August 20, 2025 was the birthday of one of the greatest American statesmen to ever live. A man who the excellent Scott Horton described as being better than any of the American Founding Fathers because he is right about everything they were right about and knows more than they did about liberty without being saddled with any of the flaws that make them terrible. To top it off that man, Dr. Ronald Ernest Paul, has done more to educate more people about the principles of human rights, freedom, and prosperity than any other man alive today. Perhaps more than any single individual human in history.
Dr. Paul certainly “cured my apathy,” as his supporters are wont to say. His ability to present both the ideals of liberty and rational applications of those ideals to the supposedly complex situations of contemporary times in order to show how enhancing human liberty makes us safer, freer, and more prosperous was and is incredibly powerful. My exposure to him transformed the way that I understood the world. Before Dr. Paul, I was a run of the mill Republican stooge. I thought there was a significant difference between John McCain and George W. Bush on one side and John Kerry and Barack Obama on the other side. I cared about liberty, but had hardly an idea of what that means or why it truly matters, and was thoroughly captured in the mind gnashing teeth of the endless propaganda machine. Thanks to my American public educations, which indoctrinated me solely into all the approved opinions allowed on the 3×5 Card of Allowable Opinions and nothing else, I was on my way to a mediocre intellectual life of ignorance and happy clapping for the oligarchs and mass murderers that run the American political system.
Then I came across Dr. Paul. And things began to change.
Unlike many, who point to the Rudy Giuliani debate exchange as the moment of their awakening, I can’t point to any exact moment as a revelatory moment. It was a series of moments where ideas like these in the video below exposed to me the ideas and truths that I had only begun to sense and which had fastidiously been kept from me most of my life:
Even though I wasn’t immediately set on fire by Dr. Paul’s explanations of how to gain peace and prosperity through liberty – it takes time to overcome a lifetime of indoctrination and cultural conditioning – I was intrigued enough to buy his book. I read End The Fed and that was a revelatory experience. This article isn’t meant to be a review of that book, though I should do that one day. But, to put it simply, End The Fed explained for a layman the inner works of the American economic system, how it was (and is) devastating the middle class and poor, how it was designed solely to benefit the social, political, and corporate elites, and how it is funding the welfare-warfare state that is destroying American society and is responsible for the slaughter of millions across the world. End The Fed was my introduction into a truly free market economic system and the ways that it benefits all those involved.
Here was rational, logical, proven set of truths about man, the economy, the state, and society. And I wanted more. So, I began digging. Dr. Paul was the guy who opened the door to show me the path of human liberty, peace and prosperity. And though the path has filled with other names along the way – men like von Hayek, von Mises, Bastiat, Garrison, and Sydney, for example – I’ve never forgotten the man who opened that door for me and so many others. It has been amusing to watch Leftists like Christopher Leonard discover just how insanely destructive the Federal Reserve is to every aspect of human society thirteen years later. They couldn’t have hated Dr. Paul more then or now. But it shows how much his work has shifted American political discourse over the last two decades.
By the time that Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential run kicked off, I was completely on board. I donated money to his campaign, attended a Ron Paul rally, even had the bumper sticker. That was the third time that I voted for someone to be President of the United States. Watching him get booed in South Carolina for quoting Jesus Christ and the corrupt actions of the news media and of the Republican Party to do all they could to silence him showed me that the system itself was rotten to the core. Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign was my first big wake up call to reality of the death cult of the state and the nature of political parties as political cults. Consequently, this was the last time that I voted for the President of the United States and the beginning of my realization that the entire political system was and is evil, quite literally.
Even my faith was affected as I began to understand the words and teachings of Prophets and Apostles on the subject of human agency, the importance of liberty, and the purpose of life far more deeply and meaningfully as I began to understand the true nature, importance, and impact of human liberty. Liberty is God given and, as the work of Dr. Paul has shown, unsurprisingly liberty is therefore the only basis for society which ensures the greatest happiness, peace, and prosperity for all people. Jesus Christ is liberty, His way is liberty, and His Restored Gospel enhances liberty for all who follow it while deviation from it leads only to misery and slavery. To work to make the world politically and spiritually free are different facets of the same holy work. Zion is the freest of all societies and the Kingdom of God is an anarchist/voluntaryist society of absolute equals.
