Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom

I think it was in the 1992 Presidential Election campaign that the question was first asked: Boxers or Briefs? What a horrible question! Here it is: your chance to ask the possible future President of the United States a question, and you ask that. Weren't there more pressing issues in 1992 and since then than that. But here's what makes that question even worse: only two choices. What, boxer-briefs don't exist? Thongs? Commando? And that in a nutshell is what's wrong with politics: 1.) People are asking the wrong questions and 2.) they are under the impression that there are only two possible answers to any question. It's either the Republicans' solution or the Democrats'. Wrong. Here's what's right with politics: Ron Paul. For those of you who don't know him, he's a doctor and a congressman. And he's also seeking the Republican nomination for the President of the United States in 2012. He's known as Dr. No because he votes against all of the unconstitutional and bad legislation. His wife thinks he should be called Dr. Know because he's one of the few people in this world who really knows what's going on. He's been labeled a fringe candidate, a crackpot, a racist, etc., but he's more popular now than he has ever been. One reason for his popularity is that none of those slanderous labels stick in anyone's mind that does the research on this man. He also stands for liberty, truth, and a strong adherence to the Constitution. But what is "liberty"? Dr. Paul spells it out quite clearly in his new book, Liberty Defined. He takes a ton of issues, from Abortion to Zionism, and discusses how a free society would handle them. This is beyond the sound bites and the Republican's and Democrat's talking points. I highly recommend any thinking American (and other nationalities, too) to read this book. My two favorite chapters are on Demagogues and Democracy. The U.S. likes to spread "democracy", but democracy is not a good thing. It's different from a republic. If you go back far enough, say thirty or forty years and listen to past political speeches, you'll hear the word "republic" more often than "democracy", which Dr. Paul points out is a form of government that has "no limit". The chapter on Demagogues covers the name-calling in politics, and of course, goes beyond that. Dr. Paul shows how "the politicians and friendly media work together to promote an agreed-to agenda." If you haven't figured this out yet, it's better late than never. Honestly, this book is not perfect. There's about one sentence every one or two chapters that I had to reread several times to get the meaning. A comma, a period, or a complete rewrite would have been most welcome. I wish the editor had been more stringent. One chapter in the book that could've been written better was the one on Global Warming. I agree with much of what Dr. Paul says, but I wish he would have emphasized the free markets more in this chapter, rather than singing the praises of nuclear energy. I think Dr. Paul would agree with me that the free markets should determine the type of energy that's used. Sure, it might be nuclear energy, but as someone who has lived through the recent events in Japan, I would use my free market vote for something else. Still, Liberty Defined is overall well-thought-out and well-written. It goes beyond the sound bites, and every serious voter should read this book. You may disagree with Dr. Paul, but you'll at least be forced to rethink your beliefs and strengthen your arguments. 5 out of 5 stars (for those aboard the liberty train) 4 out of 5 stars (for those who may disagree) AJP

