Morality – DNC-Consulting

Identity Problems – A Frank Discussion

Several weeks back, I made the declaration that the more labels a person adopts, the harder it becomes to be a person and know who you are. Multiple labels saddle a person with mental struggles that become physically exhausting. Each label comes with social responsibilities, cultures, and expectations that cannot be shirked as long as a person has adopted that label.

For example, I am a dual-service disabled veteran. Thus, I carry the cultures, expectations, and responsibilities of sailors and soldiers. Consider what the expectations of a soldier are, and that image is part of the identity and societal responsibilities for being a veteran soldier. Being disabled carries societal expectations, both mental and physical burdens. Consider the Marines, and every Marine is a Marine for life! You graduate basic training and earn the title Marine, and you will ALWAYS be a Marine! Again, that title and label hold societal expectations voluntarily onboarded, and never will a Marine lose the attitude and social expectations of Marines.

The same is true of every single label a person voluntarily chooses for themselves. The label will attract specific people into your social circles, but only as long as you willingly live the life expectations of that label. Each label selected will form identities and mental challenges to meet the social expectations, a heavy burden indeed!

In a recent Tik Tok video, a person proudly declares more than 50-labels, preferred adjectives and pronouns, and identities. The video lasted more than 3 minutes, and I felt sorry for the exertion this person will face every minute they have these identities onboarded. Another person watching this video declared that the subject claiming their labels was mentally ill; I agree with that sentiment. Why; because the subject will never know who they are because of the noise of the labels, which includes the social pressures, the responsibilities, and the expectations. I do not know the name of the person in the video, I would not share that video due to the privacy respect I have for others.

Who are you?

Even though current society in 2021 declares confusion between who and what a person chooses to be, not what are you. For example, I do not like, nor do I onboard, the identity of disabled. I am NOT disabled, handicapped, injured, and working on healing, but NOT disabled. Consider the power of words for a moment.

The transitive verb “dis” means to show disrespect, insult, or criticize. As a prefix, “dis” is defined as the opposite of something, depriving someone of something, excluding someone, or expelling someone. Thus, a disabled person is either being disrespected, insulted, or criticized, deprived, excluded, expelled, or is the opposite of able. Frankly, when we are made aware of the etymology of words, we are then more aware of why people choose to adopt or not adopt certain words and labels. Do we understand this problem of labels just from an etymological perspective?

Regardless of plasticization, words hold power over the mind. Words become identities, thoughts become things, and research supports that labels hurt mental processes and can permanently scar. Yet, who and what a person chooses as their identities are not considered a problem in current society or a mental illness. People’s choices reflect their identities to attract those in socially accepted circles.

Thus, who are you? Who do you choose to be? Are those identities sufficient? While not as important as who a person is, the last question ranks a close second. How many identities can you physically onboard and live successfully? As a fan of simplicity and a follower of the KISS rules, as detailed by Murphy, the god of perversity, I keep it supremely simple to protect my energy levels and allow my identity to shine through. Having only a few identities enables me to select social commitments, restrict the mental noise and exertions, and hold myself accountable to a few identities to grow as a person.

Returning to the Tik Tok video subject and their 50+ labels, identities, and preferred pronouns, we must ask, what is sufficient? A follow-on video by this person reflected the physical exertions from conforming to identities and social pressures. Worse, this person had onboarded several more labels and identities. They reflected the mental illness and physical drain caused by trying to live up to all the label responsibilities. An extreme example; unfortunately, no; the pressures to onboard labels and identities have grown exponentially, mental problems are too significant to quantify, and they are growing.

Not just in America, the confusion about who a person is, the identities, and their inherent loads, have become a global phenomenon. What are the mental health professionals doing; causing harm by not discussing the physical and mental exertions of onboarding too many identities. It is up to the individual and parents of minor children to understand and help learn and teach simplicity in labels allows growth as a person, not more identities, but less. Fewer identities provide freedom for growth, identity exploration and empower mental health, leading to improved physical health.

Identities

As a pre-teen, I struggled with the concept of my identity. Religion was a curse, my family was worse, and I did not know who I was, thus strangling what I could do or become. I got jealous of how my sister could get away with breaking the rules and thought I should be a girl. I struggled with wanting to be a girl for several years as I learned who I was and what I wanted to be. If this problem occurred right now, professionals would counsel me to adapt and change my body through drugs and surgery, compounding my identity problems. Yet, what helped, was getting to know me!

I had several people help me form an identity I could be comfortable living with as I explored my options, fought to understand my role and purpose, and embraced my potential. It took time, lots of time. It required patience with myself, a moral code I could live in, and a desire to learn—all of which I had to develop from scratch. My identity is forged in the fires of adversity, for the consequences of my choices during this time played a role in how I went to school, what I chose to learn, and where I found employment and socially accepted company. Some of those consequences hang around even all these many years later. Some consequences I have been able to live long enough to survive.

Worse, as I have learned more about myself, my identity has changed, bringing with it consequences of change. Music, movies, humor, education, and more are part of an identity that forms a life. Choices bring consequences; how we value those consequences (e.g., good/bad, profitable/unprofitable, etc.) will determine our eventual destiny towards understanding who we are, so we can become what we desire to see in the mirror. More lessons I had to learn, then and only then, could the value of religion be discovered, the value of family understood, and honor and pride and commitment to self appreciated as an identity to live. Crucial to this growth and development, I know when to cut social ties, drop music and movies into the trash, and I am imperfect in changing, but I have some lessons I would see others learn to avoid pitfalls.

1. 1. Commit to learning using the question, “Who am I?” as a core principle to discovery.
  2. Allow yourself time to think, ponder, and consider before committing to an identity. I always wanted to be a soldier, but I loved the ocean. I did not understand the value of these paradoxical options, and by rushing headlong, I had to learn an identity after living that identity. Arduous path; know first, then adopt an identity. Let me try and simplify that with my favorite axiom, learned as an Emergency Medical Technician, “Never take your body where your mind has not traveled first!”
  3. Comfort is key. If you are not comfortable, your conscience tells you something is wrong. An identity should require physical strain and mental confusion. Yes, you can delude yourself for a time/ Ultimately, your conscience, spirit, intellect, whatever you call your inner voice, will break through and tell you your identity is not mentally acceptable. If your identity choice is not comfortable, it will affect your physical health negatively.
  4. Never stop learning; learning leads to change, and change is good!
  5. When in doubt, turn to lesson two, give yourself more time before committing to an identity.