So, it was with great joy that I attended the Ron Paul 90th Birthday Celebration in Lake Jackson, Texas on August 9th, 2025. This article is both a review of that experience and the fun that I had at it. I’ll also try and provide a summary of the speakers and panels, though because the event was 8 hours long, my summary will not and cannot be exhaustive. I do not offer notes form every speaker below, only the best ones. Even then, I will just try and pick out the key points from these selected speakers because to be too detail even with a few of them would take up too much space. These are the best of the best, and let me tell you, there were some fantastic truth bombs dropped during this event.
Arriving At The Event
I had flown into Dallas Love Field Airport the night before (2/5 stars, would not recommend) and after roughing it in a corner of one of the terminals, I picked up my rental car and drove for four hours to Lake Jackson, Texas. The drive itself was actually quite beautiful. East Texas in Summer time is a beautiful part of the country. After seeing this majestic sign (or one like it) about an hour south of Dallas, I knew it was time to stop and get something to eat.
After mainlining a Monster Zero Sugar and a truly delicious breakfast sandwich (while marveling at the wonders of The Beaver), I quickly got back on the road. Kept awake by a mixture of excitement, caffeine, and 50’s sci-fi radio shows, I made it through the horrors of Houston traffic and arrived at The Dow Academic Center at Brazosport College about fifteen minutes before the events were scheduled to kick off at 1 P.M.
The first thing that stood out to me was the eclectic nature of the approximately 500 people assembled for the celebration. You had young and old people, outlandish people and conservative people, men and women, even children, all gathered together to celebrate Dr. Paul’s birthday. The libertarian celebrities were out in full force, too. I met and took pictures with such men as comedian and Libertarian Party presidential hopeful Dave Smith, Dr. Thomas Woods, Scott Horton who is perhaps the forefront expert on American foreign policy, and Connor Boyack whose Tuttle Twins series is doing a great deal to introduce the ideas of liberty to a whole host of people in the newest generation.
All four men were very gracious and willing to take pictures with, sign things for, and talk to anyone for free. And there were lots of people eager to meet them, too! In terms of meeting people, the only ones that I regret not being able to meet were Dr. Mark Skousen and Lawrence Reed. Being able to meet and chat with the men that I did was an intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling experience, worth the money that I spent on the trip alone. But, as wonderful as these experiences were, the best experience was definitively the speakers and what they had to say about the contributions, importance, and legacy of Dr. Paul.
The Speakers and Panels
The kick off speaker was comedian Dave Smith, a man that many Libertarians want to be the next Libertarian Party presidential nominee. While he had some jokes in his speech, he mostly focused on being sincere. Smith emphasized Dr. Paul’s authenticity, his unwillingness to give up his moral and principles in order to win popularity, prestige, or power from the public and party. Dr. Paul’s integrity and nobility of spirit are what make him a great man. Paul’s refusal to be a pro-war Republican and being an anti-war, pro-peace conservative showed Smith that the Left/Right political divide is real a myth promulgated by the political parties to their benefit and our detriment. Dr. Paul’s example showed Smith a better way to follow.
The main themes that Smith touched on in his speech – Ron’s integrity, his nobility, his determined stand on principle, and his example as someone following a better way – are themes that will come up repeatedly in the following talks. And they really expose the idea that you have to, or even should, compromise your beliefs for any reason is a cancerous lie eating away at the souls and morality of humanity. Ron is an example that just the opposite is true. Only by taking an unmoving stance on what is right, good, and true can we change the world around us and make it a better place. Compromise only leads to individual and societal corruption and collapse. All meaningful work is only ever accomplished by, “do[ing] what is right and let[ting] the consequences follow.” Dr. Paul did just that and helped spark a movement that will continue long after he has gone the way of all the Earth. Like John, Dr. Paul was a lone voice in the wilderness for a long time, but, also like John, that work he did as the lone voice helped transform the world.
