HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, June 14, 1999
1999 Ron Paul 59:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute
to a great symbol of our nation, the flag of the
United States of America on this Flag Day
1999. I wonder how frequently we take for
granted this symbol, how often we fail to consider
what it is and indeed what it represents.
1999 Ron Paul 59:2 The flag contains 13 stripes and 50 stars.
Those 13 stripes represent the first thirteen
states, each of which emanating from colonies
of British America. These 13 colonies came
together because they were opposed to continued
oppression by the British executive and
the British parliament. After numerous and significant
entreaties seeking reconciliation, the
British American came to understand that political
independence and local self-government
was the only way to insure against the most
dangerous of tyrannies.
1999 Ron Paul 59:3 Was this eternal truth forgotten immediately
upon the founding of our nation? Hardly. From
the Articles of Confederation through to the
original U.S. Constitution a clear understanding
of the necessity of the separation of
powers was maintained. And the genius of
that division of powers lay only so partially in
the three federal branches, each reliant upon
some different direct authority but all resting
government finally on the consent of the governed.
Indeed, it has rightly been said that
“the genius of the constitution is best summed
up in that clause which reserves to the states
or to the people those powers which are not
specifically delegated to the federal government.”
1999 Ron Paul 59:4 So those states came together to form a
compact, indeed to form a nation and, they
gave specific but limited powers to the federal
government. From those original thirteen stars
and stripes, representing the individual states,
came one. E pluribus unum. And this is what
the flag and those stripes represent.
1999 Ron Paul 59:5 Today the flag contains 50 stars to represent
the 50 current states. From 13 came 50
and in this way “E pluribus pluribum” is also
true. From many came more.
1999 Ron Paul 59:6 Yes, Mr. Speaker, our flag is a symbol of
our nation. It is a symbol but certainly not the
sum. America means so much more to us
than symbol devoid of substance. It means
those rights, inalienable and indivisible, which
are life, liberty and property. Property not just
as an object of ownership but as an idea. Private
property is indeed the bedrock of all privacy.
And private enjoyment of property is not
simply exemplified by the right to hold, but to
use and dispose of as the owner sees fit. This
is at the very essence of property, and it is in
fact the meaning of the pursuit of happiness.
1999 Ron Paul 59:7 And those stars and stripes represent an
idea about how it is that we should hope to
actually realize the protection of all these
rights that we as Americans hold so dear.
Namely, we the people vest in those very
states that formed this union, the power to legislate
for the benefit of the residents thereof.
1999 Ron Paul 59:8 This is the idea of federalism and of local
self-government. This idea is sacrosanct because
it is the necessary precursor to all of
those things which we hold dear, most specifically
those rights I have enunciated above.
Our nation is based on federalism, and state
governments, indeed the nation is created by
the states which originally ratified our constitution.
1999 Ron Paul 59:9 Now confusion has come upon us. We are
far removed from the days of the constitution’s
ratification and hence it seems we have lost
that institutional memory that points to the
eternal truths that document affirms.
1999 Ron Paul 59:10 Today there are calls to pass federal laws
and even constitutional amendments which
would take from the states their powers and
grant them to the federal government. Some
of these are even done in the name of protecting
the nation, its symbol, or our liberties.
How very sad that must make the founding fathers
looking down on our institutions. Those
founders held that this centralization of power
was and ought always remain the very definition
of “unAmerican” and they understood that
any short term victory an action of such concentration
might bring would be paid for with
the ultimate sacrifice of our very liberties.
1999 Ron Paul 59:11 To do what is right we must understand and
honor the symbol and the sum of our nation.
We must contemplate the flag and the constitution,
both of which point us to the key
basis of liberty that can be found only in local
self-government. Our flag and our constitution
both honor and symbolize federalism and
when we undermine federalism we dishonor
our flag, our constitution and our heritage.
1999 Ron Paul 59:12 The men who founded our nation risked the
ultimate price for freedom. They pledged “their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” to
the founding of a republic based on local self-government.
We should honor them, our republic
and its most direct symbol, our U.S. flag
by taking a stand against any rule, law or constitutional
amendment which would expand the
role of our federal government.
Notes:
1999 Ron Paul 59:10
unAmerican probably should be hyphenated: un-American.
1999 Ron Paul 59:10
any short term victory probably should be hyphenated: any short-term victory.