I love hard rock, big hair bands, and southern rock. Steel guitars, banging drums, and headbanging to an excellent beat are an identity with power. But headbanging gives me incredible headaches. Too much rock and roll, and I cannot think clearly, and the ability to control my thinking is paramount to me. Do I adopt the headbanging identity or not; sometimes, I am all in for a solid rock fest. Mostly, I listen to the inner voices and moderate my music. See, lesson two continues to hold power and lesson four keeps me thinking how much longer will I affect my identity with an uncomfortable identity with physical pain.

Choose carefully, evaluate often, and allow yourself the freedom to grow by not onboarding labels without due consideration. Please, consider your gender and biological sex as integral to your ultimate destiny and comfort. Before you are comfortable in your skin, you have to be comfortable in your mind! If you want to explore identities, explore, but explore smartly and be cognizant of the social responsibilities, expectations, and cultures inherent with an identity. Observe those with those identities closely for the consequences of thier identity.

I cannot betray a confidence, but I have witnessed how traumatic experiences can be the impetus for forcing an identity change. A close associate went to a party, had a mickey slipped into their drink, and woke to a new reality. The consequences of other people’s identities can negatively impact your identity, especially if you do not know who you are!

I have never been comfortable with the hard rock, headbanging social aspects of rock and roll identities. The illicit drug use, the promiscuous sexual encounters, and the extremes in living frankly scare the hell out of me! But, I love the music, and I love much of the wardrobes in this identity, even though I will NOT wear makeup and cannot play a musical instrument.

Life is a journey; travel safely using the axiom, “Never take your body, or anyone else, anywhere your mind has not already traveled.” Think, ponder, consider, and then act confidently.

© Copyright 2021 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

Do We Understand?

Bobblehead Doll One of my closely held beliefs is that we will be held accountable for the heritage left us by those who have fought and bled, and came before us. When I see the farrago that has become Afghanistan, the ineptitude of Vietnamese legacy, the current condition of the White House, politics in America, and the politicians refusing their jobs. I am always left asking, “What will our forefathers say?” With hundreds, possibly thousands of Americans abandoned in Afghanistan by the sitting US President, a complicit Congress, and the spineless Joint Chiefs of Staff, I cannot help but wonder what the President Generals of the United States will say to these people.

Before we hear from the US President’s, let us first clear our minds with the following from Mark Twain.

“The statesmen will invent cheap lies, blaming the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself the war is just and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.”

The fraudulent president, Joey, and his Joint Chiefs are in this position right now. They are deceived, they deceived themselves, and if America is not careful, their self-deception will mean enemies on Main Street. No hyperbole, no scaremongering, no warmongering; simply truth simply stated. Joey and his Joint Chiefs are blaming America for being in Afghanistan for too long, and the chaos in leaving is America’s fault. Their self-deception should not be our problem, our lie, or our “conscience-soothing falsity.” Angry Grizzly Bear

President (Colonel) Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt has the next word, and he declares and details our problem precisely:

“Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people. From these great tasks, both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government, owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day” [emphasis mine].

Do we understand the problem? Are we clear about the issues facing our nation? Is the mission clear? The current crop of politicians have purposefully turned from their roles, like dogs to their vomit, and refused the people who elected them for personal power and individual success. Well, what do you do when you catch your dog rolling in its vomit? What do you do when you find a toddler crayoning the walls after telling them no? Will the adults in the room, please stand? You are needed! photo_slideshow_max

President (Lieutenant) John F. Kennedy provides a caution pertinent to this discussion, and a word of timely caution is worth gold and silver to those who heed and follow its counsel:

“The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in ensuring our nation’s survival if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is a very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. …
For we are opposed worldwide by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on infiltration instead of invasion, subversion instead of elections, intimidation instead of free choice, and on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system that has conscripted vast human and material resources into building a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed” [emphasis mine].

There are lots of questions about who has been pulling Joey’s strings. Who is president right now, as senile Joe is not in charge, Kamala is not in attendance, and Pelosi is silent and retiring shortly. The Afghanistan farrago is humiliating, devastating, and despicable; yet, none of the politicians are willing to be publicly outspoken, convening investigations and using their powers to lead and rescue Americans. Why? Congress has the War Powers Act; they can act independently of the US President and demand that the US Military enter Afghanistan, rescue US Passport holders, and destroy American hardware, munitions, and other war materials. Congress could depose the US President legally, through impeachment proceedings, and install a new president. Yet, nothing is happening. Why? Plato 2

President (General) George Washington provides guidance, counsel, and direction worthy of consideration in the following panacea of quotes:

- “The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled.” … “Be Americans. Let there be no sectionalism, no North, South, East, or West. You are all dependent on one another and should be one in union. In one word, be a nation. Be Americans, and be true to yourselves.”
- “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.” … “It is impossible to govern the world without God. It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits and humbly implore his protection and favor.”

Herein is a call to action, from a general mustering both his troops and citizenry, calling all able-bodied people to learn two great truths. First, we are the owners of government and hold the reigns of power. Second, we cannot make the changes needed without the help of almighty God, regardless of the name we call Him. For too long, we have been divided on the first and not allowed to perform the second, and it is time to end the power that divides and separates. The Duty of Americans

While not a military president, his cunning mind is a powerhouse of wisdom that provides essential ideas and insight, and I am pleased to quote President John Adams. Again we find a panacea of quotes:

- “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.” … “It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them a habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives.”
- “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

Are we allowing the suicide of the American Republic through the groveling in the infancy of our children’s minds? Look at K-12 education and how ideas from the late 1800s and early 1900s continue to shape your child’s classroom experiences — producing functionally illiterate products at state-run schools, abusing your child of their God-given potential, and robbing them of a lifetime of learning through labels, invented science, and drugging them into submission. Angry Wet Chicken

Yet, President Adams is correct; the problem of K-12 education is an opportunity in disguise. The opportunity to learn is an individual one; it is an opportunity for the community to step in and demand the politicians go away; it is an opportunity for citizens to awake and arise and refuse the cruel gruel of oppression and require the fruit of liberty be fed to their children.