Matt Kibbe spoke next. “The best you can do in the halls of power is vote no.” He likewise emphasized Dr. Paul’s authenticity and optimism. Dr. Paul never gave up hope. We should also be optimistic. Politics is a dead end when it comes to changing public policy, but we can change hearts and minds one by one with our optimism and the truths of human liberty. And by changing individuals, we can change the world.
Justin Amash, then took part in a panel discussion with another Texas Republican (whose name I do not remember) and which was headed by Connor Boyack. Amash, had some very revealing truth bombs to drop based on his time in Congress. Amash, talked about how it is a massive effort to get anyone in the party establishment to support anything you want to do that isn’t already part of their agenda. Even when you do, almost all of those who pledge to support you will abandon you when the actual vote come to the floor.
The party establishment is against us and will use its power to shutdown any chance we have of getting laws changed. One of the ways the party does this is party leadership using its power over committee appointments to either prevent you from getting into positions of influence and power or by stacking the committees with establishment loyalists in order to prevent any of your proposals ever getting to a floor vote by holding them up permanently in committees. If they really don’t like you they will run primary opponents against you in the next election cycle and try to take you out completely. (Just look at how Trump is going after Thomas Massie.)
Consequently, salvation will not come from Congress. We are going to have to save ourselves and our communities around us personally. True change, true liberation, therefore begins at home. It begins in our families, radiates to our neighbors, and finally out to our communities and neighborhoods around us. We must liberate ourselves from the parties and politics which are destroying us.
These ideas were echoed by Spike Cohen, former Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential nominee, as he introduced Jeff Harmon, founder of Angel Studios. Cohen called Ron his, “brother in Christ,” and said that it is not enough to praise Dr. Paul. We must follow his example. We make the world freer by how we decide to live. Jeff Harmon, told the story of being taught the truths of liberty by his father in a small private school in Burley, Idaho. The school he was taught in has long since been dead, but the ideas he was taught lived on in him. The fruit of that can be seen in Angel Studios, the tenth grossing studio in the United States, and its promotion of traditional values such as faith in Jesus Christ and liberty. The truths that his father taught him in obscurity in a failed school in backwoods Idaho have now blossomed into an organization that are spreading these truths to hundreds of millions across the planet. Dr. Paul was one of the men, along with his father, who set this example for Harmon and showed him the way.
Dr. Paul’s work using the election system to get a national stage for promoting the ideas of liberty was a genius one, but we won’t all get that chance. Almost no one will. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change the world through our individual actions. Spike’s work to free people wrongly imprisoned by the government and to reunite families shattered by the government kidnapping children from their families is an example of this truth. Harmon’s work with Angel Studios to spread the values and truths of Christian morality, family, and liberty through entertainment is an example of this truth. Change does not come from the state. Those in power are often the ones perpetuating the worst abuses, the evils we struggle against the most. We must make the changes in the world that will liberate individuals, families, communities, and nations. Small things are what bring great things to pass.
The next speak was Dr. Mark Skousen, a Presidential Fellow in Business at Chapman University and author of The Making of Modern Economics: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Thinkers, one of the greatest books on economics and history that you’ll ever read. Skousen, spoke of Dr. Paul as Dr. No and Dr. Know because he voted no on so many unconstitutional, destructive laws based on the truths that he knows about what is wrong, what is right, and how the world really works. Skousen said, “To be right, you have to be wrong for a while,” because what is right will always start off as being seen as something wrong by those who have no visionary insight into the future and can only see what is directly in front of them. They will only see something different and think different is bad.
