An Invitation to Study

I had occasion the other day to sit down and discuss politics with a friend. We occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum though we agreed that our vision for society seemed to look the same. We both want a world where everyone is treated properly and everyone has the same opportunities to succeed. I don’t remember exactly the details now, and I don’t think that really matters. We agreed, too, that we just have completely different pathways to achieving the ideal society.

Mine is centered around a society free from the fetters of government, with everyone cooperating out of free will. His is one in which the government plays a large role in actually providing those elements themselves. We parted reassuring each other that the conversation was delightful and yet nothing was accomplished in the end. We both clung to our own points of view and nothing was solved in the process.

We agreed that our positions depended upon what the proper role of government is. I told him government is there only to protect the individual’s inalienable rights, which do not include health care or education. He believes government has the responsibility for doing everything in its power (and, sadly, to me, anything is really within a government’s power since it has a monopoly on the guns) to provide the good life to its citizens. I believe that role is greatly limited. He said I am not in touch with reality and I believe he is a tyrant. We concluded that I have more faith in people than he does. That was the truest statement either of us said in the whole discussion.

I left the conversation somewhat frustrated and deciding to study more. In the course of our conversation the following questions surfaced in one form or another (most of the time not the actual question).

1. What is trickle down economics? Does/did it work? Is it based upon true principles?
2. What was the living condition of the average American in 1910, including race, sex, political and economic issues? What has happened to that living condition since?
3. What is the proper role of government according to today’s liberal? What is it according to today’s conservative? What was it according to America’s founding fathers?
4. How much of the founding fathers’ ideas should be cherished and how much tossed to the winds because the world they lived in just doesn’t exist any more? If we do throw out any idea from the founding fathers, whose ideas do we replace them with? And why do we think we are smarter than they?
5. What government health care plan actually works? England? Canada? Mexico? Germany? France? the Philippines? Australia? Japan? China? Russia? Switzerland? Finland? Norway? Sweden? India? Israel? And on and on.
6. What is the proper role of economics? Why should we study it?
7. Is it possible to convince someone these days or are we simply ringing a bell and picking sides?
8. Is there any such thing as absolute truth in these matters? Or does everything just sort of “depend”? Or is everything just flat out opinion?

It will be fun to think outloud for a little while.

Just a quick post tonight as I am very tired and not thinking of much to say. As follow-up to my post a few days ago about running. I woke up after a challenging night of sleep, excited about the day ahead. Ideas were running through my head like crazy and I was excited for the race. The race turned out so-so. Not my best run. In fact, I think I have done better in recent training runs. Nevertheless, I was happy to complete it and have it as part of my day. I finished the 6.2 mile race in 53 minutes, right in the middle of the pack, no matter how you divide it. I was 34 of 67 in my age division and about 320 out of 650 overall. Since I am currently running just 3 times a week, covering 12 miles, I think this was about as good as I can expect at the time. I good run and I am glad I did it. After the race, I thought about my wife and family and thought, OK, next year my two older children, my wife and I all participate in the race, one way or another. They need the work as well (my kids – my wife is already running about 18 miles a week.

Faith in God Requisite in Preservation of Freedom

I have recently had the opportunity to engage in discussion with so-called atheist capitalists who claim that to be a true capitalist one must shed faith in God. Today, I won’t go too much into that discussion, only to say that they are wrong and that religion plays huge roles in the pursuit of freedom. I will simply list a series of quotes by some of the greatest authorities on freedom in our history.

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
Ronald Reagan

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports….And 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 to the exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.
George Washington

I hold…that when we take a view of the universe in its parts, general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to percive and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of its composition.
Thomas Jefferson

That Being who gave me existence, and through almost threescore years has been continually showering his favors upon me, whose very chastisements have been blessings to me; can I doubt that he loves me? And, if he loves me, can I doubt that he will go on to take care of me, not only here but hereafter? This to some may seem presumption; to me it appears the best grounded hope: hope of the future, built on experience of the past.
Benjamin Franklin

Even those we consider less than religious because they rejected the religions of the day had some very interesting things to say regarding God and faith.

…truth will prevail over fanaticism, and the genuine doctrines of Jesus, so long perverted by his pseudo-priests, will again be restored to their original purity. This reformation will advance with the other improvements of the human mind, but too late for me to witness it.
Thomas Jefferson

…a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion…man would return to the pure, unmixed, and unadulterated belief of one God and no more.
Thomas Paine

The Declaration of Independence invokes the existence of God 4 times.

