Glossary and Assumptions

ASSUMPTION: There is a God (Creator). Humans refer to 'Him' by many names and have many concepts of 'His' characteristics. True Atheism is logically untenable. Humanism is Agnosticism in a costume. So is Hedonism.

DEFINITION: Living Being: An entity is a "Living Being" when it is a member of a population whose members have been observed to be able to reproduce themselves. Such a state of being must be demonstrably true and verifiable by replicated observation. Note: the process of reproduction may include and/or require significant change within the structure and chemistry of the being (stimulated by either internal or external stimuli (or both) and, in the case of bi- or multi-sexual reproduction, may also require the participation of other members of the being's peers. Chemical and/or physical changes may cause a Living Being to cease to be a member of its former population. In this instance the entity is said to be "dead".

ASSUMPTION: The United States Constitution does not guarantee equality of results. It guarantees equality of opportunity.

ASSUMPTION: The "American Dream" is something one earns through personal effort not something to be gained from through a government gift.

DEFINITION: The first amendment to the United States Constitution was not intended to protect our government from religion, it was intended to protect religion from our government.

ASSUMPTION:  WORDS mean things. To knowingly use them to deceive, mislead or obscure is to be a hypocrite.

ASSUMPTION: HYPOCRISY is inherently evil. Notwithstanding, its evil may vary in degree.

DEFINITION: The 'freedom of speech' guaranteed in the first amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to say what one thinks. It does not necessarily, however, protect one from the consequences of one's words.

DEFINITION: It is a fact that all humans are endowed differently by nature. We are not "all created equal". Notwithstanding, all are equal before the law, i.e., all have the same rights under the law until or unless they choose to surrender those rights. However, the law exists for social purposes so that in individual cases the individual must bow before the law because his interests are best served only in and with society.

ASSUMPTION: The continued existence of the culture of the United States depends on the continued recognition of INALIENABLE RIGHTS which, in turn, presuppose the existence of God from whom they derive.

DEFINITION: A RIGHT, such as a right to free speech, imposes no obligation on another, except that of non-interference. In the case of Inalienable Rights the government has the obligation to insure they are not infringed upon in addition to its obligation of non-interference.

ASSUMPTION: If a government gives a person a right to something he didn’t produce, simultaneously and of necessity it means that government has taken the right from someone to something he did produce. There is no Tooth Fairy from which a government can get things to give away.

ASSUMPTION: Man's only INALIENABLE RIGHTS are the rights to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. They are immutable and not subject to human intervention. All other 'rights' are derived from human law and are, therefore, mutable by human intervention.

ASSUMPTION: Human beings are more important than any and all other living or inanimate things and all (and only) humans are endowed with the same INALIENABLE RIGHTS.

ASSUMPTION: GREED and PROFIT are not the same. Economics is not a zero-sum process. Therefore, one's profits are not necessarily achieved at the expense of another and, for that reason, they are not, necessarily, the fruits of greed nor are they inherently evil. Notwithstanding, GREED is inherently evil because it seeks undeserved gain through violation of one or more of another's INALIENABLE RIGHTS.

ASSUMPTION: The central goal of economic policy is to afford the most good for the most people. Enabling that goal by protecting man's INALIENABLE RIGHTS is government's primary purpose.

DEFINITION: INNOVATION is the reduction of an idea, invention or concept to practice, i.e., to something of value to another.

ASSUMPTION: MAJORITY RULE is not the same as "tyranny of the majority" until it's practiced with intolerance.

ASSUMPTION: CULTURAL EVANGELISM is not Cultural Imperialism unless it's inflicted by force on an unwilling community. Proselytizing is not an evil activity until it violates one or more INALIENABLE RIGHT.

ASSUMPTION: Human caring, concern and love emanate from individuals, not from government(s) or "society".

ASSUMPTION: Ultimately, morality 'descends' from God, not from man, i.e., morality is not defined by individual choice. "... if there are no ultimate standards of behavior that descend from God, and if morality is merely an individual choice then life, itself, has lost its greater meaning" (Rush Limbaugh). For example, Nazi Germany was a society where the majority of the people believed they were accountable to no higher authority than the State (the Fuehrer). INALIENABLE RIGHTS ceased to exist and all rights were mutable by the State.