There are two pieces of wisdom passed to us from President Thomas Jefferson also apt for this discussion:

- “Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.”
- “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

Knowledge Check! With these thoughts, we come to the brief conclusion of this article, but not the conclusion of the need for learning, teaching, and action. The destruction of America has progressed sufficiently that none of us now living have experienced the tempestuous sea of liberty due to the calm lakes of despotism that has overtaken our land. Desire something you have never had, real liberty, and let’s be willing to do everything we need to possess this gift for ourselves and pass something better to our children!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Atheism: A Religion Ascending

Father Mulcahy 2 The Daily Signal reported some news that tickled my irony bone this morning, and I had to share. Harvard University, an Ivy League school begun by puritans, has hired Greg Epstein as Chief Chaplain. From the Daily Signal report, we find the following reasoning for the new Chief Chaplain’s ascension:

“A Harvard Crimson survey of the university’s 2019 class found that students were two times more likely to identify as agnostic or as an atheist than average 18-year-olds, The New York Times reported. About 21.3% of the class said they were agnostic, and 16.6% said they were atheists. About equal shares of the students said they were Protestant (17%) or Catholic (17.1%), 10.1% said they were Jewish, 2.5% said they were Muslim, 3% said they were Hindu, and 12% said they were “other.”

I make no broad-stroke generalizations based upon a report that has passed through The New York Times and The Daily Signal; however, it is interesting to note the data is a unique finding. Now consider that atheists have begun holding meetings, singing hymns, hosting children’s meetings. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, atheists are flattering those they proclaim not to be. Father Mulcahy 5

President General George Washington made the following comment in his farewell address to the nation:

“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Returning to the axiom of flattery being found in imitation, then the appointment of a US Military Chaplain who is also an atheist is both a possibility and shortly a reality— bringing up some interesting questions for those atheists who continue to proclaim that atheism is not a religion. More to the point, a military chaplain is required to deliver services in a host of different religious services. How will that work for both the chaplain and the parishioners? What about spiritual counseling? Marriage counseling? Other life and death style counseling chaplains are required to perform? Father Mulcahy 4

Having been a US Military Chaplains Assistant, who has fought for religious freedom for soldiers and the soldiers’ rights to worship how, where, or what they may, I find this discussion intriguing and interesting. When his command was telling a Christian-Jewish Soldier that he had to choose which holidays he would be allowed to celebrate, my job was to help provide a voice of reason and history to aid the command in supporting the soldier and discover a compromise. When two Wiccans wanted to hold a wedding, guess who got behind the happy couple to handle the administrative affairs? When a soldier needed a chaplain but was uncomfortable talking to his own, guess who called the soldier a chaplain who was more comfortable to be around.

Knowledge Check! Religion and social standards, laws, and morals all cross and intertwine. In the mixing, society builds a value system and a method of thinking and acting. Here is the opportunity, do we learn and grow or do we denounce and castigate? I have met good people among those calling themselves non-religionists. I have met some grand and noble people among those who would call themselves religionists. The opposite is also true; I have met some genuinely deplorable characters among both religionists and non-religionists. It has been fun and exciting to meet truth seekers among the religionists and non-religionists and watch the conversations unfold regarding science, math, logic, psychology, and every form of human study.

Religion Quote Where freedom of religion is concerned, I believe The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints says it best in their tenth Article of Faith:

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, and what they may.”

From my earliest days as a child, I have espoused similar beliefs. I do not care how, what, or where you worship, what you worship, or when. Provided your rights to worship, do not refuse another person their liberties to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, enjoy your faith. I will even come along and observe occasionally. I find the shift interesting as a social movement by Harvard, and I want to think that the move to ascend an atheist chaplain to Chief Chaplain is not a move with hidden purposes and political leanings. Religious Thought

I offer my genuine and heartfelt congratulations to Chaplain Epstein as he takes his new promotion at Harvard and look to see what develops over the coming years that brings more harmony amongst religionists and improves religious freedoms across America and the globe. I would caution Harvard if this is a trick, many an honest person will be angry when the truth reveals hidden agendas, and I hope the caution is not needed. I do look forward to the day when Wiccans and other “non-traditional religions” obtain military chaplains. Not because it would cause problems, but because it would reflect truth in religious freedoms we espouse in the US Constitution. If a Muslim Chaplain can serve harmoniously with a Baptist Chaplain and a Jewish Chaplain in the US Military, I see no problems with Atheists and Wiccans joining their ranks.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

The Consent of the Governed – A Further Discussion

Question The Virginia Declaration of Rights prefixed the Virginia Colony’s constitution and was written by a reluctant statesman and largest landowner, George Mason. In sixteen statements on government and the rights of man, we find the consent of the governed and the need for controls on government pertinent to our day and time. For this article, we are focused upon the first three articles in the Declaration of Rights and the fundamental principles of liberty that must be refreshed and revisited often to maintain a government of the people, by the people, for the people, and where the consent of the governed is respected.

1. 1. “All men are by nature equally free and independent, have certain inherent rights, … namely the enjoyment of life and liberty, possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

This first declaration is important for several reasons. The first is that it places responsibility upon the individual made free to maintain their rights by exercising those rights responsibly and in a manner that the government expects. How the government is expected to behave is modeled on how people in society behave. Hence, freedom is a double-edged sword; want to keep your liberties, the way you act is how the government will act. The Duty of Americans

1. 1. “All power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants and at all times amenable to them.”

Have you ever had a bureaucrat treat you like you are scum; well, maybe it is time we reminded them of this principle! The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is regularly documented on this blog as abusing, killing, and harming veteran patients. I use this principle as the backbone of logic to try and reprimand Congress and the VA into improving their behavior. I document the behavior of the US Postal Service, the different state Departments of Motor Vehicles, and other government agencies for abusing the taxpayers and acting like feudal lords instead of public servants.

Amenable is described as agreeable, ready to consent, willing to accept a suggestion, or submit to authority. How many times has a bureaucrat treated you in an amenable manner? Heck, having worked with them as a fellow employee, I can affirm they are not amenable to their bosses, let alone the customers. There is a cultural problem in the bureaucratic mind, rejecting all authority as they are protected by labor unions and a quagmire of laws! Do you think this should be changed for the benefit of the public good? Plato 2

1. 1. “Government is or ought to be instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people. … A majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.”

I realize the language here is a bit old-fashioned. All right, a LOT old-fashioned. Let’s break this down.

- - - Indubitable: Anything that is so plain that doubt cannot be admitted is indubitable. For example, water is wet. If I throw water on you, you will get wet.
    - Unalienable: Also known in legal documents as inalienable. Describing something that cannot be separated from a whole, given away, taken by another, or discharged without destroying the whole.
    - Indefeasible: Anything that cannot be voided, annulled, or defeated; something permanent. This is mostly a legal term.
    - Public Weal: A way of saying public good, the public well being, or the prosperity of the general public, not just the special interests, select citizens, etc., but all citizens.