1. …the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them…
2. …all men…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…
3. …appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…
4. …for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence…

The atheists with whom I have conversed all claim to reject mysticism and irrational thinking. They claim that if they cannot have physical proof that God exists, then He plainly does not exist. Yet, I echo the words Thomas Jefferson, and the Book of Mormon when I say, “I have all things as a witness that God exists.” It is irrational to see all these things and to deny His hand in them.

While Evils Are Sufferable

No Independence Day is complete without a review of the Declaration of Independence. I make it a habit of reading this landmark document every July Fourth (actually, I read it more often than that but it is good to spend some time with it on this day as well). Recently, as I observe the many violations of our freedoms, I am drawn to a peculiar portion of the Declaration. The Founders penned:

Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by altering the forms to which they are accustomed.

While watching the Provo Freedom Festival parade this morning, I was handed a slip of paper by a charming young lady. The paper was an invitation to a so-called tea party, at which certain distinguished elected officials were slated to speak upon the current state of politics in our country. Since the first tea parties nearly three months ago, I have mused over the conduct of these protests. The tea party I attended was filled with weak, watery speeches by the very elected officials who have sought, even if merely ignorantly, the very usurpation they complained about. Attendance was grossly overestimated, and the enthusiasm of the crowd was weaker than the speakers. My thoughts reflected back in history to the real Tea Party, the one that played a direct hand leading into the Revolutionary War. Back then violence was employed to destroy property as a protest of grievious usurpations from the British crown on its citizens in the Americas. The Boston Tea Party was an act that stated, “these evils are no longer sufferable.” The Boston Tea Party came at the end of a long couple of decades in which Americans used non-violent methods in hopes of persuading their British brethren to mend the wrongs done to them. Americans loved their native land. Most had direct relatives still living in England. They wanted to remain loyal to their homeland and subject to its crown. But finally, enough become too much and those evils were no longer sufferable. This led to the Tea Party, the Declaration, and to a war to prove their independence.

Are the evils we suffer still sufferable? Glenn Beck prided himself and the recent tea parties as uniquely non-violent. In this respect, these tea parties were no tea parties at all, and revelations to the world that the evils suffered by the American people are still sufferable. And for that reason, I say we must work all the more diligently to “petition for redress in the most humble terms. … We must appeal to our Congressional brethren’s “native justice and magnanimity.”

I call upon elected officials everywhere to consider the choices laid before them and to recognize the destructive ends those decisions may have if made poorly. Theirs is the task of protecting the individual rights of man. I pray that through persuasion and long-suffering guidance they can right this renegade ship that is our federal government. I call upon them to resurrect the shambled document that once was our Constitution. That this country may rise from the ashes back to its once great stature, and that this may be done through peaceful, rational means before it is too late and can only be saved with the blood of some future generation. Save this nation before evils become insufferable.

Freedom through Physical Exercise

Tonight, though much is on my mind regarding freedoms and personal excellence, the thought of running occupies my mind the most. Tomorrow, for Independence Day, I will begin the day by participating in our local Freedom Run, a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) race. I am nervous for this race because I am just getting myself back to decent running form after years of physical issues that have made it very difficult to sustain much of a training regimen on the roads. (see earlier posts) But finally, with the help of better nutrition, mainly through anti-oxidants and omega 3’s, my legs feel their best in over 10 years. I am excited for that.

Why do I run? I love running. I regret that I didn’t compete more in running events while growing up. I grew up as a swimmer and there was always a joke about the fact that swimmers could not perambulate on dry land. I suppose there is a bit of that, but only on a slightly humorously true side. And when I ran my first marathon back in 2001 (I’ve only run 2), I did so in a t-shirt that said, “Get a life! A swimming life. Nothing else matters.” I figured if I struggled through the race, people would read the shirt and say, “No wonder. Poor guy. He has heart to try to run anything, what with flippers for feet and hands and all.” But seriously, running does something for me that swimming or any other sport does not do. I run to keep myself free and sane.

A physically fit person is more able to think clearly, and being a chronic depressive, I value the ability to keep my mind fresh and clear. Some doctors claim that any exercise accomplishes this, but I disagree, at least for myself. I think it has something to do with the pounding on the street, something I don’t get while swimming or riding a bike. The pounding just shakes the depressive cobwebs from my mind and allows me to feel great. Plus, there is so much to look at and ponder while running. Swimming in a pool just gives you the black line at the bottom and whatever blemished nuance one can find down there. I feel good after a great swimming workout because of the accomplishment but not like after a decent run. It just shakes all the junk out of my head.