ASSUMPTION: Society can legislate morality. Criminal law is nothing more than the codification of restrictions on human behavior that society defines as immoral. Society cannot legislate PERSONAL MORALITY but it can legislate its manifestations when they impact upon the rights of others.

ASSUMPTION:  The ENDS do not justify the MEANS - ever. It is, however, morally acceptable to choose the lesser of two evils in seeking the greater good provided there are no alternatives and taking the decision is necessary.

Redoubling one's effort after one's objective has been forgotten is a valid description of "fanaticism". The substitution of means for ends is the essence of fanaticism and the definitive mark of the fanatic.

DEFINITION:  Christopher Columbus, though he may not have been the first Caucasian to set foot in the Americas, "discovered America".  He first brought the existence of these continents to the attention of other Caucasians in the part of the world then technologically able to take advantage of that fact.

ASSUMPTION: Acting in self-defense is immoral only if and when such action exceeds that which is necessary to protect or secure one's rights, inalienable or human. Acting in self-defense to the extent necessary is obligatory. This is as true for a society or community as it is for an individual.

ASSUMPTION: EVOLUTION is a fact, not a hypothesis. CREATIONISM is a belief or, at best, a hypothesis. Notwithstanding, EVOLUTION does not afford evidence in conflict with God's existence.

ASSUMPTION:  CORRELATION does not require causality or connection. At best it is a suggestion of causality. Determination of CAUSALITY requires replicated scientific validation of prediction.

DEFINITION: DATA is not an accumulation of anecdotal information. It is evidence gathered in a scientific, reproducible, verifiable manner.

DEFINITION: DATA progresses to INFORMATION progresses to KNOWLEDGE progresses to UNDERSTANDING progresses to WISDOM.  Only physically measured DATA is immutable (though its accuracy and precision are subject to the limitation of the procedures and methodologies employed in its gathering).

DEFINITION: RHETORIC is not a substitute for logic or evidence.

DEFINITION: LIBERTY is FREEDOM moderated by morality; e.g., "The Golden Rule". Immoderate 'freedom' leads to anarchy.

DEFINITION: The opposite of LOVE is INDIFFERENCE, not HATE.

DEFINITION: HUMAN ACTION is purposeful behavior taken to bring about change from a less satisfactory to a more satisfactory (real or perceived) condition or state of being. Notwithstanding, such change is generally not universally perceived to be desirable and it is, therefore, frequently met with varying degrees of resistance.

PROVERB: First served gets choice, all others take leftovers.

PROVERB: Never warn or threaten - act or don't act. {There'd be many more rattlesnakes if they'd stop shaking their rattles before striking.}

PROVERB: Always proceed from assumptions to conclusions. {A house must be built from the ground up, not the roof down. But beware! Test your assumptions. Don't be like the "foolish man" (Matt 7:26,27) and build your house on sand.}

PROVERB: Don't ask the question unless you really want the answer.

PROVERB: Ask for what you really want, not just for what you think you can get. {Don't negotiate with yourself.}

PROVERB: Don't bet the farm. {Some things are too important to put at risk.}

PROVERB: Too much of a 'good thing' is not as good as just enough of a 'good thing'.

PROVERB: “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.” —Leonardo Da Vinci

PROVERB: A cornered rat changes the rules. {Always leave your antagonist an honorable 'escape' route.}

PROVERB: "Foolproof" is impossible. Fools are too clever.

PROVERB: An abuse does not stigmatize the thing abused.

Finally, my personal

FIRST LAW FOR 'UNDERSTANDING':

Be intellectually independent. Don’t just accept the comfortable in exchange for your independence. Seek out The Truth with unremitting resolve in spite of what you might find. Do not fear to discard comfortable old beliefs in the light of new evidence. Believe in God. He’s not trying to keep things hidden from you but men are and do. Continue to test the logic and foundations underlying assumptions,  assertions, pronouncements and proclamations. Be particularly critical of anyone who might suggest that you’re a victim of someone or something. Invariably, the author of such an assertion pronouncement or proclamation is seeking some form of personal gain, material or immaterial.

A corollary to the "First Law"

Always be sensitive to "details", particularly those that appear to be anomalous or unexpected. Such observations frequently lead to deeper understanding of "The Truth" so never dismiss them as unworthy of further investigation.