Dear Dr. Paul,
When I traveled abroad to visit some friends earlier this year, I could see the people there being polite but not warm to Americans. It was a different experience even from when I visited a few years ago. People wanted to know what I thought as an American about the Iraq war in particular – often times expressing that concern over whether or not the US would be invading other countries as well.
My only response was that I disagreed with the war, that it wasn’t a declared war, and that many people in America were angry about it – but that the President and the government chose to go ahead anyway. When some of my friends spoke of America, they talked about it once being a great nation, but that it was now filled with arrogance and greed. They talked about America’s rejection of God.
The more people talked about America in this way, I was felt sad and embarrassed. America was no longer seen by other countries as a place of hope or freedom. It hurt because deep down, I knew that they were right.
To add insult to injury, I had just had the experience of going through the airport security, and had my baby’s (whom I was holding in my arms!) much-needed diaper rash cream taken away because the container itself – not even based on the amount of cream inside – was about one centimeter larger than what allowed on the airplane. So, it was really impossible for me to disagree over the current state of freedom in our country.
It seems like a small thing, to have diaper rash cream taken away, but to me it represented the larger picture of freedoms being removed. How did things get to be so bad? Why are people so fearful? (And, as a tangent, families are being kicked off of airplanes because a baby is breastfeeding or, because a baby is crying – yet parents can’t take with them things that would make them better – like soothing rash cream. It’s so ridiculous! Parents are left in a catch 22 situation when it comes to traveling with children – a direct result of sacrificing practicality to avoid fear.)
I just want to thank you for renewing my hope for America. Listening to you speak truth has been so refreshing.
I deeply appreciate how you love the constitution and how, as a politician, you have sought to uphold it instead of wielding your power to find loopholes.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for consistently voting to protect the rights that we do have and for not being afraid to vote differently than the rest of your party. I am sure that this took a great deal of courage, to vote for what is right although it was not popular. Thank you for setting this example to the rest of Americans.
May I respectfully offer a suggestion on how you answer questions at debates or in forums?
Continue reading “Letter to Ron Paul”