HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, March 25, 1999
1999 Ron Paul 24:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I rise again today
to consider the effect of our current actions in
Kosovo, but this time I do not wish to address
the folly of war, for attempts to prevent war
measures against that nation are now futile.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address a long
term concern, a problem larger even than war.
I am referring to the folly of empire.
1999 Ron Paul 24:2 Our involvement in Kosovo and in Iraq, and
in Bosnia — when combined with America’s
role in Korea, and in the Middle East and
other places around the world, is now lurching
our republic ever closer to empire. Empire is
something that all Americans ought to oppose.
1999 Ron Paul 24:3 I remind those who believe in the
Judeo-Christian tradition that opposition to empire is
to be found in the warnings found in the book
of Ezekiel, warnings against the empowerment
of a king. And it is this same principle which
is evident in the story of the Tower of Babel,
and in that admonition of Christ, which reminds
that those things which are of Caesar
are not of God.
1999 Ron Paul 24:4 To pragmatists, agnostics and such, I point
to the decline and fall which has historically attended
every other empire. The Ottomans and
Romans, the Spanish and the British, all who
have tried empire have faltered, and at great
costs to their own nations.
1999 Ron Paul 24:5 Mr. Speaker, to liberals I would remind that
these interventions, however well-intended
they may be, all require the use of forces of
occupation, and this is the key step toward colonialism,
itself always leading to subjugation
and to oppression.
1999 Ron Paul 24:6 To conservatives, I want to recall the founding
of our Republic, our nation’s breaking from
the yoke of empire in order that we might realize
the benefits of liberty and self-determination,
and that we might obtain the blessings
that flow naturally from limitations on centralized
power. Empire reflecting the most perfect
means yet devised to concentrate power in
the fewest hands.
1999 Ron Paul 24:7 Now, Mr. Speaker, our own nation faces a
choice and we may well be at the very precipice.
Indeed, to move even one step further
down the road to empire may mean that there
will be no turning back short of the eventual
decline and fall. Will we act now to restore our
Republic?
1999 Ron Paul 24:8 It is oft repeated that we do not realize the
import of our most critical actions at the time
that we begin to undertake them. How true,
Mr. Speaker, this statement is. Were Mr.
Townshend, or the King in England the least
contemplative of the true cost which would
eventuate as a result of the tea tax or the
stamp act?
1999 Ron Paul 24:9 Now we must ask, is our nation on the
verge of empire? Some will say no, because,
they say, we do not seek to have direct control
over the governments of foreign lands, but
how close are we to doing just that? And is it
so important whether the dictates of empire
come from the head of our government or
from the Secretary General of some multilateral
entity which we direct?
1999 Ron Paul 24:10 Today we attempt, directly or indirectly, to
dictate to other sovereign nations who they
ought and ought not have as leader, which
peace accords they should sign, and what
form of governments they must enact. How
limited is the distinction between our actions
today and those of the emperors of history?
How limited indeed. In fact, one might suggest
that this is a distinction without a substantive
difference.
1999 Ron Paul 24:11 And where now are we willing to commit
troops and under what conditions? If we are to
stop all violations of human rights, what will
we do of Cuba, which recently announced
new crackdowns?
1999 Ron Paul 24:12 And what of communist China? Not only do
they steal our secrets, but they violate their
own citizens. Who should be more upset, for
example, about forced abortion? Is it those
who proclaim the inviolable right to life or
those who argue for so-called reproductive
rights? Even these polar opposites recognize
the crimes of the Chinese government in
forced abortion. Should we then stop this oppression
of millions? Are we committed to lob
missiles at this massive nation until it ceases
this program?
1999 Ron Paul 24:13 Will the principle upon which we are now
claiming to act lead us to impose our political
solutions upon the nations that now contain
Tibet, and Kurdistan, and should the sentiment
rear, even Quebec and Chechnya?
1999 Ron Paul 24:14 The most dangerous thing about where we
are headed is our lack of historical memory
and our disastrous inattention to the effect of
the principles upon which we act, for ideas do
indeed have consequences, Mr. Speaker, and
they pick up a momentum that becomes all
their own.
1999 Ron Paul 24:15 I do believe that we are on the brink, Mr.
Speaker, but it is not yet too late. Soon I fear
the train, as it is said, will have left the station.
We stand on the verge of crossing that line
that so firmly distinguishes empire from republic.
This occurs not so much by an action or
series of actions but by the acceptance of an
idea, the idea that we have a right, a duty, an
obligation, or a national interest to perfect foreign
nations even while we remain less than
principled ourselves.
1999 Ron Paul 24:16 When will we, as a people and as an institution,
say “we choose to keep our republic,
your designs for empire interest us not in the
least.” I can only hope it will be soon, for it is
my sincerest fear that failing to do so much
longer will put us beyond this great divide.
Note:
1999 Ron Paul 24:2
a long term concern probably should be hyphenated: a long-term concern.
