What Freedom Is All About To The Lunatic Fringe

Ron Paul and many on the right advocate a form of  freedom which is not recognizable as freedom to anyone not indoctrinated in their bizarre and irrational philosophy. For the most part I’ve thought of Paul as a well-meaning but not very bright man who fails to recognize that reorganizing society along his ideas would be more likely to  lead to fascism and not liberty. This is why so many neo-Nazis back Paul, understanding his philosophy far better than Paul and his followers do. After seeing the above video clip, I’m not even sure I would say anymore that Ron Paul is well-meaning. He is certainly a disgrace to the medical profession, as well as all decent human beings, in considering  it to be “freedom” to allow a thirty-year old to die because of not purchasing health insurance. The Tea Party crowd screamed out in approval of Paul’s claim that “this is what freedom is all about.” As Andrew Sullivan said, this is indecent,  “not something a decent person cheers.”

As a physician, Ron Paul didn’t give the only response which I highly object to during last night’s debate. Michele Bachmann spread a claim that Gardasil, which is recommended to protect against the virus which causes cervical cancer, causes mental retardation. The claim is not only wrong, but dangerous if it dissuades women from having the vaccine.  Such ignorance is not surprising coming from Bachmann. Many in the religious right opposed the vaccine because it reduces risks from having sex, and the religious right sees no contradiction between claiming to support small government and using government to impose their religious views on others.  False claims which contradict science are common regarding vaccines. It is not surprising that those on the religious right who reject science in other areas such as evolution and climate change would also reject science regarding vaccines.