Each area of life has its own dignities, freedoms and responsibilities, none of which may be infringed without great risk of human misery and death.
Dignity, Freedom, Responsibility
Each and every human has the freedoms, responsibilities, and dignities of a sentient being, made in the image of his or her creator, including self-preservation, self-fulfillment & self-defense. Each individual exists within a unique set of circumstances, always has choices in those circumstances, and are personally responsible for the consequences of the choices that they make.
Equality, Respect, Truth
All men are created equal, and all men have the freedoms of self-expression and assembly. Nevertheless, it is everyone’s duty to treat their neighbors as they themselves would like to be treated. This duty includes the responsibility to tell one another the truth in a spirit of love, paying respect where it is due, and helping one another in the midst of hardship wherever readiness, willingness and ability coincide and do not interfere with the other responsibilities outlined here.
Trust, Love, Discipline
The ideal marriage is between one man and one woman. Parents have a sole sovereign authority to raise their children as they see fit, which is only rendered void in extreme cases of abuse or neglect. Healthy familial relationships can not be exactly reproduced in any other realm, so every effort should be made to protect, preserve and defend them.
Stewardship, Innovation, Conservation
Humanity is responsible for the stewardship of this world, entailing both rights and responsibilities. The responsibilities of this stewardship includes conservation of natural resources and humane treatment of our fellow creatures, and a humble acknowledgment that there are some aspects of nature that are not understood and cannot be humanly controlled. Nevertheless, this stewardship also includes the sovereign freedom to harness natural resources, to pursue understanding of them, and to innovate with them in any way that is not otherwise restricted by the other principles here.
Sanctity, Worship, Belief
Humanity is a religious species. All humans worship and hold something or someone sacred, even atheists and agnostics. All humans have the freedom to worship as they see fit, but that freedom is bounded by the responsibilities outlined by the other principles here.
Value, Commerce, Property
The human instincts of exchanging value for value and the right to private property can not be destroyed, and human happiness is the least infringed when those instincts are allowed to operate freely. But there are some things that should never be bought or sold, and since the human economy depends upon trust to operate, the free market should be limited by the other responsibilities outlined here.
Sovereignty, Peace, Justice
A government is called to defend the freedoms of it citizens from both internal and external threats, and also to enforce the responsibilities of the guilty equally among its citizens, as defined in the other principles outlined here. A government’s integrity dissolves with its unwillingness to carry out these primary duties, and civil disobedience is justified to redress any grievances that arise from such abuse or neglect.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
[...] basis for this project can be summed up in about 400 words. Read them, and if you agree, even with only some of them, stay tuned. If you would like to help, contact us [...]
October 19th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Hmmm . . . you start with this: “Each and every human has the freedoms, responsibilities, and dignities of a sentient being, made in the image of his or her creator, including self-preservation, self-fulfillment & self-defense.”
And then, further down, assert that “The ideal marriage is between one man and one woman.”
Sounds like these principles have a way to go.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
In my opinion, the principles are fine the way they are. These aren’t meant to be perceived as internally consistent. They are collectively meant to encompass the entirety of the best of human culture.
If you don’t agree with the Family Principles, then blue isn’t in your “personal spectrum”. There are people who do, and blue is in their personal spectrum.
One of my pet theories is that, taken collectively, the individual personal spectra balance each other out as a whole, but that each are necessary in equal measure for the survival and happiness of the race as a whole as well as particular people groups.
It sounds like the Self Principles resonate with you more. That’s fine. Any other principles you agree with puts those colors in your personal spectrum. It’s my theory that everyone has a quantifiable personal spectrum that reflects their cultural attitude, and that the people whose spectra the voting populace has a right to know about are those who politically represent them. Thankfully, in the United States most of that information is publicly available.
Thank you very much for your comment. Congratulations on being the first comment left on this site by someone who is not myself. I welcome any further feedback you may have.