He ran for president three times, served 12 terms in Congress, has been married 58 years and turns 80 in August. But Ron Paul is not done yet. He published a new book on Friday - “Swords Into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity” - based on his life growing up in World War II, and what has become of America since then.
The author takes on many foes, and is aggressive in his views.
“It has often been acknowledged that the Bible says there will always be ’wars and rumors of wars.’ Some have estimated that over the last 5,000 years over 14,000 wars have been fought, causing more than three and a half billion deaths. In our own history between 1798 and 2015, the US has used military force abroad 369 times in wars and other ’situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes’ according to a Congressional Research Service report,” Mr. Paul writes.
That breaks down to 369 of these conflicts in 217 years.
“That’s more than one and a half instances per year. So far the certainty of war is readily apparent. But must it continue to be so? Is it possible for the basic nature of man to change? I think it can,” the author says.
“The book provides a powerful critique of the corruption and corrosion produced by a 20th century full of war and killing,” publishing notes say. “Ever the optimist, however, Paul leaves behind the ashes of a 20th century of war to finish with a stirring, liberating view of the future we may choose if we turn from war and violence.”
Mr. Paul has self published the 237-page book through the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, which the former lawmaker deems an educational arm of his Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, a non-profit he established in 1976. The organizational website features his weekly column, news stories, a daily blog, a “Neocon Watch’ and alerts for scholarships, seminars, a newly formed peace coalition and a diplomatic project.
Find the book here
In the meantime, Mr. Paul, a Libertarian, still weighs in on politics, and remains active with Campaign for Liberty, a non-profit with the motto, “Reclaim the Republic, restore the Constitution.”
In a Fox News interview earlier this week he had some words for Republican hopeful Donald Trump, calling the billionaire a polar opposite of a Libertarian - but “an authoritarian and that’s the way he claims he made all his money. So I see that as dangerous.”
Mr. Paul has not been forgotten by his many young fans who rallied behind the campaign slogan “Who is Ron Paul?” during the candidate’s presidential runs, and showed up by the thousands for rallies staged as an alternative for voters disenchanted by big politics. Fan web sites are many. Mr. Paul, in turn, still reaches out to engage future voters through grassroots style training - and he does so with much old school vigor.
“Are you ready to effect major political change and reclaim your lost liberties? Are you ready to make the politicians finally listen and undo the harm they have done over the years? The Liberty Movement in our country has grown by leaps and bounds If you’re ready to join the fight to pressure the new class of politicians to defend our liberties, you must attend this class,” Mr. Paul advises in an outreach for a one-day political leadership school, scheduled in York, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“You will learn: How to be respected and feared by the political class. How mass movements fail and why. How to choose battles that will grow your organization. How to pass and defeat legislation. How to target legislators who vote against your bill and which to go after first,” Mr. Paul notes.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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