January 4, 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.   

Today’s thought, G.E. Dean (Psalms 33:8 CJB)

“How blessed is the nation whose God is ADONAI, the people he chose as his heritage!”

Dean says, “When a nation walks with God, it will be blessed.”

Dean advocates ruinous thinking. Consider December, 1860, when the CSA, under God, seceded from the USA. Abraham Lincoln responded to the CSA that a civic people rather than church or government were in charge:  “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences, is either party without faith of being in the right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with His eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American people.” See http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp . It seems by consequence that Lincoln’s “Almighty Ruler of Nations” was and is military power. God accepts the “great tribunal.”

People may experience and observe that counting on church or government, when authority for moral action exists for every human being, is an attempt to take the easy way, and the easy way just does not function in actual reality. Every person may both earn his or her living and collaborate for civic morality or subjugate themselves to church or government.

    

Letters

Liberal-democracy vs rule of statutory law (Arcement, Dec 3) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_f395db5a-efe9-11e7-971a-5739228c7a9c.html)

To GM King: Fortunate is the person who, by innocence or by coaching, embraces the authenticity of fidelity to the-objective-truth yet responsibly pursues personal happiness rather than the dictates of a municipality, a religion, or a doctrine, for example, liberal democracy rather than statutory justice.

Mendacity? (Hale) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_d94f534c-f0a8-11e7-88fe-6fc9c5862658.html)

“If you want to boost the economy, increase demand by giving tax breaks to the poor and the middle class.”

Hale obfuscates the fact that the poor receive taxes. Thus a “tax break” for the poor is more allowance of taxes actually paid by fellow-citizens: It is tax redistribution.

Is Hale’s tactic mendacity, honest ignorance, or collaboration for liberal democracy rather than the American republic? Either way, Hale does not seem to advocate civic morality: earning a living and collaborating for civic justice.

The human individual has the authority to collaborate for responsible freedom. Those who don’t are slaves to those who do. I think Hale advocates enslavement of the poor, which is the direct objective of liberal democrats---in the USA, the Democratic Party.

Europeans, socialists, communists, and others do not understand the American dream:  personal liberty with civic morality. The unique dream was the object of the American Revolutionary War, which resulted in thirteen free and independent states, ratified on June 14, 1784. The USA can restore the journey and may be in the process.

  

The elites in the USA tacitly and practically operate according to Hale’s theory:  redistribute taxes from the middle class to the poor. The poor will vote for us, and thereby, we will make enough money to prevail no matter what happens to the middle class.

Once this ploy, which emerged from the priest-politician-partnerships that have controlled the USA since 1789, is widely acknowledged by a civic people of the United States, I expect reforms in how GDP is distributed here.

The first reform must come in education. Every child-care provider must assure that the child in their care is motivated to undertake the acquisition of an elite education, no matter how stringently the elites try to prevent it. The education reform may be underway as I write, but I do not think so. The current reform is not child centered.

To William Bonin: Liberal democrats want to replace the American republic with the chaos of democracy, not recognizing that the American republic assures each citizen the opportunity to accept human, personal authority to both earn a living and collaborate for private liberty with civic morality.

BTW: I started “The Science of Liberty,” 2010, by Timothy Ferris; nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Rosen-t.html?pagewanted=all. (Reviewer Rosen states a fallacy that is used to promote democracy over American republicanism: “Thankfully, participation in the everyday life of democracy does not require a Ph.D., nor are theories and ideas its basic medium.” Ignorance cannot be the basis for civic morality.) Ferris defines democracy “a state that guarantees human rights to its citizens, who elect their leaders.”

This definition, provides an insight I have sought ever since Bush II erroneously said this is the century of democracy. Heretofore, I surmised, and it may be so, that Bush was referring to the right to vote. I strongly opposed his affirmation of democracy.

Ferris’s erroneous additional provision, “guarantees human rights,” explains the fallacy of liberal democracy. Neither government nor gods can guarantee human rights: Only human individuals can collaborate for private liberty with civic morality. Absent civic morality, military might settles disputes, as Abraham Lincoln asserted in his first inaugural address.

The fallacy of democracy is why the signers of the 1787 draft constitution for the USA carefully crafted a republican form of government, with institutional devices to defeat democracy, whether by majority or by coalition of minorities. Clarity on the dilemma but perhaps inadequate prevention is expressed by James Madison in Federalist 10. I think it is up to the civic citizens of 2018 to collaborate for the American republic. The first step may be to end the predominance of the clergy-politician-partnership, as described in Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Chapter XI.

I speculate that President Donald Trump will see that need and lead the way to the universal good will of “Season’s Greetings,” during the month of December rather than the divisive “Merry Christmas” as December 25 comes.

I think I am a fiscal conservative: for private liberty with civic morality rather than what others might say about me, but I am able to read and consider the work of writers like Ferris.

Appreciation (Wray) theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_853397c6-f0a5-11e7-800c-e7451e78f3ba.html)

I can’t imagine a more pleasing expression of public appreciation by all. Thank you, Mr. Wray for civic leadership.

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

  

Tenderness (Cal Thomas) (foxnews.com/opinion/2018/01/02/cal-thomas-try-little-tenderness-in-2018.html)

“Why am I sharing this in a column? The answer is that tenderness and love are such powerful forces for good it is a wonder we don’t practice them more often.”

