Ron Paul: Celebrate Independence Day by opposing government tyranny

Ron Paul wants his fellow Americans to celebrate Independence Day this July 4 by taking on what he considers to be a tyrannical government.

In a recorded telephone message made available on Monday this week to supporters, the former congressional lawmaker and three-time presidential hopeful suggested that Americans consider a different course of action this Fourth of July.

“This week Americans will enjoy Independence Day with family cookouts and fireworks. Flags will be displayed in abundance. Sadly, however, what should be a celebration of the courage of those who risked so much to oppose tyranny will instead be turned into a celebration of government, not liberty. The mainstream media and opportunistic politicians have turned Independence Day into the opposite of what was intended,” Paul said.

“The idea of opposing — by force if necessary — a tyrannical government has been turned into a celebration of tyrannical government itself.”

The former Republican representative for Texas went on to say the signers of the American Declaration of Independence would be unnerved by the recent events unfolding in the country they helped establish more than 200 years ago, and that the current concentration of power in the executive branch, as Paul believes it to be, is on par with what inspired the forefathers to wage a revolution against the British.

Of particular concern, Paul added, are the contents of the recently published Obama administration memorandum in which it’s revealed how the White House justified the extrajudicial execution of Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American citizen accused of working with Al-Qaeda, in late 2011.

“The ‘drone memo,’ released after an ACLU freedom of information request, purports to establish the president alone as the arbiter of who is or is not a terrorist subject to execution by the US government. There is no due process involved, just the determination of the president,” Paul said.

“Coincidentally, in addition to the ‘drone memo’ released last week, a broader study of the US use of drones was also released by the Stimson Center. The study, co-chaired by Gen. John Abizaid, former US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander, concluded that contrary to claims that drones help prevent wider conflicts by targeting specific individuals, the use of drones ‘may create a slippery slope leading to continual or wider wars.”

“On Independence Day we should remember the spirit of rebellion against tyranny that inspired our Founding Fathers to set out our experiment in liberty,” Paul concluded the four-minute-long message. “We should ourselves celebrate and continue that struggle if we are to keep our republic.

The latest dispatch from the former congressman was published on Monday and is available by dialing a toll-free number that hosts weekly messages from Paul, who retired from the US Congress last January. His son, Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), has adamantly opposed the White House’s weaponized drone program as well.