January 2, 2018

Phil Beaver seeks to collaborate on the-objective-truth, which can only be discovered. The comment box below invites readers to write.

"Civic" refers to citizens who collaborate for responsible freedom more than for the city.

A personal paraphrase of the June 21, 1788 preamble:  We the civic citizens of nine of the thirteen United States commit-to and trust-in the purpose and goals stated herein --- integrity, justice, collaboration, defense, prosperity, liberty, and perpetuity --- and to cultivate limited services to us by the USA. I am willing to collaborate with other citizens on this paraphrase, yet may settle on and would always preserve the original text.   

Our Views, Dec 31 (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_a3472382-e401-11e7-8b44-6bf4053c88b7.html)

JT McQuitty · 

More perspective: https://www.chronicle.com/.../The-Few-the-Proud-the/134830

To JTM: I appreciate reading this article. "The Few, the Proud, the Infantilized."

It reminded me of two people: Gov. John Bel Edwards, that big disappointment "it's the right thing to do," for Louisiana and James Comey, about whom I thought, "Is he the premier product of the nanny state: Honest failure to understand integrity?"

I'd like to persuade the author, Bruce Fleming (among most writers) that it's not only taxpayers who are hurt by all the problems he experiences after 25 years: All citizens and inhabitants are hurt by the poorly performing academies.

JT McQuitty · 

Phil Beaver - West Point in particular has had recurring scandals centering on football going back at least to 1951, and who knows before that. The culture of cheating that blew up in the academy's face then was probably in place by the date of the game alluded to in this editorial. Army's perceived failure on the gridiron must have been even worse to anyone who knew about it (the culture of cheating). Smith's sportswriting on the game, therefore, plausibly, amounts to lipstick on a corrupt pig.

Tangentially, the need for federally supported government specialty military academies in a nation with ostensible civilian control of the military, is questionable to me. They may have been more justifiable before the US was replete with colleges and universities, but maybe not now. Not that there is any politically feasible way to abolish them.

http://thefederalist.com/.../not-just-west-point-u-s.../

To JT McQuitty: After the section on sex, Fleming's heading "We’re All Going Through the Motions" suggests dominant living in 2018 USA.

"We, the people," don't seem to understand that yielding to and feeding adult appetites robs the participant from the opportunity for one human life: their person's human life.

Only the human individual has the physical and psychological power to develop control of his or her energy during a span of some eighty years. Most parents don't coach this first principle, so lucky is the person who becomes aware or tacitly understands by age ten; if not, twenty; if not, thirty. From there, good chance diminishes. Then, human integrity in a lucky event may improve personal fate.

Willing people of the USA may 1) reset to June 21, 1788, when nine state conventions ratified the constitution, establishing the USA and 2) apply what has been made evident as of 2018. Most people may use public integrity to address actual-reality. (For example, 77 years ago, Albert Einstein observed that willing humans do not lie to each other so that they can communicate.) If so, 2018 can be an era changer---a redirection after 229 years of wandering in American theism rather than accepting human authority for personal, responsible liberty.

JT McQuitty 

Some perspective: https://www.si.com/.../code-breakers-fifty-years-ago-red...

To JTM: This was long, and I want to re-read it, but I got the tacit suggestion that the lies in support of the Viet Nam war were born of West Point football honesty. Thank you.

To Phil Beaver "The first casualty of war, is truth" - variously attributed:

https://www.theguardian.com/.../query/0,5753,-21510,00.html

I'm not sure how the honor code (and its mystique) prepares officers-to-be for that event. Maybe it's as I think _Peanuts_' Lucy said (I think), the reason always to tell the truth is so that when you have to lie, people will believe you (paraphrase).

Pervasive dissimulation, not to mention overt lying, in politics may be attributable to politics' being essentially civil war conducted by other means.
  

Today’s thought, G.E. Dean (Psalms 33:8 CJB), The Advocate, January 2, 2018, page 5B.

“Let all the earth fear Adonai! Let all living in the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and there it was; he commanded, and there it stood.  Adonai brings to nothing the plans of nations, he foils the plans of the peoples.”