Mr. Mason is declaring here in the third article that governments can be reigned in, changed, abolished, and remade if the majority of the citizens demand it and if the changes are beneficial for the public good and prosperity. Consider this for a moment; since Jan/Feb 2020, America, and the world, has witnessed runaway totalitarian government hysteria over a viral infection with a 98%+ survival rate. As a scientific fact, the annual flu is more dangerous than COVID-19 globally; yet, the flu does not shut down a business, close schools, and ruin economies. Since the start of COVID, there has not been any Flu-related deaths or Flu-related illness at all. Doesn’t this raise some serious concerns in the COVID-Mandates and measures? quote-mans-inhumanity

Using the pattern outlined by Mr. Mason, the people being represented can withhold their consent to be governed, reject the current government, or eliminate the current government and start a new government if the changes are more beneficial to the public good. I find this pattern interesting both in a philosophical and academic sense and in a practical sense. Long have I argued that the officers of government should have a fear of the ballot box and the people they are responsible for representing. The insanity we are experiencing because the politicians have gerrymandered the congressional districts to protect their election results is not ethical or moral and is barely legal.

“No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles” [emphasis mine].

- - - - Justice: Decency to all as a behavior of equality and commitment to moral rightness.
      - Moderation: This is all about not going to extremes, being restrained, knowing the boundaries and staying within limits, and being reasonable and approachable.
      - Temperance: While primarily used in drinking alcohol, this also applies to any behaviors where self-restraint, moderation, and expressions or observance of temperate behaviors are required.
      - Frugality: Besides being a good steward of other people’s resources, being frugal requires being sparing, prudent, economical, thrifty, and reserved.
      - Virtue: Requires moral excellence, modesty, personal dignity, goodness, and conformity to a standard of righteousness.

Knowledge Check! The Eagles sing a song called “Lyin’ Eyes,” in which truth is revealed:

“There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes!”

Look to the politicians. I do not care about your political affiliation. Take an honest look at them, their deeds, and their faces; can you see their lying eyes? Use the pattern discussed above; are the politicians in public office right now frugal with your hard-earned tax dollars? Do they practice virtue in public and private? What about moderation and temperance? Do they perform their jobs with justice and moderation? If so, do they deserve your vote to stay in office? If not, do they earn your vote to remain in office? Scared Eyes!

Better, would you trust them to watch your children in your home while you went out to dinner with your significant other? Your consent to be governed is expressed firstly in the ballot box, next in the actions you take, and then in your investment in trusting that person to continue under supervision. Too many local politicians have set up permanent camps because Federal politics is so amazingly in-your-face atrocious and attention-grabbing. But, your local school board wields considerable power that affects you more directly, and they get away with abysmal behavior while the focus is on State and Federal elections and politics.

Local judges have set up horrible empires of inefficiency, dastardly inefficient and unjust, almost criminal courtrooms, while the attention is focused elsewhere. Mayors, County Supervisors, City Councils, and the list goes on and on of political empires designed to do serious and lasting harm, steal your consent to be governed, and ruin America, all because the focus is on the more noticed elections at the state and federal levels. Modesty

America, tell me, is the government you witness daily the government you deserve? What about the other representative governments across the globe? Australia, has your government overstepped its legal authority and demonstrated enough contempt for the consent of the governed? China, has your government punished you sufficiently to consider a change of government? Hong Kong, you are being punished for agreeing to a treaty that was full of pie-crust promises, and your productivity has been propping the unjust communist regime since you joined the mainland. Have you had enough yet?

Look I weep for Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and so many other countries where the people’s voice was twisted, distorted, stolen, or outright silenced to implant a government that does not represent the people. But, the principles remain the same; your consent to be governed remains the tinder upon which your money is exchanged. Your consent to be governed remains the trust used to keep unjust regimes and totalitarian officers in office. Your consent to be governed is the straw that will break the camels back and force changes to government. If the last century has taught us anything, when the people have had enough, collectively stand, and refuse their consent to be governed, blessed change will come, and governments crumble and blow away like dust in heavy winds!

Let us withhold our consent to be governed until the government starts listening to us, not the special interests, their own capacious egos, and monied influencers!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Ender’s Game: The Morality of Fighting, the Manner of Winning

Dont Tread On Me Ender’s Game is a book authored by Orson Scott Card and is on the level of some of the best military sci-fi I have ever read. While I have not read all of the Ender books, Ender’s Game is by far one of the most intellectually stimulating sci-fi books I have read in the fiction genre. Essential to the present, raised and created by President Obama and the Democratic Party, is the question, “Does the manner of winning matter?”

“When I understand my enemy well enough to defeat him, then in that moment, I also love him.” – A. E. Wiggin

The Morality of Fighting

From a previous article, we draw the definition of morality. Various sources define morality; in fact, morality has been considered a philosophical debate, and much is written on this topic. For this reason, the definition of morality is as follows:

“Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal.”

Why History is replete with wars, contention, the loss of life, and examples of fighting for moral and immoral reasons, depending upon your choices and moral codes; but, is fighting someone else moral? In the Judaic religion, the Rabbi’s will point to the Books of Moses and declare that the Children of Israel had to obey because God commanded, and wars were begun. The Koran has similar writings. The Old and New Testaments and the different Popes of the Catholic church can point to writings and claim similarly. But, does a commandment from a supreme being make war moral?

I cannot tell you how to answer; thus, I will not be pontificating on this topic. You, individually, must decide the morality or immorality of fighting and what is worth fighting and dying for. I know my answer and am comfortable with my answers, for I have done the research and reached logical conclusions. I beg you to decide what your answers are individually, for, in answering, you will better understand yourself, your beliefs, your mental positions, and the world around you. Question 3

The manner of Winning

An enemy can be crushed in any manner of methods from baroque to technical; the enemy is just as dead as yesterday’s fish. Comb through history, and you will find man’s inhumanity to man is as great as man’s humanity to man. I find this fact very comforting! As cruel and vicious as man can be to each other, the fact that man continues to have a spark of divinity and can show compassion and kindness equal to or greater than his inhumanity a great hope. Bringing us to the question, does the manner of winning matter?

In this world, there are many absolutes; the manner of winning absolutely does matter! No equivocation, no double-speak, no half-truths. If you cannot win by the rules, you are not worthy of competing! I know no better method of stating this absolute; how you win is more important than winning!

Question Does this absolute suggest there are rules to fighting; unequivocally YES! There are always rules to fighting, and only the most despotic criminal would shuck the rules and win at all costs. For in winning at all costs, that person has thrown off the cloaks of humanity, the ties that bind human to human, and have become an animal most vile. One must never forget the lesson of Ender Wiggin.

