Ron Paul: The Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear bomb on August 29, 1949, leading to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, shared by both the USA and the Soviets. The unwritten agreement by the two super powers deterred nuclear war with an implied threat to blow up the world, if need be, to defend each of their interests.
I well remember the Cuban missile crises of October 1962, having been drafted into the military at that time. Mutually Assured Destruction had significant meaning to the whole world during this period. This crisis, along with the escalating ill-advised Vietnam War, made me very much aware of the problems the world faced during the five years I served as a USAF flight surgeon.
It was with great pleasure and hope that I observed the collapse of the Soviet Empire between 1989 and 1991. This breakup verified the early predictions by the free market economists, like Ludwig Von Mises, that communism would self-destruct because of the deeply flawed economic theories embedded in socialism. Our nukes were never needed because ideas are more powerful than the Weapons of War.
Many Americans at the time were boldly hopeful that we would benefit from a generous peace dividend. Sadly, it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity wasted. There was to be no “beating their swords into plowshares,” even though history shows that without weapons and war there’s more food and prosperity for the people. Unfortunately, our leaders decided on another course that served the special interests who benefit from constant wars and the arbitrary rearrangement of national borders for control of national resources.
Instead of a peace dividend from ending the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction, US leaders opted for a foreign policy of American world domination as its sole super power. It was all in the spirit of Woodrow Wilson’s idealistic goal of “making the world safe for democracy” by pursuing a war to end all wars.
The mantra became that American exceptionalism morally required us to spread our dominance world-wide by force. US world dominance, by whatever means, became our new bipartisan foreign policy. There was to be no peace dividend, though our enemies were virtually non-existent.
In many ways America had been “exceptional” but in an opposite manner from the neo-con driven foreign policy of the last 20 years. If America indeed has something good to offer the cause of peace, prosperity, and liberty it must be spread through persuasion and by example; not by intimidation, bribes and war.
Maintaining world domination is based on an intellectually and financially bankrupt idea that generates dependency, war, loss of civil liberties, inflation and debt, all of which contribute to our economic crisis.
Saddest of all, this policy of American domination and exceptionalism has allowed us to become an aggressor nation, supporting pre-emptive war, covert destabilization, foreign occupations, nation building, torture and assassinations. This policy has generated hatred toward Americans and provides the incentive for almost all of the suicide attacks against us and our allies.
To continue to believe the fiction that the militants hate us for our freedoms and wealth may even result in more attacks against us — that is, unless our national bankruptcy brings us to our knees and forces us to bring our troops home.
Expanding our foreign military intervention overseas as a cure for the attacks against us, tragically, only guarantees even more attacks. We must someday wake up, be honest with ourselves, and reject the notion that we’re spreading freedom and America’s goodness around the world. We cannot justify our policy by claiming our mission is to secure American freedoms and protect our Constitution. That is not believable. This policy is doomed to fail on all fronts.
The policy of Mutually Assured Destruction has been gone now for 20 years, and that is good.
The policy of American domination of the world, as nation builder-in-chief and policeman of the world, has failed and must be abandoned—if not as a moral imperative, then certainly out of economic necessity.
My humble suggestion is to replace it with a policy of Mutually Assured Respect. This requires no money and no weapons industry, or other special interests demanding huge war profits or other advantages.
This requires simply tolerance of others cultures and their social and religious values, and the giving up of all use of force to occupy or control other countries and their national resources. Many who disagree choose to grossly distort the basic principles shared by the world’s great religions: the Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments, and the cause of peace. Religions all too often are distorted and used to justify the violence engaged in for arbitrary power.
A policy of Mutually Assured Respect would result in the U.S.:
- Treating other nations exactly as we expect others to treat us.
- Offering friendship with all who seek it.
- Participating in trade with all who are willing.
- Refusing to threaten, bribe or occupy any other nation.
Seeking an honest system of commodity money that no single country can manipulate for a trade advantage. Without this, currency manipulation becomes a tool of protectionism and prompts retaliation with tariffs and various regulations. This policy, when it persists, is dangerous and frequently leads to real wars.
Mutually Assured Respect offers a policy of respect, trade and friendship and rejects threats, sanctions and occupations.
This is the only practical way to promote peace, harmony and economic well-being to the maximum number of people in the world.
Mutually Assured Respect may not be perfect but far better than Mutually Assured Destruction or unilateral American dominance.
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I cannot and will not support a dangerous stance such as this.
Its so easy for Americans to support the military industrial complex because they do not personally know what WAR is really like. More people died in the Vietnam War than all US Civilians and soldiers combined over the entire history of the USA.