Dr. Paul’s insight derives from the fact that he understands the principles upon which economics, politics, and society functions. He lives these principles in his life an reaps the rewards for doing so. This seems prophetic to those who do not understand those principles, who break themselves against the rocks of reality’s truths. And a prophet may be forgotten or hated by his own people, as Dr. Paul was and is by so many who do not understand what he knows, but the legacy of prophets is inevitably great because they stand on truth. This celebration is proof that Dr. Paul’s legacy will also be great and for the same reasons – he stood upon and proclaimed the truth when few else wanted to hear it and when many hated him for it.
Lawrence Reed, emeritus President of the Foundation for Economic Education, gave one of the best addresses of the night. He started off talking about how it is better to fail and maintain your principles that to see your virtue for power and/or wealth. Embracing and holding on to true principles i far more important than being, “open-minded.” Principles are the axiomatic foundation upon which everything is built and trading those for things that sound nice will only destroy everything. Our opinions therefore must flow from principles, not the other way around. We must not base our principles of our opinions or the opinions of others.
To refuse to embrace/stand on your principles in order to be “open-minded” means that you only have an empty mind and an empty soul. You’re just waiting for others to tell you what to think, feel, and do. It has been Dr. Paul’s principled stance that has made him a lasting influence on the minds of men. He embraced true principles and never sacrificed his integrity to follow the opinions of others. This is what made Dr. Paul, in Skousen’s words, a visionary man. Visionary men stand upon the unalterable truths or principles of reality, no matter what the cost. That is what gives them their vision and the power to influence/change the world around them for good.
After Reed, Scott Horton addressed the crowd. This is when Horton made the comments about Dr. Paul being a great purveyor of liberty and better man than the American Founding Fathers as mentioned previous in this article. He then talked about how Dr. Paul is so well-respected because he respects people enough to tell them the truth. Horton is honored to promote Dr. Paul’s work on antiwar.com and by the fact that a great man like Dr. Paull sees him (Horton) as a good man. To be seen as a good man by a good man is a great thing. Horton also told the story of how first came across Dr. Paul randomly on C-SPAN when Paul was reading a British article about the US selling illegal chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein into the congressional record. This both astounded and impressed Horton and made him want to learn more. And that was the beginning of a process that would transform Horton into who he is today.
Jack Hunter, a conservative libertarian radio host and former Ron Paul 2012 staffer, talked about how Dr. Paul brought together so many people form so many backgrounds for the best of reasons. What changed our lives then and brings us together now, what unites us, isn’t really Dr. Paul though. We are united by what Dr. Paul taught and exemplified – the power of liberty to create peace and prosperity. Liberty unites all people together because it empowers us to live the ways that we want. I observed that this conference, which includes such diverse people as Connor Boyack, former WWE pro-wrestler and now count mayor Glenn Jacobs, Scott Horton, and Dave Smith, is a great example of exactly what Hunter was talking about.
Next came two of the oddest appearances at this kind of libertarian celebration.
First of the two oddball addresses was Kennedy, perhaps best known as a commentator for Fox News, made an appearance and gave a short address. She said that Dr. Paul’s work is an example of why you shouldn’t write people off. Meet people where they are and keep shining the light of liberty in their lives. That light can and will illuminate the darkness of the world and the souls of people. You never know how and when you will thereby changes another person’s heart and mind. What she said was absolutely true, but it was odd hearing it from a Fox News host given that it is the Republican Establishment propaganda arm and carried out some of the worst attacks on Dr. Paul during his election runs. But she identifies as a libertarian now, so there is that, I guess.
The second oddball address was given by none other than Tulsi Gabbard, the current Director of National Intelligence for the second Trump Administration. Now, Dr. Paul has always reached out to anyone willing to work on him to achieve his goal of furthering truth and liberty as long as he didn’t have to sacrifice his principles, so it isn’t entirely odd that he should have a good relationship with Gabbard based on her foreign policy stances, her revelations that the Obama Administration manufactured evidence to manipulate the 2016 election against Republicans, and her working to decrease the size of the Department of National Intelligence by 50% and to tune of saving $700,000,000. But, it is still shocking to see someone so deep in the Trump Administration openly praise Dr. Paul given that Trump is nearly the opposite of Dr. Paul in every manner. Considering how much Trump is trying to destroy Massie, I am shocked Trump let his DNI come and celebrate someone even more libertarian than Massie.
