Points of view on war: Barack Obama vs Ron Paul

Today -at Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony-, Barack Obama has justified war. This is just a excerpt. Please read it and at the end of this entry you will find another point of view, Ron Paul's.

Compare.

Barack Obama:

"I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.

We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago – “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak –nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another – that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier’s courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause and to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such."

Ron Paul:

"Only with the complicity of Congress have we become a nation of preemptive war, secret military tribunals, torture, rejection of habeas corpus, warrantless searches, undue government secrecy, extraordinary renditions, and uncontrollable spying on the American people. The greatest danger we face is ourselves: what we are doing in the name of providing security for a people made fearful by distortions of facts. Fighting over there has nothing to do with preserving freedoms here at home. More likely the opposite is true."

Health care is not a right / La atención médica no es un derecho

Not only medical care is not a right, but also it creates huge problems for future generations. Check out this crystal clear statement by US Congressman Ron Paul. It starts as follows: Government has been mismanaging medical care for more than 45 years; for every problem it has created it has responded by exponentially expanding the role of government.

1.) No one has a right to medical care. If one assumes such a right, it endorses the notion that some individuals have a right to someone else’s life and property. This totally contradicts the principles of liberty.
2.) If medical care is provided by government, this can only be achieved by an authoritarian government unconcerned about the rights of the individual.

Read the whole statement at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/tx14_paul/MoreGov.shtml

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No sólo la atención médica no es un derecho, sino que también su consideración como tal crea problemas enormes para las futuras generaciones. Lea el siguiente comunicado del Congresista americano Ron Paul que empieza de la siguiente manera:

El gobierno ha administrado erróneamente la atención médica durante más de 45 años; para cada problema su respuesta ha sido expandir exponencialmente la ampliación del papel del gobierno.

Puntos a considerar:

1.) Nadie tiene derecho a la atención médica. Asumirlo como un derecho, implica la idea de que algunos individuos tienen derecho sobre la vida de otras personas y sobre su propiedad.

2.) Si la asistencia médica es proporcionada por el gobierno, esto sólo puede lograrse mediante un gobierno autoritario que no tiene en cuenta los derechos individuales.

3.) Las falacias económicas aceptadas por más de 100 años en los Estados Unidos han engañado a los responsables políticos en la creencia de que la atención médica de calidad sólo puede lograrse por la fuerza del gobierno, los impuestos, las regulaciones reglamentos, y plegándose a un sistema de intereses concretos que crea un sistema corporativista.
4.) Más dólares en un monopolio gubernamental nunca aumenta la calidad sino que siempre tiene como resultado mayores costes y precios. Lea todo el comunicado en http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/tx14_paul/MoreGov.shtml

Imagine you saw the economic crisis coming?

Ron Paul is unique. We will talk very often about Ron Paul, one rare politician supporting freedom, real freedom. Personally, I would like an even smaller government that the one proposed by Paul -perhaps zero is the right size- but I would have been delighted to see him in Obama's position.

Here is a nice video featuring not only Ron Paul but other people - Jim Rogers, Peter Schiff, Lew Rockwell- who knew what was going to happen when everybody was just counting money and inflating bubbles.