If I attack you in your garden for no reason are you trying to tell me that you wouldnt retialiate. We destory countries and kill millions of pple and for what???
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what a LIER.. 1) not all non muslims are zionist infidels.. you peice of shit..
2) that is not how they feel at all.. ive been living here for 11 years being exposed to allllllllllllll sorts of islamist movments..
fuck you.. you know shit.. and you where never a supporter of Ron Paul.. your just writing your usual propaganda.. as a filthy war mongering zionist you are..
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I SHOWED where USAID goes in Egypt in my first video “On Ron Paul and USAID” and I just finished making another video showing how well and good our puppet government tactics of intervention are working in Egypt.. please go SEE i dont ask people to agree.. just SEE what your fellow American is living over seas..
please bare with my boring style -for now- but do it for America..
thanks everyone.. and please spread..
Ron Paul 2012
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I SHOWED where USAID goes in Egypt in my first video “On Ron Paul and USAID” and I just finished making another video showing how well and good our puppet government tactics of intervention are working in Egypt.. please go SEE i dont ask people to agree.. just SEE what your fellow American is living over seas..
please bare with my boring style -for now- but do it for America..
thanks everyone.. and please spread..
Ron Paul 2012
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Sadly, the lack of arrogant nonsense means that this platform will never get him elected…
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I think its time we realize we are the terrorists in the world. We are the greatest threat to ourselves. Its not our great military that has failed us, its the economy that failed us. And as the economy goes, so goes the military.
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I used to be a stanch supporter. But, you are not going to negotiate with those that feel zionist infidels. IE : NON Muslims should all be slaughtered. People have been taught for decades it is their right to eliminate us from the world. They already consider us weak. So to not make a strong stance to them is irresponsible. If we pull out of some areas it is certain many people will be murdered. Saudi Arabia , Israel etc. I cannot and will not support a dangerous stance such as this.
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I see Eisenhower in him: not just his appearance in this video, but his ideas about the military industrial complex. Ron Paul is the only candidate that is listening to Eisenhower’s warnings about the MIC.
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That’s great, mate! Thanks for your support. Do you think any of the political parties in Australia could at some point run on Paul’s platform? Are there any political figures in Australia embodying the spirit of America’s founders?
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You sir are Brilliant!! You 100% have my vote and can agree with everything you have said! Thank you for running and I hope you win!!!! Ron Paul 2012!!!!
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Well, why don’t we see how far another war gets us then. We can keep pretending that people hate us because we’re free and continue to aggravate them by bombing. Let’s listen to the propaganda that Iran is going to get a nuke and blow Israel (300 nukes) off the face of the earth. Is it a coincidence that Iran is #4 in the world oil producer and we’re #1 consumer? It was said that oil alone would pay for the Iraq war, yet our debt goes up. History shows that all empires fail.
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Do you really think Cuba was only words? You had better look at your history! There was a significant movement of military forces. Words backed up by determination and resolve. I don’t see Dr. Paul having any resolve at all.
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“History shows that persuasion with words only fails again and again.” Ummm…Cuba? His foreign policy is common sense. Do you not realize how much money it cost to be in multiple undeclared wars and have bases all over the world? The foreign policy we will fail because we will go broke. Too many people believe that we need to be everywhere imposing our way on others and then they’ll believe that people thousands of miles away attack us because we’re free.
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Wow, how naive can he be. History shows that persuasion with words only fails again and again. His foreign policy would fail with a very short time. Let’s just give the police the right to arrest the crooks on the streets with verbal persuasion only…oh, I’m that would really drive the crime rate to zero. This video really convinces Ron Paul is nearly out of touch with the world as it is today, and history. Sounds like British Prime Neville Chamberlain’s discussions with Hitler.
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(continued) *that has little to no need for violent approaches. Violence is to be used as a desperate last hope if the enemy strikes first not a common answer . There are more important things to advance our nation than intimadation and one world goverments. Whoever controls the world will surely be corrupt in no time. War is a waste of money time and lives. Ron paul 2012.
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Im a young philosopher who believes in certain morals and ethics, and i truly believe in a society of peace being possible. Why is it so essential for america to be a superpower, all the negative results are not worth it. We should be a superpower of thriving technology used for good, and a peaceful culture thw
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This is synarchist would do & what has in fact been done:
Permit a few officials – like Paul, Kucinich, Nader, Sanders, etc. – on the margins of the political system to prolong the hopes of the few attentive, informed voters who are wise to the unfathomable corruption that runs both parties & the military for the sake of evil corporate geopoltical & financial aims. Use them to prop up the illusion of a representative govt. not fully rigged & then tear them down w/ silence & smears.