Gabbard’s comments centered around three themes. People have lost faith not just in government, but in civil society itself. Dr. Paul has changed the lives of so many by championing the ideals of human liberty and the value of each individual human life. These ideals give people hope for themselves, hope for others, hope for society, and hope for the future. Knowing that they matter and that liberty can produce a better world relieves the existential and depressive fear that is so prevalent today. That Dr. Paul has been a vehicle for these ideas has given him influence among so many and making him and inspiration and hope for those who have learned from him. That deserves honor, respect, praise and celebration. Gabbard herself got a few boos, but because she was praising Dr. Paul the crowd was largely respectful.
The penultimate speaker was Dr. Thomas Woods, historian and host of The Tom Woods Show. Woods is one of the most prominent voices in the libertarian movement and Libertarian Party today. He centered his remarks around giving his youngest daughter eight reasons why Dr. Paul continues to be an important man to learn about and learn from. His eight points were:
- Ron Paul does not lie. He tells the truth even when it would benefit him to lie.
- Ron Paul will not be forced by people or circumstances to betray his ideals, no matter who is applying pressure or what carrots and sticks they’re using on him.
- Ron Paul never shrinks from defending liberty and truth.
- Ron Paul persevered against the odds and the hatred poured upon him from every major political figure and news outlet, and continues to do so today.
- Ron Paul understood the inevitable negative outcomes of a large, powerful central government and its welfare and warmongering programs. He did not hesitate to proclaim these truths to all who would listen and even many who would not.
- Ron Paul deeply understands economics and the scope of its impact on every facet of human existence. Economics is nothing less than the investigation of how and why humans live.
- Ron Paul is not an egoist. He always understood that it was the ideas that matter, not him.
- Ron Paul helped people realize that there is a better world for us if we want it. Utopia doesn’t exist, but there is better than what exists now and that better way is obtained through the methods and means of liberty.
The final speaker was, of course, Dr. Ron Paul himself. At 90 (or near enough to it on the day of the Celebration) it was clear from the way that he needed help walking to and from the podium that his body had become weak with age and from the way that he spoke that his mind was still vibrant and strong. The spirit was willing, but his flesh had grown weak from the long decades of service to his fellowmen in the cause of liberty. He started off his talk by saying that he had been saying the same things for decades now didn’t think he had anything new to say, especially to this crowd. But, he would speak nevertheless because what he had to say is true and the truth is always worth repeating because it is the truth and that matters most. He then divided his address into what I counted as nine problems of our present time and ten great things about our time.
The Nine Negatives:
- The audit of the Federal Reserve hasn’t happened because those in power know that if it did happen then people would want to end the Fed.
- The purchasing power of the US dollar has continued to plummet since leaving the final vestiges of the gold stand in 1971 and it is hurting everyone.
- Ending the stagflation of the 1970s required the Federal Reserve to let interest rates to rise as high as 21% in the 1980s. We will have to do this again today, with all the pain it brings, in order to fix the markets and prevent even greater pain from happening.
- Democracy allows different groups in society to rob each other through the legalized violence of the state. Democracy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
- The Federal Reserve is the tool that the political and economic elites use to manipulate the levers of democratic government to benefit themselves and their courtiers at the cost of the masses.
- The Federal Reserve is a tragedy that prevents peace and prosperity for the public because it finances international warmongering abroad and enables the state to fund violating our rights at home through inflationary money creation.
- The military-industrial complex is continuing without slowing down and will continue to do so as long as the Federal Reserve (or something like it) exists. “Without the Fed, the military-industrial complex would cease to exist.”
