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Why Young People Like Ron Paul

Ryan Shaw |
February 5, 2012 | 10:42 p.m. PST

Staff Columnist

(Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons)
(Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons)
Most people weren’t alive to see the fruits (and the pains) of the economic system Texas Rep. Ron Paul wants to revive.  His ideas are old school; some would call them arcane.  So why do so many young people flock in droves to support the 76-year-old lawmaker?  It's simple: the policies prevalent under George Bush. People are tired of the wars and government meddling into private affairs. 

My generation came of age during a time of war. I was 11-years-old on 9/11.  Since then, we’ve been involved in constant wars.  Frankly, we’re tired of it. In fact, young people were so fed up that they backed Obama in 2008 in the hope that they would see real change. Unfortunately, Obama’s promises went unfulfilled. Ron Paul, however, says he would end wars immediately. That's an attractive proposition for young adults that haven’t seen peacetime for years. 

In a nutshell, Paul's foreign policy focuses on "our own problems" instead of other nations. He wants to end foreign aid and stop "policing the world." He says we should worry about our own problems here at home instead of worrying about everyone else’s problems. Young people generally prefer peace to war.

The American people have lost their faith in their government. Faith in Congress is at an all-time low of 9 percent. To put that in perspective, more people support the U.S. going communist than approve of the job Congress is doing.  Obviously, pessimism directed toward the government is at an unprecedented level.  Ron Paul speaks to this pessimism when he talks about less government intervention.  The national debt is exploding and it is young people that will have to foot the future bill.  It is the young people that are the most concerned about the bills they will have to pay.  Ron Paul speaks to this concern when he talks about cutting 1 trillion out of the budget in the first year. 

Ron Paul seems genuine and he’s consistent. With this all-time distrust in government officials, Ron Paul stands out with his consistency and sincerity. He is one of the few politicians that seem to actually have convictions, and he seems like he would actually follow through with his ideas. Don’t take my word for it, check out this article on a body language expert confirming that Ron Paul is genuine. This sincerity resonates with people, especially young people. 

While Ron Paul won’t win the Republican nomination, he will continue to have an impact and should not be disregarded.

Follow Ryan on Twitter here.



 

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