2/01/2012

My reaction to the LA Times story on Ron Paul that I was interviewed for.

If you have not, please read the article first.

The story itself is not all that bad. Compared to the normal treatment of Ron Paul, it’s totally fine and is in no way out of the ordinary.

Yet knowing first hand the material she had, and what she chose to include and lead with, and what she chose to omit, is revealing.

We spent over an hour talking, during which she took pages of notes. She heard a story of a well-spoken, self-educated and compassionate person who believes in the message of freedom and the peace and prosperity it would bring. She heard that despite my never attending college or ever taking a single class of any kind in economics, exposure to Ron Paul’s message motivated me to become a student on my own volition. Devouring thousands of pages of articles and dozens of books on topics from political theory, economics, economic history, monetary history, libertarian philosophy, and the history of law, I became competent enough to place 1st in economic essay contests hosted by esteemed Professors at one of the nation’s premier economic universities, as well as engage in debate with established legal scholars and academic economists.

She heard a story of a young, single man in Las Vegas, who made a living in professional poker and spent his free time doing the above. That is interesting. It is atypical. In a climate where Ron Paul supporters are unfairly and inaccurately characterized as being on the fringe or young people who favor legalized marijuana, my story is a concrete example of something previously unreported. Still unreported. Still yet to be acknowledged.

I spoke of my friends from 40 year old lawyers and hedge fund managers, to college students and peers closer to my own age. All of whom have been profoundly effected by the message of liberty and began spreading that message to their friends and families as well.

I spoke of Ron Paul supporters, in general. The enormous feat of the organizational power that has spontaneously grown from Ron Paul’s grassroots support. How such grassroots support is quite literally more organized, more efficient, and better funded than most non-Presidential political campaigns! I spoke of the compassion, and passion, these individuals have that brings us together as a community.

I spoke of the reason why I believe in liberty. Why I fight for it. Why we fight for it. Fundamentally, my desire for liberty springs from compassion for my fellow man and the urge to see oppression everywhere and anywhere brought to an end. My frustration that those who suffer most under a system of big government, with its relentless inflation and regulation, are those who work hard and follow the script that they were given. The average middle class worker, who doesn’t have the time or effort to learn how rigged the game is against him, and potentially protect himself against it. It is these people, good people, honest, hard-working people, who have spent their whole lives playing by the rules, only to be penalized for it in the end.

I could go on. And I did. For over an hour. But somehow this story, which has never been given a voice in the media’s discussion of “Ron Paul supporters” was omitted from Maria’s final draft. This is not about whether or not my views are correct or if you agree with them. It is about acknowledging whom Ron Paul’s supporters actually are. And in this case, if nothing else, doing so would have been newsworthy. Simply because my type of story has never been reported on in the discussion of Ron Paul and his support base. And in my experience, my type of story is much more emblematic of the average Ron Paul supporter than that which is almost exclusively focused on and represented instead – a small minority that can be portrayed as fringe or extreme.

Maria unfortunately chose to continue this narrative in her piece, as well. Deciding to open with a few paragraphs focusing on the brothel workers’ support for Dr. Paul and a few particularly dramatic quotes from fellow supporter Dr. Carducci such as “"I'd give my left arm for the guy.", and, "It's either him or a further decline into tyranny." My segment was reduced to, “being exposed to Ron Paul has changed my life.” Which is quite true. I hope one day we are able to read a story that takes a deeper look as to who we are and why we are so passionate, as opposed to merely recording the extreme nature of the passion we have for Ron Paul and his message of freedom.

11 comments:

  1. thanks for sharing. great stuff

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  2. Mr. Fellner is an motivational speaker of the highest degree. He inspires the reader to seek truth about our government, and at the same time, is able to educate the everyday reader with thought provoking ideas. Whether a history buff or not, Mr. Fellner's enthusiasm is contagious. He almost commands the reader to "think" about the history of politics. Mr. Fellner is one of many who is ready for change. Ron Paul would be honored to know who is working for him! WONDERFUL. CF

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  3. Unbelievable. The Paul movement is something that deserves the sort of in-depth reporting and extended articles that newspapers sometimes create. No one acts with such conviction and fervor as Paul's supporters - certainly not the Mitt crowd.

    I think the media are simply lazy. A good understanding of libertarianism requires a critical examination of history, economics and government. Few people are willing to make that commitment.

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  4. Just goes to prove one more company I will be boycotting! It's sad how corrupt are politics really are.

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  5. Robert, Thank you for sharing your wonderful story. That Maria wanted to go along with the m*s*m crowd gave me an idea. If you have the time, would you consider starting another blog and collecting supporters' stories on it, starting with yours? I think it could be a wonderful campaign tool where we can all send folks for an inspiring dose of RP truth!

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    1. That's a pretty cool idea! I'm going to try and find other similar stories, although it might be difficult since ours are never published! If you know anyone, feel free to send them my way!

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    2. A blog, a Facebook page for the blog, you "like" all of the RP-associated Facebook pages so you can post...it can happen! There's lots more, so if you respond w/ your e-mail addy, we can "talk"...I'm psyched!

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  6. The article was very superficial. I spent over an hour with Maria. What a waste of time.

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