Individualism-What is it?

I once heard someone describe them self as a rugged individualist. I remember thinking among other things, what the heck does that mean? So, I decided to do a little research and found that I agree with the principle of individualism and thought I would post my findings on my blog.

So what is this thing called individualism? First, as an individualist I believe that reality is absolute. This means that reality is that which exists, and that it is absolute. It is the standard of the true, the false, and the arbitrary. Things are what they are...independent of our or anyone else's feelings, ideas, wishes, desires, and emotions. Or, in the immortal words of Aristotle: A is A; to be is to be something, finite, limited and non-contradictory.

Second, I believe that reason is a person's means of survival. Reason is a person's only means of knowing reality, upon which their survival in reality depends. Whether the person is alone on a desert island, wandering around with a pack of savages, or living in a city of billions; people must think and then act on their thinking if life is their goal.

I also believe the individual is sovereign. That every person is a rational animal and reality dictates that to survive a person must be rational by choice. A person is a being of FREE WILL. A person can choose to think, drift, or evade but choose they must. Their thoughts determine: their character, their values, their emotions, and their actions, and so their thoughts determine their destiny. As reason is solely the attribute of an individual and a person's thinking determines their choices and actions, then each person is the master of their own destiny. The individual is sovereign. (sovereign=one that exercises supreme authority within a limited sphere)

Next, every person is an end in themself and not a slave to the ends of society. A person can gain immense value from living with other people in society-mainly knowledge and trade-if it is a human society. A human society is one in which each person holds as an absolute: that every person is an end in himself, and that other people are not his pawns, nor they theirs. Or, in the words of John Galt (from Atlas Shrugged), "I swear, by my life and by my love of it-that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." Individualism is not opposed to people living in society. Individualism is opposed to people living in society as a slave.

To live in society, a person needs rights. To live rationally in society I believe that a person requires only one thing from other people and that is freedom of action. Freedom of action does not mean freedom to act by permission, which could be taken away by a dictator or a democratic mob's whim, but the freedom to act as an absolute...by right. A person requires rights to those actions to support their own life which is the the most fundamental right, the right to life, from which all other rights (including the rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness) derive. What are rights? Rights are moral principles defining a person's freedom of action in a social context. Rights are inalienable -- they may not be morally infringed upon, i.e., a thief may rob you, but morally that person is in the wrong, and you are in the right. Rights are not guarantees to things, but only guarantees to freedom of action (right to liberty)...and a guarantee to the results of those actions (right to property). The only obligation one's rights impose on others is for them to leave you alone, i.e. free to act within your sphere of rights.

In a political context, freedom only has one meaning...freedom from the initiation of force by other people. Only by the initiation of force can a person be prohibited from speaking, or be robbed of their possessions or murdered. Only by initiation of force can a person's rights be violated. Only the initiation of force against a person can stop their mind, thus rendering it useless as a means of survival. It is for this reason that force renders a person's mind useless. Every person has the right to self-defense, the right to use force to retaliate against those who first start the use of force, but never may one morally initiate it. The use of force, in and of itself, is not evil; but to initiate force is evil. To use force in retaliation or in self-defense against those who initiate it, is not a moral option, but a moral requirement. A moral person has nothing to gain when someone tries to kill them, but they have much to lose if they do not defend themselves.

Government's job is to protect rights. A person's state in nature, where all people are allowed complete discretion in the use of force, according to the laws of the jungle, is nothing more than a state of anarchy...perpetual civil war and gang warfare. To place the retaliatory use of force under objective legal control, under clearly defined laws that are logically based on the principle of rights, a society of people delegate to government, their right to retaliate against those who initiate force. Government is an agency which has a monopoly on the use of physical force. This legal power, to use physical force, only may be used for one purpose; to retaliate against those who initiate force, according to objectively defined laws. Never is this power to be used to initiate force, but government is only permitted to retaliate and defend against those who initiate force.