Mr. Thomas, I think the column is weak, easy-way writing, perhaps born of Christianity, which assigns all responsibility to God. Politics is about adult relationships.

The person who promotes taking the human authority for mutual, responsible freedom in both public and private human transactions, while providing for reform or constraint of dissidents, gets ridiculed by both the clergy and the politician. Civic connections in collaboration for mutual justice are not father-son relationships.

News articles

Broome reflections (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_1edb5b0c-efe3-11e7-b2b5-9b15ea7fb08e.html and theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_d8e0ca60-f0a0-11e7-a6ab-ff09382f7c4a.html)

Unfortunately, perhaps providers were also directed to lessened quality when Mayor-President Broome ordered clearance of the backlog of road repairs. For example, turning right off Kenilworth Pkwy onto Perkins Road, a repair made last summer is already breaking up and pot-holed. I do not want to drive over it so wait for the opportunity to take the left lane after the right turn.

Most egregiously, public arrogance seems Ms. Broome’s habit. “I will not be distracted by the naysayers and those who live in a world of blogs and social media. My commitment is to the great people of this community.” What constitutes her “great people”?

It seems to be skin-colored church. Yet murder rate seemed to increase after the spectacle of public appeal to Jesus. Jesus reigns in the hereafter, but the individual is in charge of the here. Humankind knows by experience and observations that the human individual has the authority to use his or her energy for civic justice---in the USA, responsible freedom---yet some humans choose dissidence.

Back to "blogs and social media," based on my experience, direct messages to Ms. Broome were stonewalled chronologically before commentary on theadvocate.com. Her response was “let’s have a conversation” but no appointment. The commentary is a “social media” that is solicited by The Advocate. As a full subscriber I can say I directly support that media, offered for communicating with local government, fellow-citizens and anonymity.

Ms. Broome’s platforms---church and dialogues on racialism---are regressions from what humankind has learned since the USA was established by nine of the thirteen free and independent states on June 21, 1788. The 99% factional Protestantism that existed then has partially evolved into skin-colored Christianity. In that debate, I prefer “God is red” and think Christians gain to consider the aboriginal spirit.

In 2018, we may observe that of all the species, only the human individual has the authority to maintain civic justice in his or her daily contacts with other people. Neither governments nor gods can usurp the physical and psychological power of the human individual's motives. Each human may choose to behave either with fidelity to actual reality or with dissidence.

I commend all public officials and the responsible press (let the irresponsible press pursue its business plan) to 1) offer reliable service for civic justice rather than for dominant opinion and 2) encourage the individuals who accept the human authority to collaborate for civic justice in public and private conduct. Dissidents, for whatever reasons---whether ignorance or wickedness, may be additionally recognized by whether or not they understand the civic agreement that is stated in the preamble to the constitution for the USA.

I hope Mayor-President Broome reads this message. It is a consequence of collaboration by more than sixty people in EBRP library meetings and associated conversations beginning June 21, 2014.

To James Hyde:  The work of Marci Hamilton informs us that over 30% of fellow-citizens are influenced by abuse. See verdict.justia.com/author/hamilton.

Other forums

quora.com/Can-equality-of-outcome-only-be-achieved-through-injustice

Your question seems like a non sequitur, like justice can only come from injustice.

I think “equality of outcome” needs definition. At the end of my response to How can I teach my toddler gender equality this early? I wrote, “No two ova are equal. Each person is unique. To speculate that they are equal requires precise explanation of the basis. The only basis that makes sense to me is that they have equal opportunity to develop fidelity to the-objective-truth.”

If we accept that premise, the two people could develop fidelity to the-objective-truth such that the consequences of their lives would be deemed equal. Thus, starting with unequal ova, the consequence of the lives is equality. But we are back to the basis-dilemma. How do we measure “equality of outcome?”

If we examine each person’s journey, one may have erred more frequently than the other but made amends to restore fidelity. Perhaps there were more bad effects in one party’s errors than in the other’s.

If somehow we can account for the harm done by each party, we may have a measure of equality of consequences. We could consider harm as injustice. To consider that equal intensity of injustice (frequency and severity, in balance for both sides) constitutes equality of outcome is not satisfying.

To arbitrarily judge inequality as equality is not satisfying.

All ova are candidates for conception yet face biological termination, an equal outcome. Some ova are fertilized yet do not get through gestation and delivery. Some become infants and go on to develop fidelity. Would termination at any of these stages be equal to termination of ova? Of conceptions? Of persons?

Of those that develop fidelity, a myriad of personal choices are involved in the selected fidelity. Some people trust and commit to a theism, a philosophy, a practice, responsible freedom, and other human choices. Does equality depend on the chosen fidelity?

This line of thought calls to mind the free will vs fate argument. That argument is weakened by the notion of trust and commitment to the-objective-truth, which can only be discovered. Perhaps fidelity to the-objective-truth offers a way to answer your question.

Given two persons, both of whom develop fidelity to the-objective-truth but start on different paths with different challenges and different harms due to human error rather than bad habits, both parties face death. Perhaps death is the equalizer for people who discover and adopt fidelity before death arrives.

I hope this helps and that you will ask for clarification where needed.

  

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.