Dean says, “The fear of the Lord is a healthy and helpful attitude. It puts life in its right perspective.”

David speaks of fear and awe; we might think “respect” or “appreciation.” Then David imagines tyranny over the plans of nations and peoples, perhaps to explain error. In the USA, according to the preamble, the people in their states authorize the nation, so the people and the nation are the same. It is dreadful to think that the opportunity offered in the preamble will never be realized: A just people will never emerge from the USA.

Dean paints a bleak picture indeed:  Life’s purpose is to fear (perhaps respect or appreciate) the Lord.

As a boy, I observed the conflict and confusion in my factional-Christian dominated neighborhood. I relied on actual-reality yet tried to adopt Mom and Dad’s beliefs for five decades. I think I was stubborn because they were relatively good material providers. At last, I learned an opposing-Christian-faction’s beliefs, which MWW holds. Her beliefs are more precious to me for her than Mom and Dad’s faction’s beliefs for me. I dropped out of the Christian debates, not realizing I was dropping belief in belief. (Strangers' no-harm beliefs for them are also precious to me for them, but I want no part in either imposing beliefs on others or tolerating beliefs for me, harmless or not.)

After another couple decades, I discovered that my trust and commitment had always been in the-objective-truth, which may be discovered but cannot be constructed from an assumption and doctrine---mystery. Dean’s bleak picture is not interesting to me (nor to MWW, I understand; her serene confidence was settled long ago, and I am lucky to be her friend).

I do not know that five decades in developing monogamy taught me the principle of fidelity to actual-reality. But I could not have learned without monogamy---a mutual trust and commitment between two human people.

I think David-had and Dean-has the wrong approach to life: Living is not about gods, nations, and peoples. Justice comes from the people who are willing to accept the authority for responsible freedom. In daily contacts, public or private, willing people offer mutual justice, knowing some people have not discovered or are unwilling to practice the key human fidelity. Willing people collaborate for authority for the unwilling to either learn, reform, or suffer constraint---under discovered, statutory justice rather than arbitrary opinion.
     

Columns. (The fiction/non-fiction comments gallery for readers)

  

The lucky prince (Stephanie Grace) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/stephanie_grace/article_0b2158ea-ecbf-11e7-9bbb-7f8e4eae3d36.html)

Perhaps its ignorance or perhaps Chapter XI Machiavellianism keeps Grace from mentioning the obvious tie between Jindal and Vitter:  Politicking on factional-Catholicism. During 2006-2008, I attended Vitter “town-meetings” and asked him to stop conducting Christian prayer in public places (my last request was at the Clinton courthouse). Vitter responded that he could win more votes by keeping on with his practice. I recall over 70 stood for prayer and 4 for the constitution. Then along comes Greece v. Galloway (2014) wherein a 5-4 supreme opinion erred that I was niggling to object to what felt like Vitter’s lawlessness.

With his apparent campaign for factional-Christianity, for example, extoling “Merry Christmas,” rather than “Season’s Greetings” or some other seasonal goodwill expression, it may be obvious to some readers that, so far, I think President Donald Trump is missing the opportunity to make America great. President Trump has that authority: will he accept it?

“Again” is easy when it never was. Trump’s opportunity lies in encouraging the people to practice the civic agreement that is offered in the preamble to the constitution for the USA rather than lamely claiming “we, the people.” The people subjugate to the factional-Christian-legislative ruse that was created by the First Congress in April and May, 1789, when they hired Congressional chaplains to make elected officials in the USA seem as divine under factional-Christianity as members of parliament under the Church of England.

“We, the people,” allow classical Chapter XI Machiavellianism under factional-Christianity. What began as 99% factional-Protestantism has evolved to only 14% traditional factions with the majority of Americans, about 25%, unchurched. American can be great, at last, but only willing people may deliver justice:  Justice cannot come from gods, governments or their partnerships.

Only individual human beings have the authority to practice mutual justice in their connections with each other. When the majority accept that authority, government must follow.

  

Phil Beaver does not “know” the actual-reality. He trusts and is committed to the-objective-truth which can only be discovered. He is agent for A Civic People of the United States, a Louisiana, education non-profit corporation. See online at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.