I became an admirer of Ron Paul after watching the first Republican debate this election. I watched every televised debate since the first and my opinion of Ron Paul only got better. I feel for the first time in my adult life, finally, a politician agrees with nearly everything I believe and have argued with friends for years; and I believe Ron Paul means what he says and he would do what he says if he had been nominated and elected President. I am so sad for the country that Ron Paul was not on the ballet and that Ron Paul is not our next President. Because I was so enthralled with Ron Paul, I had to purchase and read one of his books. I actually bought two of his books, but this is the first one I read. I loved the book and I highly recommend it. The book is refreshingly candid and Ron Paul explains his perspective on a myriad of topics clearly. I do want to take this opportunity though to say something to Ron Paul directly regarding religion. Religion is the one topic I thing where we have some differences. I respect Ron Paul's religious beliefs. I was raised Catholic and my wife and best friend are both Jewish. But, I no longer belong to any religious groups, nor do I consider myself an Atheist, Agnostic or Secularist. I am a realist, which most likely is lumped in with Atheist. To make my coming point brief, I just want to let Dr. Paul know that I and many like me do not believe in a man god and that is why I do not belong to any of the major religions. I believe the man god of the Jewish/Christian/Muslim religions to be man made. But, not being a member of one of the large religious organizations does not mean me or others like me are exempt from love and compassion. We do not need a man god to have feelings for family or for our fellow men. The most important part of my philosophy of life is my wife, my children and my extended family. They are everything to me. I also care greatly about the world and others and the rights and liberties of all. I choose not to dictate or force my beliefs on anyone and I hope they will extend me the same courtesy. But I and others like me do not need a major religion to care for family and the world. I have my rules of love, compassion and moral conduct and I do not need to borrow these from one of the major religions; to me and others like me, certain conduct, moral or otherwise is self-evident; and, I teach my children to live by these rules. I just wanted to point that out. That god is not needed to love. I got a negative feeling about those of us who do not belong to major religions from the book and I just wanted to express my feelings. I do not think any offense was meant against those of us who do not belong to organized religious groups in the book, but I got the feeling a complete understanding of many of us was lacking. That said, again I highly recommend this book! Ron Paul is a true champion of liberty and this book is a great read!

Peut-on encore disserter sur la liberté de nos jours? Ron Paul nous le prouve avec cet ouvrage lumineux dédié aux grands intellectuels de la liberté: L. von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Leonard E. Read, Murray N. Rothbard, et Hans F. Sennholz. Nous y retrouvons les fondements du libéralisme classique en politique (Locke, la Déclaration d'indépendance américaine...) et en économie (l'Ecole Autrichienne); et une actualisation de la réflexion vis à vis des problèmes contemporains: crise économique, politique économique et monétaire, démocratie, immigration, insécurité, guerres, terrorisme, religions, morale, éducation et culture... Après ses bestsellers "End the Fed" et "The Revolution: A Manifesto", une lecture vivifiante.

"Liberty Defined" is just another magnificent book in the long line of thought-provoking books and essays by Mr. Paul extraordinaire. Having always been fascinated by Mr. Ron Paul's comments, views and written essays, I decided to pre-order this book (A first in my life). The book consists of 50 (loosely) interrelated essays about core topics of liberty. Covering broad areas such as surveillance, taxation and abortion, Dr. Paul's well-written essays approach the (often contradicting) topic of freedom. Each essay/topic can be read separately without having to read the preceding essays leading to it- in case one issue concerns you more than another. Overall, the book is thought-provoking, informative, prophetic and frank. Dr. Paul's obsession with truth, freedom, life and liberty in this book is truly inspiring. Much like Dr. Paul himself, the book manifests integrity, honesty, and credibility. I strongly recommend anyone out there to buy this book and read it a few times. Warning: once you pick it up and start reading, it's hard to put it down.

Read the book in full over gradual amounts of time and I have to say, this book will debate and challenge your perceptions of what your view of Liberty is, even if you may not agree with everything that Dr Paul says. There is a mixture of Libertarians who are and against abortion and if you are the kind of person that is pro-choice, Dr Paul will challenge your perception in one of the chapters but at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide. Dr Paul gets it very spot on with talking about Foreign Policy, Statistics Gathering, Surveillance, Workers Unions, Political Correctness, Racism, Taxation, Trade Policies, how Government lies to you, etc. There are reliable sources available in the book if you want to research Dr Paul’s claims if you have the time and internet to do that. Hopefully my fellow Scots can be more open-minded soon to take the choice of reading his books instead of relying on one narrative alone.

His writings will be the Bible for those fighting for freedom in future wars. He is my hero - a burning candle of liberty; a common sense, logic, kindness, wisdom champion. His writings open your mind to the reality, make you understand the world around you in ways that no other educational institution will ever do. Thank you, Ron Paul.

If our MSM was doing it's job of informing us of the truth instead of the elite's propaganda and bias then Ron Paul would have served more than one term as president