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January 24, 2008
YETANOTHER RONPAULMASHNOTE
Mr. [Anthony] Pignataro has employed an age-old technique in his article on Ron Paul ("Ron Paul is Right!" Jan. 3, 2008). Take a few sentences on a big, complex issue and you can make just about any intelligent person sound like a crack-pot.
Let's take a closer and more honest look at Ron Paul and the environment. Protecting the environment is not a one-size fits all proposition. What makes total sense in Alaska wouldn't work in Hawai'i or Nebraska. I lived in Alaska for 11 years and was born and raised here in Hawai'i. For instance, ask any indigenous person from either state how well the wielding of federal power has represented their interests re: subsistence, property, and tribal rights, to name a few. By adhering to the Constitution, Dr. Paul is for taking the heavy handed power of this monolithic government and giving it back to the states and their people. By reminding us what the Constitution provides for, Ron Paul advocates a "Think Globally, Act Locally" perspective. Why would anyone on Maui want people in Washington legislating what happens on Maui?
Besides the pablum we're fed by mainstream media, what do we really know about ANWAR, or the vast gas reserves within the continental U.S. or the North American continent, for that matter? It's hard to weigh in on something based on general information I receive from mainstream media. The truth is, I can't do so effectively. So as healthy diets are well-rounded ones, the same is true for information we are fed. We should get our news from many sources. This is not to pontificate, but rather to share a practice I've engaged. Interestingly, as greater understanding ensues, I've become less threatened by those with opposing ideas. Oddly, this presents me with a more inclusive rather than exclusive world view! Man cannot understand by sound bytes alone. It is from this philosophic foundation I wish to respond not only to Mr. Pignataro's article, but speak to all fellow citizens. I am grateful to the Maui Time for providing this forum.
Growing numbers of Americans are noticing the acceleration and persistent overreach by the Federal government into our individual liberties. The tendency to "cradle" its citizenry through legislation, has lulled us into a false sense of security. Have we become a nation infantilized?
Someone recently wrote, "An active and involved community is a healthy community. The participation and expression of all must remain welcome, and local choice is what gives us ALL a choice." The rub is: Democracy requires mature commitment and work. Our forefathers thought average citizens were capable of it... and we are!
The mere notion that a shifting of centralized power back into the hands of the people, and their communities, from whom it originated mind you—that it should be a bad thing... and at a time when the true representation of the people's wishes have become a cynical joke—that it doesn't even seem to bother us anymore is ludicrous! As if putting the power back into the hands of the people would make for an even worse profile of environmental legislation than the Bush Administration has achieved! As if the heads that have been planted at the EPA would have done any different... As if they weren't already hobbled to begin with! Goes to show ya' how far we've strayed and how well our brains have been scrubbed! We must grow up and inform and represent ourselves to fully participate in our surroundings; it is ours.
Any group currently marginalized by our political atmosphere have absolutely nothing to fear from a Paul Presidency, either. It's about putting the control back into the hands of those from whom it has been divested: you. Do we remember the Constitution's remarkable power to unite? Our Constitution is what distinguished this nation from others as the truly great vision our Framers intended. Yet how are we being viewed by the world now? Could it be we've lost our moral and intellectual stance by departing from the mandates of our Constitution?
If you disagree with Dr. Paul's personal views on any area of the Law, remember: it is because of his unadulterated devotion to protect, uphold and restore the Constitution—it is YOU he seeks the Law to reflect, his personal views notwithstanding. Or maybe you already feel adequately "represented" by our government, as it is? I humbly ask that we all think about what is at stake.
-Donna Shade, via email
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