The powers of the state shall never be used to initiate force. As no individual in their private capacity as a citizen may morally initiate force against others, neither may they in their public capacity, as a state official, initiate force either. Morally, no one may initiate force for any reason whatsoever, even if that reason claims to be for the "public good". (For is not the individual, whose rights are being violated for the "public good", a member of the "public" also?)

What then does a proper government consist of? In order to protect rights, a government requires three things: an army to protect against foreign invaders, a police force to protect against domestic criminals, and a court system to settle honest disputes that arise, enforce contracts, and to punish criminals, according to objectively predefined laws.

To ensure that no ruler with absolute power, whether it be a single dictator, a political organization, or a "democratic" majority of the moment, may usurp (seize and hold the power and/or rights of another by force and without legal authority) the powers of government, and turn its power upon any of its citizens, each and every aspect of government action is codified, and carried out according to objectively defined laws. In a free society each and every person lives under a rule of law, as opposed to a rule of men. The rule of law has only one proper purpose: to protect the rights of the smallest minority that has ever existed...the individual. Such a body of integrated, codified, and non-contradictory laws form objective legislation, which hold a person innocent until they can be proven guilty, as opposed to a library of irrational regulations which hold a person guilty until he can somehow prove himself innocent, to the gratification of someone who thinks people are incapable of trust. The supreme legal document of a proper society is the constitution... a person's protection against both private criminals and public officials who seek to imitate the criminal's methods. The purpose of the constitution is not to grant unlimited power to government, or to limit the rights of an individual, but to limit the power of government to its only valid purpose: the protection of individual rights. In other words, a citizen is free to do whatever they are not explicitly forbidden (under a proper legal system the only act forbidden is the violation of the rights); whereas, a state official is only allowed to carry out what is explicitly permitted.

Can you imagine what would be the result of a society where the initiation of force is banned from all relationships?

It would not make every person a moral person, nor would it prevent every injustice. But, think what it could do?

It would result in: a society of good will and benevolence, where each person sees his neighbor not as part of a gang ready to rob them, but as a potential trader, from which they can gain immense values.

A society where each person is prepared to judge and be judged -- not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

A society of free-thinking and free-acting individuals, and not a society of the collective, ruled by a tyrant who has monopolized the title of the "voice of the people."

A society where each person is free to pursue their own happiness, wherever it may take them.

That's what I believe in....what about you?

The Utah County & State Republican Conventions

I had the recent opportunity to attend the Republican county convention held at Orem High school on April 26th and the state convention held last Saturday, May 10th in Orem utah on the UVU campus. Hayden and I attended the county convention. We arrived early and got our credentials ( a nametag and a folder with information regarding the schedule of events and where different districts meet and when). We attended our Senate caucus for district 13 in which we were able to listen to Mark Madsen, the incumbent and Lane Henderson who is campaigning against him. We did not get to vote for one or the other and I was glad because I had not heard anything about either of them. I still don't know when that race will be decided on... Next we attended our Legislative caucuses. We are in house district 67. We listened and asked questions to our representative, Patrick Painter. The guy new a lot about water...what else did he know anything about?....water! When asked what he was doing to ensure that the federal government stay as much out of state government as possible what issue did he talk about?....water! The guy was purely policy based and had a hard time basing his answers on principles. By the end of this meeting, Hayden was thinking about running for his seat! After this, all delegated were seated together for the convention. The whole convention was incredibly educational.

Hayden and I both wanted to attend the state convention and we decided that whoever got up early would be able to go ( I am pretty sure he thought there was no way in heck that I would be up at 6:30am!) Well, I arrived at the state convention at 6:45am. I was not elected as a state delegate and decided to attend the convention purely as an educational experience. I met up with some friends of mine, Brad Green and Jewel Kimber, both state delegates. After handing out some FreeCapitalist Primers we headed into the main seating area. It was great to see how many were in attendance. I am pretty sure it was announced that there was 95% attendance. Out of all of the state delegates elected, 300 of them were FreeCapitalist members. It was great meeting up with several of them during the convention. I was able to sit through a very long day of politics in action.

