate traditional culture and actively seek to destroy it.
The city's native population has been overwhelmed by the influx of non-Georgians into the city and its surrounding suburbs. Native Atlantans are few and far between. The city's population is highly transitive. They are from all over the U.S., and since the 1996 Olympics, from all over the world. Consequently, there is very little indigenous culture in the Atlanta area. If the News Media led by WSB and the *Atlanta Journal* find any remnants of Southern culture, they will cast these traditions in racist terms trying to destroy them. At best, the Media ignores Southern traditions. Atlanta is a rootless, colorless place. It is a city "too busy to hate," but it is also a city "too busy for civility and culture."
The natural environment is beautiful. Atlanta is a city in a forest. Earlier developers who were not as greedy and irresponsible preserved the trees and natural sloping terrain. But socially and architecturally, Atlanta is now a vast wasteland. The buildings are modern and ugly. A few of the newer buildings do have some style compared with the boxy, cubist monstrosities that dominate the skyline. Tom Wolfe famously described the art museum as looking like a chemical factory.
As General Sherman said, "War is hell" when criticized for deliberately targeting civilians in Atlanta for bombardment and death. I would add to that insight that living in Atlanta now is hell.
Tourist arriving in Atlanta: "Where is Gone with the Wind? Where is the Southern history and charm?"
They are gone with the wind.
They are gone with the wind.
by Tex in Tex January 23, 2008
The personification of what the U.S. has become along with its distorted conception of liberty. Ron Jeremy is to late 20th Century and early 21st Century America what Thomas Jefferson was to late 18th Century America.
Ted Koppel reported that he found himself near Ron Jeremy in an airport. Never having heard of Jeremy and finding out who he was as people mobbed Jeremy, Koppel was horrified to discover a porn star was so well-known and admired.
by Tex in Tex May 04, 2008
Congressman from Lake Jackson,Texas in the metro Houston area. He works as a medical doctor. He has been a consistent classical liberal or libertarian as congressman and a presidential candidate (as a Republican in 2008 and a Libertarian in 1988). He holds to a consistent constitutionalist position upholding the Lockean political philosophy that the United States was founded upon. He argues for a nighwatchman view of the State consistent with the Jeffersonaian view of the U.S. Constitution.
On social issues Congressman Paul is a conservative. He supports the right to life and opposes abortion on demand. He also opposes open borders policy on immigration realizing that it is crucial to protect the culture the American political, legal, and economic system is rooted in. Even though some of his supporters are social and moral nihilists, Paul has maintained a consistent social conservatism and realizes that the main source of leftist attack on American traditions has been the Federal government. Even though he supports drug and sex deregulation, he has never endorsed illicit drug use or aberrant sexual practices. His position is to allow nature to take its course with reckless and immoral behavior rather than placing such behavior on par with traditional morality.
This same logic is present in his economic policy. Companies or individuals who can create new products or services that people choose to buy because they perceive these products or services can help them should be free to prosper. Those who offer poor quality products or services should be allowed to fail. Government should only provide basic rules for these pursuits to take place, such as prevention of fraud and enforcing contracts. As Milton Friedman used to say, the market forces people to "put up or shut up." This maxim applies to life-styles as well as business enterprises.
On social issues Congressman Paul is a conservative. He supports the right to life and opposes abortion on demand. He also opposes open borders policy on immigration realizing that it is crucial to protect the culture the American political, legal, and economic system is rooted in. Even though some of his supporters are social and moral nihilists, Paul has maintained a consistent social conservatism and realizes that the main source of leftist attack on American traditions has been the Federal government. Even though he supports drug and sex deregulation, he has never endorsed illicit drug use or aberrant sexual practices. His position is to allow nature to take its course with reckless and immoral behavior rather than placing such behavior on par with traditional morality.
This same logic is present in his economic policy. Companies or individuals who can create new products or services that people choose to buy because they perceive these products or services can help them should be free to prosper. Those who offer poor quality products or services should be allowed to fail. Government should only provide basic rules for these pursuits to take place, such as prevention of fraud and enforcing contracts. As Milton Friedman used to say, the market forces people to "put up or shut up." This maxim applies to life-styles as well as business enterprises.
I am voting for Ron Paul because he stands for the principles Jefferson articulated in 1776 in the Declaration of Independence.
by Tex in Tex January 28, 2008