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“Consider our situation, sir; go to the poor man and ask him what he does. He will inform you that he enjoys the fruits of his labor, under his own fig tree, with his wife and children around him, in peace and security. Go to every other member of society; you will find the same tranquil ease and content; you will find no alarms or disturbances. Why, then, tell us of danger, to terrify us into an adoption of this new form of government?”
- Patrick Henry, 1788
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“But now, sir, the American spirit, assisted by the ropes & chains of consolidation, is about to convert this country into a powerful & mighty empire. If you make the citizens of this country agree to become the subjects of 1 great consolidated empire of America, your government will not have sufficient energy to keep them together. Such a government is incompatible with the genius of republicanism. There will be no checks, no real balances, in this government.”
- Patrick Henry, 1788
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Paul issues no Jeremiads, only prudence:
“US world dominance by whatever means became our new Bipartisan foreign policy. There was to be no peace dividend, even though all of our enemies were virtually nonexistent.
If America has something good to offer b/c of peace, prosperity & liberty, it must be spread by persuasion & by example–not by intimidation, bribes & war.”
No more “aggression, preemptive war, covert destabilization, foreign occupation, nation building, torture & assassinations”!
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Yeah bro. You should also watch ancient aliens! Everything put on film is true!
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Thats one historical perspective. The less b.s. one is that Kruschev was a human being and actually wanted to work with Kennedy. Unfortunately Hawks on both sides misled all the human beings in the cold war to thinking one side was “evil”
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This man knows what he is talking about, this guy surely would be called names on cnn/fox/encb etc like: leftie, hippi or communist.
Those are names, its about the ideas of this man.
Away with the agression, just only concentrate on the defence..
This man would really make a difference to billions of people around the world!
GO ron paul, full support from the netherlands!
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Ron Paul is wrong when he says that our nuclear weapons didn’t protect us from Russia. President Kennedy forced Kruschev to back down in the Cuban missile crisis because Kruschev knew Kennedy meant it when he said it would be “mutual destruction.” I agree with Paul that we must stop international meddling, but I’m not sure Paul intends to maintain our defenses — surely he’s not suggesting we disarm! But it does sound like that is his ultimate objective.
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DID ANYONE SEE THAT ONE OF RON PAUL’S VIDEOS ON FOREIGN POLICY THAT HAD HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VIEWS HAS BEEN BLOCKED BY VIACOM DUE TO “COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT”.
YOUTUBE, this is blatant internet censorship and it needs to end! We demand the truth!
PLEASE Spread This Message!
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DID ANYONE SEE THAT ONE OF RON PAUL’S VIDEOS ON FOREIGN POLICY THAT HAD HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VIEWS HAS BEEN BLOCKED BY VIACOM DUE TO “COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT”.
YOUTUBE, this is blatant internet censorship and it needs to end! We demand the truth!
PLEASE Spread This Message!
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Ron Paul is the ONLY Presidential Candidate who will put an end to the Constitution Shredding scheme called ‘The War On Terror”.
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Ron Paul is the ONLY Presidential Candidate who will put an end to the Constitution Shredding scheme called ‘The War On Terror”.
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This is wonderful! The more you study the First World War, the clearer it is that every war since (and probably before) is fought for quite different reasons than are first apparent.
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As an Iranian i think Ron Paul gets to office, we will see lots of changes on Iranian foreign policy as well.by RECOGNIZING each other’s INTEREST in a rational manner and dialogue based on MUTUAL RESPECT Shie Iran can be eventually much more relatively reliable friend of US than conservative radical soni Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country in region .
BUT these can only happen BY stopping demonizing Iran and war propaganda which does nothing good but to spread hatred .
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GOOOO RON PAUL.We can’t pay for those wars anymore. Stop with the fearaganda about other countries like China for example. They are not our enemies, they don’t want to be, we THE CITIZENS don’t want them to be. The longer we stay in wars, the more our government will use “Terrorism” to take our rights away and spy on us. Think about that! Ron Paul 2012
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If Ron Paul ever managed to conjure up some voodoo ritual and become president, well then you would really have to be scared. After he destroys our defenses and the world comes down on us you will be scared.
Thankfully, we are not going to have to worry about that, this freak will never get the nomination, ever. We would have more of a chance of Karl Marx’s corpse winning.
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Truth, wisdom and liberty will always triumph over practiced facial expressions and talking points.
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Mutually assured destruction? Sounds like my marriage
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Ron Paul speaks of things that others do not and I like that… but he till wants NWO and I dont like that.
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