If Ron Paul were there with John Adams...

[mrchubbs]

After watching the HBO miniseries "John Adams" (the first two parts) I started thinking about Ron Paul and what he would have done had he been present at that time.

Would he have aligned with John Dickinson (more diplomacy) or would he have aligned with John Adams (declare independence leading to certain war with Britain)?

I wrote on this topic for Liberty Maven.
I'm curious what side you think RP would have been on?

Here are my thoughts:

http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/03/17/ron-paul-and-hbos-john-adams/969/

Watching the excellent first two episodes of the HBO miniseries “John Adams” started me thinking about Ron Paul. Ron Paul has said that Adams was his favorite founding father. I was confused by this because of Adams’ Federalist history. I can only assume Ron Paul chose him because he was really one of the biggest players in the movement towards the American Revolution in the name of liberty.

The miniseries depicts Adams as somewhat of a war monger beginning with the First Continental Congress right on through to the Declaration of Independence. I guess it would be more accurate to say he was a liberty monger, but everyone knew what demanding independence meant. It meant certain all out war with Britain.

Read the rest here:
http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/03/17/ron-paul-and-hbos-john-adams/969/

 

[boomcreek]

After watching the HBO miniseries "John Adams" (the first two parts) I started thinking about Ron Paul and what he would have done had he been present at that time.

Would he have aligned with John Dickinson (more diplomacy) or would he have aligned with John Adams (declare independence leading to certain war with Britain)?

I wrote on this topic for Liberty Maven.
I'm curious what side you think RP would have been on?

Here are my thoughts:

http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/03/17/ron-paul-and-hbos-john-adams/969/

Watching the excellent first two episodes of the HBO miniseries “John Adams” started me thinking about Ron Paul. Ron Paul has said that Adams was his favorite founding father. I was confused by this because of Adams’ Federalist history. I can only assume Ron Paul chose him because he was really one of the biggest players in the movement towards the American Revolution in the name of liberty.

The miniseries depicts Adams as somewhat of a war monger beginning with the First Continental Congress right on through to the Declaration of Independence. I guess it would be more accurate to say he was a liberty monger, but everyone knew what demanding independence meant. It meant certain all out war with Britain.

Read the rest here:
http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/03/17/ron-paul-and-hbos-john-adams/969/

Great comments, MrChubbs...the one difference back then, it seems, is that you could put a face to the name of King George, whereas today, the "beast" that we're dealing with is a multi-faceted enemy with judges, police, and other means of enforcing largess.

 

[slamhead]

Dr. Paul would surely be on the side of John Adams. I have never seen Dr. Paul as anti war. He has stated that WWII was a necessary war...because we were attacked. To compare today's situation to the American Revolution, one has to flip things around. Today the United States can be compared to France during this time period.

France entered the revolution in 1778 and their involvement ultimately was a total failure for France. Their intervention put a huge financial burden on France's economy. They had hoped to weaken Britain's power but ultimately Britain became the main trading partner with the new United States. Does a failed foreign policy of intervention sound familiar.

One also has to keep in mind that France's willingness to aid the colonies was not because they wanted to see liberty and freedom in America but rather get back at Britain for defeating the French in the Americas, and also weaken Britain as an empire. As is our intervention policy under the false pretense of bringing "freedom" and "liberty" to an oppressed people so was the French involvement in our revolution.

Now on the other side, if the French did not intervene and support the colonies with covert sales of weapons and powder, Washington may have been defeated and our founding fathers would have hanged.

 

[Ethek]

John Adams is a really interesting figure. personal liberty above all else was his entire mind-set. Ron has that much in common with him.

I see Ron as being more in Thomas Jeffersons camp. Jefferson was leaning torwards maintaining ties with Britian right up until the Colonies declared independence. Once the course was set Jefferson went all-in.

I'll be interested to see how the mini-series depicts John Adams decline into Neoconism. He went all Alien and Sedition (orginal patriot act) Also, while he was for very well established separations between the branches of Government he did seek a more central government.

I think the country owes a great deal to John Adams, mainly his decades of study and development of his personal ideals on liberty that was the very foundation of our deceleration of independence. He fostered these ideas amongst only a handful of peers at the time. He pointed the way for the continental congress because leaders like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson had no voice for it at the time, they sat in the back and watched.

 

[Meekus]

I'm curious what side you think RP would have been on?

Easy enough to answer - lets ask him! Let's ask HQ to ask him this question!

I would think he would be right up there with Adams in denouncing the King and his tyranny against our liberty. Remember, RP is not anti-war. He believes in a strong national defense, and is incredibly liberty minded. My guess is he would of been focused on the liberty of individuals, and as soon as the King limited that in any way, he would of been very vocal.

During Part 1, during the trial, I could definitely see RP defending the Brit soldiers as I imagine he believes that rights are intrinsic to individuals. IE - habeas corpus. It would be interesting to see him as a modern day lawyer!

Watching John Adams, it is all but impossible to not draw parallels with RP. He truly has brought our history to current times.