- As long as people believe in democracy the government will maintain the large powers it needs to oppress people at home and other nations abroad. We have to change the way we think about government if we have any hope of having peace, liberty, and prosperity. People have to take responsibility for themselves and their neighbors.
- Political ideological corruption in the universities is one of the leading causes for why people turn against liberty. People are taught the bad ideas of big government and Socialism as truth. The universities indoctrinate people into their own servitude.
The Ten Positives:
- We can defend ourselves and don’t need the government to control us.
- Parents are starting to understand the ideological corruption in the government run “public” school system.
- Parents have the final role in educating their families are are increasingly choosing alternatives to the state controlled schools. Homeschooling is growing.
- Among Americans there is growing opposition to the military draft and international warmongering.
- Technology is allowing people to access knowledge and ideas that they never would’ve known before.
- People are starting to realize that if you have to ask permission to do something then you aren’t free. Free people don’t need permission to use their liberties.
- Everything should be voluntary. Voluntaryism will lead to mass peace. [And people question whether or not Ron is an anarchist at heart. Voluntaryism is anarchism. Ron is just a gradualist.]
- The power of natural law. Don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t kill, don’t steal. Those who do these things are always wrong. The government is the worst violator of natural law.
- Nihilists reject all meaning and truth. Political nihilists have power in both parties in D.C., but the influence of our people is growing. That is a reaosn to be hopeful!
- People are actually arguing and fighting over economic policy where they used to ignore it. Now economic policy, inflation, and the business cycle are serious issues.
Quotes from Dr. Paul, as best as I was able to record them:
- “People in this room have an obligation. These ideas need to be spread. They have to become household beliefs in order to challenge and change things.” If you change ideas, you change people. “You have a moral responsibility to spread these ideas,” using the talents we have in the best ways that we can.
- “Freedom is popular!” Find ways to unite with others outside of politics – whether it be sports, the arts, or anything else.
- “You may have a small station or a small following, but you never know how far the message will spread or who will hear it or what they will do with it.” So, never give up. Never become discouraged. Never lose hope. “Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come and the time for liberty is now!”
After Dr. Paul was finished we all gave a standing applause and filed out to associate together for an hour before we all had to leave. This is when I was given the greatest energy drink of all time:
Seriously, if I could get this in a store near my home, then I would. It was delicious and not full of artificial sweeteners.
Final Thoughts
It was a blessing and a miracle that I was able to attend this celebration. Quite literally as all the money that I needed to go appeared exactly when I needed it as a result of work that I had done weeks and months previously before I even knew about this event. The camaraderie, messages of humanity, liberty, love, and hope that were shared were all inspiring, uplifting, and empowering. It was money and time well spent. I certainly didn’t want to leave when it was time to go. It was a joy to be there around so many people from every walk of life dedicated to so great a purpose. It was a refresher, a renewal, a time of restitution to rededicate myself to one of the greatest causes that any human can champion – the causes of human liberty.
Like the Abolitionists of old who fought against slavery we are seen as the fringe lunatics by the entrenched powers of oppression and domination. Like the Abolitionists of old, we will never surrender no matter what hatred, violence, violations, depredations, and scorn they heap upon us. And like the Abolitionists of old, we will triumph and bring about the end of the systems of indoctrination and terror used to cow humanity into silent servitude. We are men, women, and children. We are Black, White, and every race under the Sun. We are young, old, and everything inbetween.
We know what freedom is, how liberty works, and what is harming society. We have raised the standard of liberty and no effort of those in power shall stop our march of progress to freedom. They may mob us, beat us, even kill us. But we shall not surrender. We shall win. Because liberty is one of the great causes in all of human history. Because the time and place for liberty is now. How could we ever go back in so great a cause? Instead we shall go on, to Victory!
Thank you, Dr. Paul for helping to light the way in the dark.
We shall carry the torch from here into eternity.