I run on the fourth of July sort of as a commemoration to the Founders as well. I know that may sound a bit sappy, but I don’t mind being at least a little sentimental now and then. My hero of the Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, would end every day with a vigorous run across town. He believed a strong body makes a strong mind.

Give about two hours every day to exercise, for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong.

Furthermore, John Adams rightly predicted that Independence Day would be a great celebration.

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).

So, in a way, by running this race, I am invoking my patriotism. I run to be free.

True Personal Independence

As another Independence Day approaches, experiences in my personal life remind me that while our Founding Fathers  secured a nation free of oppressive forces, the challenges we face increasingly tend toward tyranny. With a statement like that, I am sure, dear reader, that you expect me to talk about the many government take-overs, bail-outs, and stimulus programs. You may even expect a discussion on the evils of nationalized health care. And while I could definitely add a comment or two about these issues, I have remained intentionally silent over the past few months. I have recognized, as I watch the different viewpoints in the media and online, from pundits and journalists to bloggers, from so-called experts to the common every-day citizen; I have come to a peculiar realization: most of the attention on these items shrouds an individual from the source of true freedom.

There seems to be always someone outside to blame for our personal shortcomings and we are all-too-eager to take the focus off of ourselves and place it on the big things in order to mask the fact that we are not doing so well in our own lives, with or without nationalized health care; with or without equal so-called marriage rights; with or without secure domestic companies that create value for citizens within our borders. And the list goes on and on and on.

The FreeCapitalist Pledge suggests that individuals choose a different path, one that ultimately breaks the chains of political, intellectual, economic, and spiritual bondage if traveled properly. One of the choices one makes with the Pledge is to “think, to act, and to govern [one's] self.” We cannot do that when we blame outside forces for our failures.

Definitely, we must be vigilant to the forces that strive collectively  to take away our personal freedoms, but it is ever more important for us individually to so live our lives as to secure our own freedoms. A principle of prosperity teaches us that force destroys freedom. Mostly, as mentioned above, we look outside of ourselves for the manifestation of this principle. But if we look inside our lives with any degree of honesty, we will see instances where force prevails. From getting our families to behave in certain ways to in telling half-truths to our friends, our worlds are racked with tyranny and we are all at least to some degree little tyrants, even if we intend to accomplish good with that force. Where knowledge and persuasion end, there tyranny begins. July is the perfect month to resolve to more persuasive, freedom-loving ways in our own lives. Only once we accomplish this personally can we expect to impact it in a grander scale, be it in our communities, states, federally, or throughout the world.

The American Founders secured a form of government that, if enacted properly, guarantees the rights and freedoms of every individual. They began the revolution and accomplished much in the political realm. It is up to each one of us to complete that revolution in the personal realm. Save it by living it.

Reflections about Value Creation while Riding a Bus

I am sitting on the bus at 7:00 this morning watching the traffic and the buildings go by, and suddenly I am awash in emotions of gratitude for my life. What an incredible time to be alive! The Lord has inspired so many minds to think of so many things. There are literally thousands of ways to create value today. Even in these troubling economic times, people are doing so many different things bringing blessings into the lives of thousands of people.

I watch people file onto the bus and catch myself asking, “Are they all children of God?” And the Spirit bore such witness to me that, yes, they are all God’s children. And we are all here working out our salvation, not just spiritually (as in the sitting around thinking and talking about God and the possible aspects of life on other planets and into the eternities) but also the physical things we do. Daily work is not just mindless moving stuff around the planet; by the work we do—any real work—we are learning how to be gods ourselves. We learn this by learning how to work, to work with our hands and our bodies (by pushing our mass around), to work with our minds by coming up with creative new ways to do things; by inventing new things with which to serve our fellow children of God to help them increase their standard of living, to help them improve their stewardships. We are learning how to get along with one another, how to serve, how to work in organized efforts.

Hugh Nibley, arguably the most influential LDS scholar in history, is wrong in blasting out against those going to school to learn a profession. His continual attempt seemed to have been to make those  students feel guilty for choosing a life of making money by being doctors and lawyers and accountants and businesspeople. He would condemn them for choosing such professions, like they are throwing away their eternal salvation by working in those fields. He would have us believe that in the Millennium the only work that will exist will be temple work and religious study. I think he could not be more deceived. I think he is missing a vital part of this earth life, many critical lessons that could help propel the children of God into the actual godhood we are all trying to achieve (whether we know it or not, whether we even understand our holy natures). Instead of condemning these professions, how much more effective might he have been if he would have praised the ones aspiring to those modes of value creation by saying, “What wonderful opportunities you young people have these days to serve your fellow men, to strive to make their lives better and to help enable them to serve others better themselves. By learning to work, you are learning to be gods and I challenge you to learn your professions well, to go out and serve, to create value for others and be the best you can be. I leave with you a warning, however, that you lose not sight of the meaning of life in this process. Never forget that you are a god. Never forget that those you serve are gods. And most of all, keep in your memories at all times that we are here to learn to control the elements and that we cannot do that by violating the eternal laws of nature and of nature’s God. Principles govern and I promise you, you will get much further in life by obeying those principles. Now, go out into the world, work hard at your professions, and glorify God by doing so.”