“When I understand my enemy well enough to defeat him, then in that moment, I also love him.” – A. E. Wiggin

From the “Five Rings,” Mao Tse Tung is quoted as declaring, “When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.” Why; because universal truths win out, today’s enemy is tomorrow’s ally. Both Mao Tse Tung and Ender Wiggin recognize the same lesson, but from different perspectives that there is never much difference between a trusted ally and a despised enemy. Thus, how one wins is more important than winning!

Exclamation Mark Consider this principle in real life. We have the November 2020 elections, which began with the 2020 primaries, where fraud, the inability to count, too many votes for a precinct, and a hundred other issues popped up. Yet, none of those issues were considered fraudulent, just politicking—business as usual. The most extensive problem areas promised to have everything fixed by November, business, as usual, no worries. What happened in November, the same problems in the same regions produced an election that 40% of Pennsylvania does not trust to have been truthful. How one wins matters more than winning!

Another example; Syria, President Bashar Assad, who employed chemical weapons against his people, in a massive violation of law, morality, and ethics. President Obama blurred his own “Red Lines,” and Assad is still in power, only a little more circumspect in using banned chemical weapons. The Syrian civil war (2011-Present) continues, the crimes against his enemies and people continue, and the only change is how Turkey continues to be flooded with refugees. How you win matters more than winning!

Bait & Switch The battle continues in Ukraine with Russia, unabated, where America refused her ally (Ukraine) for Russia to gain “political influence” with Turkey and Syria. One of the most remarkable historical facts, Russia continues to forget, then remember, then forget that how you win is more important than merely winning! The history books of Russia are replete with this cycle, and every few generations, the cycle repeats. Usually, after a glorious loss, Russia remembers that how you win is more important than winning, and the people rally to clear off the invader, previously Germany!

Since the First Sino-Japanese War onward, China has refused to believe that how one wins is more important than winning. Unfortunately, Communism has only made this country more blood-thirsty and less willing to follow Mao Tse Tung’s advice on war, even though they continue to use his philosophies against everyone else. Worse, China is offering war to every nation on Earth, and the majority of the countries are asleep. Japan learned this lesson well and has used this lesson to dominate the Pacific Rim nations economically.

Knowledge Check! America keeps trying to learn and apply this lesson. However, her political leaders since Vietnam continue to refuse to allow the military to do their job with a clear set of Rules for Engagement. Worse, the political leaders keep trying to give away US Constitutional Rights to enemies of America. All because too many refuse to understand that how you win is more important than winning.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Morality, the Vaccine to Envy

Angry Wet Chicken In reading the news today, under the heading of “equity,” we find masturbation taught to first graders, hardcore porn taught to high schoolers, and San Francisco, CA., sliding into lawlessness and chaos. Honestly, I felt my mind trying to explode; yet, life must go on. In several previous posts, I have described how equity is a mask for envy. For example, sexual grooming of the innocent comes from people envious of the innocent. The district attorney in San Francisco is envious and uses his envy to gain power and lord that power over those who elected him.

The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints, in their book of scripture The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 121, verse 39, has an applicable declaration.

“We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” [emphasis mine].

Detective 2 For those interested, “unrighteous dominion” is considered to be oppression, pride, vain ambitions, and a host of other contention-increasing actions designed to stay in “power” where the exercise of authority can be abused. For example, the district attorney and staff in San Francisco were informed by those who elected the DA to power that the crime and the lawlessness in the city were hurting them. The DA and staff are reported to have claimed those raising concerns were racist. The governmental leaders in San Francisco consider themselves as having authority. Yet, they refuse to acknowledge that their “authority” comes from the governed and was granted through the electoral process and can be taken back. Hence the verse quoted is an excellent description of what is being witnessed today at every level of government.

Various sources define morality; in fact, morality has been considered a philosophical debate, and much is written on this topic. For this reason, the definition of morality is as follows:

I am not here to dictate what is and is not moral between you, your conscience, and your supreme being worshiped. However, I will emphasize that America was founded upon the morals of Judeo-Christian theology, and these morals have been a solid anchor in the chaotic push and pull of beliefs and morals across time. I mention this because that definition of morality opens the doors for people to insist that sexually grooming young children is morally acceptable because they believe that sexual grooming should be universal. Planned Parenthood, GLAAD, and several other groups believe that sexual grooming and stealing the innocence of youth is required because they personally envy children their innocence.

Modesty Believe it or not, sex is NEVER free; there will always be consequences. The 1960s sexual revolution has done more harm globally than any other revolution or clash of arms in history, bringing us back to the topic rather forcefully; morality is the only vaccine to envy. But, who decides the morality of a nation, a state, a country, or a city? The electorate as a collective voice selects the morality of that area. The electorate decides the laws through the ballot box in a representative government. In a non-representative government, the king, monarch, dictator, etc., dictate the morality of the population, which is one reason why old countries have histories where immorality was rampant as the people followed the examples of the leaders, not the leader’s words. Want a history lesson in morality and how people copy a leader’s morality, look no further than King Henry VIII of England.

Circling back again to how morality is the vaccine for envy, provided the morals involved in supporting morality are selected carefully and exemplified by leaders. In the discussion on morality, philosophers question if there are absolutes? Absolute right and absolute wrong, or are morals a gray area where time and social pressure keep everything gray? Depending upon your appetite and your ability to control your appetites tends to set your moral convictions.

5 Illegal Drugs That Doctors Once Prescribed As Miracle Cures For example, Playboy and Hustler have made billions of dollars selling sexually explicit content to the masses. Some participate in pornography; others refuse pornography. Those who choose to imbibe in pornography live a fantasy life where no woman will ever be good enough to meet the pictures witnessed and the lurid content from the magazines selling appetite suppression. Both sides of the morality issue will complain they deserve attention and should be free to express their rights. Both are using the same tool, envy, to make their moral stand become a legal standard.

Who wins and who loses? Why? These questions get to the heart of the problem and identify why morality is a vaccine for envy. Morality, where all men (including women) are equal, would see the chains of pornography and set a moral standard to limit the content to adult audiences. But, every 10-year old knows a friend whose dad has a subscription and has seen a Playboy or Hustler magazine. Is this a failure of the law or moral codes; no, it is a failure of parents and parenting. Yet, society will consider this a social problem. The K-12 educators will become involved in peddling worse to your children, all because of curiosity, failed parenting, envy, all of which stem from moral problems and morality breakdowns in social systems.

