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.

6 Comments

  1. 1
    Shiva says:

    What Freedom Is All About To The Lunatic Fringe–Ron Paul & The Teabaggers Cheer For Death #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.co/3FFnlXU

  2. 2
    MKS says:

    The pundits seem to completely neglect the second portion of Ron Paul’s answer: people in the U.S. have always taken care of the poor, sick and injured – through individual, civic and church charity.
    The leftists appear, however, to scorn charity, and prefer using the force of government to compel one person to pay for another’s health care at his own expense.
    Persons on both the left and right endorse compassion. It’s just that the left believes in compulsory compassion, while the right believes in voluntary compassion.
    Which do you advocate?

  3. 3
    John Sonntag says:

    RT @ronchusid: What Freedom Is All About To The Lunatic Fringe #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.co/uFBAKuc Libertarianism fails on many levels.

  4. 4
    Ron Chusid says:

    The pundits didn’t bother responding to Paul here because he has far too many crackpot ideas to spend the time responding to.

    Charities are not able to handle the health care needs of those who cannot afford care. Public institutions were developed to handle these problems because private means were not capable of doing so. This is even more so in recent years as medical technology has increased making services such as ICU care far too expensive for private charities.

    Leftists certainly do not scorn charity but actually are far more supportive of voluntary action in many areas than rightists. I frequently make use of private charities to assist patients where possible. This works very well for simple matters, such as having ramps built for disabled patients, providing rides to the office, and sometimes obtaining very limited amounts of money to pay for inexpensive generic medications.. These are inexpensive matters which charities can handle well. Charities cannot handle full medical care, hospital stays, and certainly not ICU care on a nation-wide basis.

    I favor non-governmental action where ever it can work reasonably, but unlike you and Ron Paul also recognize that there is also a need for a public sector to handle those actions which the private and voluntary sectors cannot. Paying for such a safety net is part of the cost of living in a civilized society, even if a very tiny percentage of people subscribe to an irrational philosophy which considers this to be coercion. We are all better off with the benefits provided by a civilized society. Many libertarian heroes, such as the Kochs, have made quite a fortune by taking advantage of what is provided by government action.

  5. 5
    John Chase Maxwell says:

    What Freedom Is All About To The Lunatic Fringe – http://t.co/ekRlfbi

  6. 6
    Lily Champion says:

    What Freedom Is All About To The Lunatic Fringe–Ron Paul & The Teabaggers Cheer For Death #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.co/3FFnlXU

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