That should have been his message. I sorrow that he missed it. But how grateful I am that I have learned what I have, even through my reflections this morning.

A Chaucerian Celebration

OK. So, April has brought with it some incredible weather and I just can’t help sharing this with everyone. Kind of makes me want to take a trip.

I didn’t really like much of the Canterbury Tales (the “R” rated nature was a bit silly, though the middle English was a blast to read), but this reverdie to open the work is one of my favorite poems. Enjoy.

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye-
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.

Personal Self-Protection, at Home and on the High Seas

Though not directly a part of my personal prosperity prime for the day, I think the topic of personal self-defense is increasingly critical in our world. The recent pirate hostage situation off the coast of Somalia is a prime example, but this topic goes right into the living room of every single household in America, as well as every single church, and every single school. In short, every public and private gathering place on earth requires personal self-protection. To delegate this to government in any way is weak and immoral, and, frankly, costs too many innocent lives.

Though I disagree with the pseudo-journalistic bias of the reporter in this video clip, I thoroughly loved and enjoyed the discussion by the two guests. Please take a look and tell me what you think.

YouTube – Fox and Friends – GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt: Allow Ships to Arm Themselves Against Pirates.

He Has Refused His Assent to Laws…

In Study Group tonight an interesting question arose based on the grievances in the Declaration of Independence, the first being that [the king] “has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” In our copies, the printer chose to capitalize “assent” and “laws” which sparked the question, Is “Assent to Laws” a formal term? On the spot, none of us knew the answer and we concluded to search it out. Perhaps the following can help.

ROYAL ASSENT

1. In England, the assent of the sovereign to a bill which has passed both houses of Parliament, after which it becomes law. Syn: Concurrence; acquiescence; approval; accord. Usage: Assent , Consent . Assent is an act of the understanding, consent of the will or feelings. We assent to the views of others when our minds come to the same conclusion with theirs as to what is true, right, or admissible. We consent when there is such a concurrence of our will with their desires and wishes that we decide to comply with their requests. The king of England gives his assent, not his consent, to acts of Parliament, because, in theory at least, he is not governed by personal feelings or choice, but by a deliberate, judgment as to the common good. We also use assent in cases where a proposal is made which involves but little interest or feeling. A lady may assent to a gentleman’s opening the window; but if he offers himself in marriage, he must wait for her consent.

Also of interesting note is Wikipedia.

The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. While the power to withhold Royal Assent was once exercised often, it is exceedingly rare in the modern, democratic political atmosphere that has developed since the 18th century. The power to withhold Assent remains as one of the reserve powers of the monarch. The British practice of withholding royal assent was adapted by the United States as the Presidential veto. The granting of the Royal Assent is sometimes associated with elaborate ceremonies. In the United Kingdom, the Sovereign may appoint Lords Commissioners, who announce that Royal Assent has been granted at a ceremony held at the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, or another royal residence. However Royal Assent is usually granted less ceremonially by letters patent. In other nations, including Australia and Canada, the Governor-General merely signs the bill. In each case, the Parliament must be apprised of the granting of Assent. Two methods are available: the Lords Commissioners or the Sovereign’s representatives may grant Assent in the presence of both Houses of Parliament; alternatively, each House may be notified separately, usually by the Speaker of that house.

We read through each of the grievances and discussed the possible parallels in today’s political climate. On the heels of this week’s nation wide tea parties, it certainly leaves one to wonder when we as a people will cease to find evils sufferable and begin to right ourselves by abolishing the forms to which we are accustomed. The generally peaceful nature with which the tea parties occurred, leaves me to believe that we wish to resolve our governmental shortcomings in non-violent means. Let’s hope rational heads prevail and we may return to the constitutional rule we once enjoyed.

Here is the previous list of grievances. How many apply today?

• He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
• He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
• He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
• He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
• He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
• He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
• He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
• He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
• He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
• For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
• For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
• For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
• For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
• For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
• He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
• He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
• He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
• He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
• He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.