Exclamation Mark As a kid, I remember the fierce debates over convenience stores being allowed to sell adult content, video stores carrying adult movies, and the continued fight over how much is too much in an R-rated, PG-13 rated, and G-rated movies. Why were these fights and debates occurring; the lude and loose morality of the 1960s perverted sex into being “free,” and morality took a back seat to legal freedoms without accountability and responsibility. Consider the gargantuan awards against cigarette manufacturers; why were these awards so high, poor moral choices, envy, and a refusal to accept that the daily choice of smoking 5-45 cigarettes is going to cost you your health as a consequence.

Sure, medical professionals peddled smoking as a curative; but they also peddled mercury, heroin, cocaine, and a ton of other chemicals and poisons, and those companies never got in trouble. So why were cigarette manufacturers singled out; envy and a lack of morality where consequences are accepted for personal behaviors. Nobody twisted arms and forced anyone to smoke. Yet, the cigarette manufacturers have been forced to pay for advertising to prevent smoking, smoking cessation classes, and a host of other programs by legal mandate, for the moral failures of people in society. Are You Sure Grandpa Never Took Heroin? You May Be Surprised | BoredomBash

Is the connection clear? Envy breeds bad case law, which enables poor moral choices without consequences. Except, the consequences for personal choices cannot ever be escaped! Therein lay the issue and the answer. I do not care what moral code you choose to follow, provided that moral code does not infringe upon another person’s rights and liberties; believe who, what, and where you will. Just understand that your moral code comes with consequences that others should never have to pay for.

Knowledge Check! Equality in the world, since the 1960s, has been a mask for envy. Through the power of envy, people have become discontent, disabled, and disconnected from morality and the consequences of immoral behaviors. America stands on a tipping point where envy is concerned, and if we, the citizens who can understand, cannot persuade, educate, and correct this trend line, disaster looms large! We must recognize that the path of envy, in all its nicer sounding, feel-good imitations, is part of the problem we face! Yes, I believe in liberty, freedom, the inalienable rights of man. But freedom, liberty, and the rights of man are not government benefits to be doled out at the whims of bureaucrats. It is not more government we need when morality is threatened by envy, but less!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

NO MORE BS: What is History? A Prelude to the Future.

There is an axiom in history, “If you do not learn history, you are doomed to repeat it.” Some have refused to believe this lesson, to their utter misfortune. Others have refused to accept this sentiment and have suffered likewise. How do I know this; history shows the willing student how history is a prelude to the future.

Ancient Greece was the center of knowledge, but their people stopped learning history, and Rome came in while Greece was napping and took over the country lock, stock, and barrel. Then, over time, Rome stopped learning the lesson they had taught and was forced to relive their history when caught napping; others came in and ruined the Roman Empire. Ancient Egypt was a grand empire until Rome. More history leading to preludes of the future.

Moving forward several centuries, and we see the rise of the Muslim Empire, suffering the same fate as those behind it when they too forgot their history. The repetition of history is both scary and clearly written in the annals of history. When one stops learning their history, they become doomed to repeat that history, for history is ever a prelude to the future.

Now, I am not a doom and gloom type, nor do I have grand aspirations of being a prophet or prognosticator. I am simply pointing out the truth and hoping others may join me in learning history to avoid repeating history.What historical lessons do we need to learn?

To answer this question, I beg you to indulge me for a moment. I have to ask a few more questions to answer this most pressing question. As a modern citizen of your country, do you understand the family’s value and importance to your society? What are you doing to support the family as the preeminent foundational stone of a sound and growing society? Are you willing to sacrifice worldly reputations, money, power, etc., to have a family? The leading cause of the Roman Empire’s fall was that they stopped having nuclear families, and within a generation, they fell. Why did the sunset on the Egyptian Empire; they stopped believing in and supporting the nuclear family, and they failed. Before WWII, why was England, the world’s mightiest empire since Rome, failing; they lost the nuclear family and still haven’t recovered.

Why is France struggling, Italy disappearing, Germany struggling, and the US and Japan all having such incredible problems; all have forgotten the nuclear family. As the nuclear family goes, so does the state’s power and the identity of a country’s soul. Let that sink in a minute. As the nuclear family goes, so does the country’s soul. A country’s identity, liberty, law, freedom, and lifestyle rests squarely upon the shoulders of the nuclear family.

I have read reports that Italy will no longer be the traditional “Italy” in less than 10-years because the Italians are not getting married and having families. I love my Italian family members, but I am so distraught to think that “La mia famiglia,” the quintessential Italian experience, will not be around for my posterity to enjoy, except through fading pictures and journaled memories. What makes this worse is Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and every other nation on earth have the same problems. The nuclear family is disappearing at a frightening rate, and as the family goes, so do the historical lessons that need to be learned to avoid repeating.

An ignorant barbarian suggested, “well, just have people have more kids.” I wanted to gently take this person by their ears, look deeply into their eyes, and ask, “Is anyone in there?” Children are important but more important is the nuclear family experience. Another person once suggested that the nuclear family, consisting of a mother, a father, and children living in the same home, is copyable for homosexual couples, divorced couples, and single parents, so what’s the big deal?” In asking that question, the individual’s historical ignorance was apparent, and society’s problem leading to a repeat of history.

Living together as a family is messy, it is hard, and it requires learning how to live together. These fundamental lessons become the experience that binds a nation to its culture, faith, and fundamental societal core. There is no substitute, no shortcuts, and no other possible way to exist. Yet, too often, the nuclear family is shunned, disrespected, and disregarded for the pleasures of living more easily.

No, I am not casting aspersions on those parents raising children as single parents. I have known the great and good and the incredibly terrible in single parents and would support that person and those children however I can. But, I hold this perception and desire because I know the value of the nuclear family, the nuclear family’s potential, and I know how a family makes a community, and a community makes a family.

I read the research on homosexual couples rearing children, and I weep for the children! A more honest statement I cannot make. I know the abuse and problems inherent in any family organization, but the problems are only multiplied a hundred-fold in homosexual couples rearing children. The second most destructive power in Rome’s fall, mirrored from the Greeks, was the rise of homosexuality, which was preceded by a loss of morality, religious living, and the nuclear family.

President George Washington said in his final address to the nation about religion.

