Happy 90th birthday to the great Ron Paul. He was born on August 20, 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression. While he is best known for his promotion of liberty, Ron Paul is the ultimate family man.
He has been married to Carol Paul since 1957. They had 5 children together and now enjoy a large family with many grandchildren.
Ron Paul became a doctor and delivered thousands of babies. One interesting factoid is that Dr. Paul delivered Selena, the late and famous singer.
He was elected to Congress in a special election in 1976. He had become interested in economics prior to that. He has cited Nixon’s closing of the gold window in 1971 as an event that got him more interested in the subject. He became familiar with the Austrian school of economics (free market economics).
While Ron Paul was in and out of Congress several times, he is probably most well-known for his presidential runs. He ran on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988, but it just wasn’t his time to shine yet, as this was before the internet era and also coming off of the Reagan presidency.
Ron Paul gained huge notoriety in 2007 when he ran for president on the Republican Party ticket. In the debates, Paul emphasized his positions on a non-interventionist foreign policy and fixing the monetary system. It surprised many people, especially libertarians, when he would go around the country giving speeches and there would be crowds chanting “End the Fed”. There was also a large percentage of young people who were attracted to his campaigns.
Paul ran again in 2011/ 2012, but again fell short of getting the nomination. There was still a strong establishment presence in the Republican Party that made it difficult for an outsider to gain traction on a national scale. Still, Ron Paul allowed the world to see that you could be in favor of low taxes and low spending and also be firmly against war. In fact, he stressed that you have to be against war and running an empire if you actually favor low taxes.
For better or for worse, Ron Paul paved the way for Donald Trump to enter the scene in 2015. Trump was actually able to get the Republican nomination while being somewhat critical of war.
Ron Paul as an Example
Ron Paul is a great example of someone to emulate. Ron Paul has demonstrated what it means to be a Christian and a family man. But unlike many in politics, he did not wear his Christianity on his sleeve. He practiced his Christianity more than he preached it.
This is not to say that you should follow Ron Paul and be a politician. But he was never really a politician in how we think of that term in today’s world. He used his platform, not to exert power over others, but to spread the message of liberty.
Paul himself will say that different people should do different things to promote liberty. For some, it might mean through entertainment such as comedy or music. For others, it might mean writing or speaking or hosting a podcast. You can effect positive political change without running for political office. And if you do run for political office, be sure that you are well grounded with a firm set of libertarian principles.
Ron Paul was able to do something that very few people are able to do. He was elected and continued to stick by his principles.
There was a great celebration for Ron Paul in advance of his 90th birthday where many big figures in the liberty movement came out to honor him. For most libertarians today, Ron Paul has played some kind of an influential role.
It is hard to state just how important Ron Paul has been for the advancement of liberty. Before 2007, the hardcore libertarians probably made up less than half a percent of the population. That number has multiplied several times since then.
Finally, it is impressive that Dr. Paul is still “working”. As he hits the age of 90, he is still writing and doing a show 5 days per week where we can still learn from him. Whether it is on the latest foreign policy debacle or monetary policy, he is still giving us the same message of liberty. Even at the beginning of the Covid madness in 2020, Dr. Paul was firmly against lockdowns and never bought into the hysteria.
Here is a big thank you to Ron Paul for your many decades of spreading the message of liberty.
Happy Birthday!