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” Continuing, Pres. Washington called religion and morality “Pillars of human happiness, and the duty of citizens to uphold.” Concluding with, “Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation [and morality in society] desert the oaths? Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

I know the struggles in families, but those struggles pay dividends when we support the nuclear family. I recently read of an 11-year old having children because her mom and grandmother were in prison, and great-grandma needed more welfare money to feed the other children living in the home. In reading that report, I hoped this was a one-of-a-kind experience, but I was horrified to learn the exact opposite, and family courts are full of tragedies similar to this story. Our communities are failing because the nuclear family has suffered some desperate body blows, and more welfare programs and government heavy-handedness are NOT the answer! History is indeed a prelude to the future, and the loss of the nuclear family is front and center in this battle for your country’s soul, culture, legal system, and future.

Families, reach out to single parents and open your home. You do not have to be perfect to help; just help! Communities reach out to support the nuclear family. Religious communities especially reach out to support single parents raise morally centered children and help build nuclear families. If the nuclear family experience is lost, we will repeat history, and chaos is too small a word for the conflict that will fill every country on earth!

I offer no excuses for those who abuse their spouse or children! I extend only support for the victims and would see the situation corrected. In the same breath, I would offer hope to those struggling in these times to raise a nuclear family; you are doing a good job, even if it seems like every day is difficult. Please stay in the fight; it is worth the struggle. To the non-profit and religious organizations, get involved in the battle to support the nuclear family and morality in public and private. Fight for morality and nuclear families; they need you, your community needs you, and your country needs you! Especially to the organized religions and their leaders, find a spine! Get into this fight, or die an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle!

Please, learn history, teach history, and work to support the family as a prelude to a better future!

NO MORE BS: Religion and Politics

Please note, if you cannot openly discuss either topic without relying upon emotional hyperbole, feel free to stop reading right here! I will not allow any discussion that insults, denigrates, derides, or casts insults and aspersions on either topic. As a Republic, America must be able to openly discuss religion and politics in the public square openly, and the public square includes social media. I will not suffer snowflakes and idiots; take your emotional hyperactivity elsewhere. You have been sufficiently warned!

What is Religion?

I have written a post dedicated to supporting atheists, and after some consideration, I felt it was time to tackle theism. I discussed in the atheist article that the world is not split between atheists and theists; feel free to read that article for more information. We begin in the same place as we did with the atheists, defining religion properly. To understand a word, all the definitions and etiology (history) of the word are critical to grasp what is being discussed fully. According to Webster, religion has three accepted definitions:

Religion Quote 2 As a Noun: “The belief in and worship of a superhuman or controlling power, especially a personal god, God or gods.”

“A particular system of faith and worship.”

“A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.”

From Latin, Religare meaning “to bind,” and Religio meaning “obligation, bond, reverence.” From Old French, we have the emergence of the term Religion meaning “life under monastic vows.” Thus, a person may easily conclude that many things of supreme importance, where faith and worship are attached and is personal as a belief, can be considered a religion, including sports, food, atheists, a car, and so much more. Consider that neighbor who polishes his car every Sunday as a method of meditating; he can be considered to be worshiping. The same for that guy glued to the NFL all season, every season, and even between seasons, expressing a bond, an obligation, or a vow to express belief because the NFL is of supreme importance to that person.

Religious Thought Are the term and the method of use clear for the term religion; America has many religions and a lot of religious people who might not belong to what a person might consider “normal” religions. I have met beer worshipers, prostitutes worshiping at the church of the virgin who believe that when taking the sacrament, it returns them to a virgin state, and a lot more, including the church of a purple (Not Barney) dinosaur. We have the “Church of the Happy Spaghetti Monster,” where the high priest wears a colander on his head. Lots of religious beliefs, lots of supreme beings, lots of dedicated believers whose personal beliefs are of supreme importance to that individual.

President Adams I respect their beliefs and will honor their freedoms to believe as they choose. I will accept no denigration, aspersions, or insults to a person’s honestly held belief structures. If it is of supreme importance to you, that is your religion; I will support you as long as your beliefs do not infringe upon the life, property, and liberty of another person’s religious beliefs. I expect the same rights to be extended to me under the US Constitution as amended for the US Bill of Rights.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances [emphasis mine].

What is Politics?

Politics is too often a word with so much baggage; people become confused and stop listening after hearing the word politics. According to Webster:

The Duty of Americans As a Noun, “the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.”

“The activities of governments concerning the political relations between countries.”

“The academic study of government and the state.”

“Activities within an organization that is aimed at improving someone’s status or position and are typically considered to be devious or divisive.”

“A particular set of political beliefs or principles.”

“The assumptions or principles relating to or inherent in a sphere, theory, or thing, especially when concerned with power and status in a society.”

As a Verb, politic/s is derogatory and is defined as “engaging in political activities.”

From Old French Politique “political,” Latin from Greek Politikos, and Politẽs “citizen” and Polis “city.” Thus, we have described the term politics in all its glory and inhumanity. Is the term more understood? Politics is a descriptive tool used to identify certain human activities where power is sought, and devious means and divisive gestures are employed to obtain that power. Every action tied to securing power through devious means and divisive gestures is politics or political, which means derogatory. For those needing more, derogatory is “showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.” Patriotism

Why are these topics important for open discussion?

I do not include the definitions to insult anyone’s intelligence! The definitions are required to place all of us on the same page of understanding to discuss what is happening and use the terms correctly. In our world, so many words have been plasticized to encourage tyranny through modular language.

Dont Tread On Me The tyranny is witnessed in many different means and methods. The easiest way to see the tyranny is in the lawfare we witness every Christmas by the atheists demanding less Christ and other religions in the traditional winter holidays. Religion can be politics, and as such, this places your political beliefs into a sacred area. I will not tell you how to vote or express your political beliefs, nor your religious beliefs. I expect the same in return!

I demand the ability to discuss both topics openly without moderators, thought police, speech Nazis, trolls, and others giving way to emotion. Consider something, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to Reverend Ezra Stiles and discussed his beliefs, asking Reverend Stiles, President of Yale College, to keep the letter confidential. Franklin said, “All sects here [in Philadelphia] have experienced my goodwill in assisting them with subscriptions for building their new places of worship; and as I have never [publicly] opposed any of their doctrines, I hope to go out of the world in peace with all” (p. 65). I agree with Mr. Franklin; my religious tenets are my own affairs, I do not push religion, and allow all men (and women) the ability to believe as they choose. Apathy

However, I understand precisely what President George Washington said in his final address to the nation about religion.

Liberty and Freedom are Rooted in Politics and Religion!

As Pres. Thomas Jefferson claimed the French Revolution occurred because of “Kings, nobles, and priests.” The French Revolution, especially the influence of the church in state affairs, is one reason why President Jefferson was such a stickler for the “Rule of Law” and one of the most important reasons for supporting the First Amendment, which allowed America to keep Church and State separate. A town supporting a Christmas decoration does not intrude or imply a Christian breach into state affairs. A violation of church and state affairs, which would be unconstitutional, would be for Pres. Biden to invite the Pope to dictate laws for America. Is the distinction clear? The separation of church and state has been a legal quagmire since 1879 SCOTUS decision on Reynolds v. United States. Bad cases have made bad case law, and bad case law has left everyone scratching their heads and hostile!

Religion Quote President Thomas Jefferson wrote,

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.”

Morality in society needs strong religious people who place supreme importance on living the tenets of their religion for liberty and freedom to grow and expand. The Greek philosophers have been so twisted and plasticized that morality through philosophy is impossible. Politics remains an ugly business, mainly due to the lack of morality lived by the individuals practicing political behavior. Pick a politician, and we find problems living a moral centered lifestyle—President Clinton, well known, zero moral center. President Obama had a pornography problem, among other less publicized moral issues. Rep. Anthony Weiner had a sex problem with young girls.

Image - Politics is Dirty The problem we have here is not just the lack of moral center in the politicians; it is the twisting of ethics, morals, and politics into a cohesive behavior that is the exact opposite of morality and ethical conduct required for holding public office. Schools teach “Political Ethics,” “Moral and Political Philosophy,” and other twisted logic classes to excuse private indiscretions due to the politician’s public reputation. Are the reasons clearer for why the definitions were discussed first? I read a research report on ethics. The moral decline in understanding terms became painfully obvious when behavior can be excused in a public official that would be criminal in a private individual.

A “Liberty FIRST Culture” must understand this precious connection. Religion can be many things to many people. Politics cannot in any way, shape, or form exist without morally centered religious people. Liberty and freedom die with the citizen’s moral centeredness, not the politician, even though the politician plays a dynamic role as an example of proper ethical and moral conduct, publicly and privately.

Reference

Brookhiser, R. (2007). Chapter 4: God and Man. In What would the founders do? Our questions, their answers. New York, NY: Basic Books.

NO MORE BS: The Role of the Rule of Law

Gavel Rome made global history when it wrote down its laws and posted these laws in a manner that told everyone that the law was the highest order in the land, and everyone is held to the same legal standard. Writing down laws was nothing new in societies; the Jews had written and codified their laws long before Rome, but to hold everyone accountable to the same legal standard set Rome apart and blessed their land. Why did Rome eventually fall; they stopped holding everyone responsible to one rule of law.

What is the Role of Law?

Ask a lawyer this question, and you will get a similar answer to the following:

“Laws provide a framework and rules to help resolve disputes between individuals. Laws create a system where individuals can bring their disputes before an impartial fact-finder, such as a judge or jury.”

Frankly, my experience with lawyers is as productive as my relationship with the VA, hostile and not productive. Hence, I infer that the law’s role in society is to bring order to a social environment, produce equality under the law, and punish those who decide to break the law. Law is an expectation, a social contract, that restricts and constricts behavior to a socially acceptable level.

Thin Blue Line Consider today’s tragic events in Boulder, Colorado. Before the blood was even clean at the scene, we have the President and selected hysterical gun-grabbing politicians making hay and demanding “gun reform.” Except, “Gun Reform” always means stealing guns from legal owners and doing nothing about illegal gun holders. Nothing is being urged to avoid and eliminate criminal behaviors with a firearm. The Rule of Law’s role only applies to those who choose to live according to society’s laws and rules. Those choosing to live outside society’s rules are terrorists and need to be treated as such!

President Lincoln is quoted thus:

“Let every American, every lover of Liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their abuse by others. As the Patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear [down] the character of his own, and his children’s Liberty. Let reverence for the [Constitutional] laws [of America]… become the political religion of the nation.” President Lincoln is quoted thus: “Let every American, every lover of Liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their abuse by others. As the Patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear [down] the character of his own, and his children’s Liberty. Let reverence for the [Constitutional] laws [of America]… become the political religion of the nation.”

President Lincoln continued to proclaim:

“When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have been made, I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed.” The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, “Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois” (January 27, 1838), p. 112.

Does President Lincoln’s plea inspire you, encourage you, and provide direction for improving the government moving forward? The role of the “Rule of Law” is to empower and motivate people, to create order in a society, and to constrict and restrict behaviors for those choosing to live outside societal norms and acceptable behaviors. Is the role of the “Rule of Law” clear?

What is the “Rule of Law?”

As President Lincoln was quoted above, the “Rule of Law” in America is:

“[The] support of the Declaration of Independence, the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear [down] the character of his own, and his children’s Liberty. Let reverence for the [Constitutional] laws [of America] … become the political religion of the nation.”

Are laws currently abusing America; absolutely! Herein is the charge to action; the government has chosen to declare you are the US Government’s property (Reich, 1964). Charles Reich’s discussion on “New Property” is unacceptable and unconstitutional in the extreme. The lack of treating the western states in a constitutional manner is also unconstitutional. The theft of farmer’s goods, fisherman’s wares, and ranchers’ products remain 100% unconstitutional. Yet, the bureaucrats’ actions and the politicians continue to treat you and me as unwanted property in our own country.

Apathy Like Rome, the legislators and the President are not above the “Rule of Law.” Even though these people continue to consider themselves above the “Rule of Law.” Worse, no matter how many laws a country produces, if the society is immoral, the “Rule of Law” is a joke. Consider the knife and machete attacks in the United Kingdom, outlaw guns, and people are still finding ways and means to hurt other people. France has stringent laws, yet people rent vehicles and mow their neighbors down in case lots. Japan, very orderly society; how do criminals make the news there; they use chemicals to poison their neighbors on a subway. Laws do not dictate moral behavior, ever!

Laws can only, ever, restrict and constrain those amenable to living a moral life. A “Liberty FIRST Culture” understands this principle and protects itself accordingly. Bringing this topic to a subject closely related to the “Rule of Law,” morals, morality, and moral living are all products of people amenable to religious belief structures. Those people who desire to maintain connections to a religious society act their ideology through living a moral life.

Life Valued I am not saying everyone needs to change religions; I am claiming that religion plays a significant role in reducing people’s animal minds to become amenable to living in a social order that respects the law and being ruled by law to enjoy maximum freedom. We also need to be clear, atheism is a religion per Webster, and while this is a topic for another article, religion is a codified belief system with adherents that form a social order based upon expectations of behavior. Liberty and freedom require choices; choices require more than a single option or two for a person to make more; Liberty and freedom require written and codified moral statements that grow from living a moral lifestyle.

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