After three rounds of voting in district 3 and some very controversial events (some were calling "dirty politics"), Chris Cannon and Jason Chaffetz will now be going to a primary. I will be attending meetings to hear from both of them as I am unsure of who will get my vote in the primary. This means that voters will be able to decide which candidate will be on the ballot against the democratic candidate in November.

So besides this, what did I learn? What is the point?

I learned that I know very, very little about the politcal process. I learned that I am probably not alone in this! In fact, after the convention, I have been thinking seriously about writing a book about how disillusioned we are when it comes to OUR government and how we elect our representatives. The whole process sounds so simple and yet see if you can answer these questions (without looking them up of course!);

What is a precinct? What precinct are you in?

What is a caucus meeting? When are caucus meeting and where are they held?

What does it mean to be precinct chair? What responsibilities are there with being the precinct chair?

How do you get elected to become a delegate? How many people are elected as delegates in your precinct?

Is their a difference between a county delegate and a state delegate and what are they?

As a delegate, what are your responsibilities?

What is a convention? What is the difference between a county convention and a state

convention?

What district are you in? What is a district? Who are the representatives in your district? What house district are you in? What congressional district are you in? What is the difference between a house district, a congressional district and a senate district?

What is parliamentary procedure? What are Robert's Rules of Order? What do these have to do with anything?

Who are your federal elected officials? How often do we elect each one?

Who are your state elected officials and how often do we elect each one?

Who are your county elected officials and how often do they get elected?

Why is knowing any of this important??

The first person who can correctly answer all of these questions will get a prize (something good, I promise)

I am excited to post the answers soon and discuss further why knowing this information is important and why. I look forward to hearing from you...

self-reliance and the economic stimulus check

I was reading a talk by Boyd K. Packer on self-reliance and found myself getting upset by how many people I know that choose to "take advantage" of the system of government we have and choose not to be self-reliant. Here is a quote which I share to provide a context for discussion: "The welfare handbook instructs, “(We must) earnestly teach and urge members to be self-sustaining to the fullest extent of their power. No Latter-day Saint will … voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his own support. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Almighty and with his own labors, he will supply himself with the necessities of life.” (1952, p. 2.)
We have succeeded fairly well in establishing in the minds of Latter-day Saints that they should take care of their own material needs and then contribute to the welfare of those who cannot provide the necessities of life. If a member is unable to sustain himself, then he is to call upon his own family, and then upon the Church, in that order, and not upon the government at all."

I have not called upon the government for help but in May I will be receiving what the federal government has called "an economic stimulus" check in the mail. I think I may even receive close to $2000. For what, I ask? I don't pay taxes. I actually get paid a nice sum of money to have the children I have and for Hayden to have the job he has. Granted, he does pay into social security and medicaid....but that is another issue....we don't pay income tax. So, what should I do with this money? What is the moral or ethical thing for me to do with the money? Should I spend it because it is free money and after all it will help the economy, right? Should I give it to someone else like my brother-in-law who won't see a check because he is a dirty capitalist and has been really successful in his business ventures? Should I do something good with it like buy more food storage...because that is something 'worthy' to spend it on? I am really asking anyone reading this right now to post a comment and let me know what their thoughts are on this.
So my next question is do we even know where the money the government is sending is coming from? Not from any surplus, that's for sure. The money that is being distributed is hot off the presses and came from THIN AIR! So hurray for the government for giving us money to quickly go out and spend...but wait....how come milk is so expensive these days? ...and how come my paycheck doesn't seem to buy as much anymore?
As the government prints more money, the dollars we already have are worth LESS than they were before. It's an invisible tax equally distributed on everyone with a dollar. That's because the dollar is backed by NOTHING but confidence that it's actually worth something. The dollar today is worth about 4 cents in 1913 money (before the Fed came in to save us all). That's some kind of inflation rate, wouldn't you say?
Look at it this way...if you have a ton of debt, the value of that debt is actually going down. However, if you've got anything in savings, well you're losing your shorts...sorry.
So, if you're really fast I bet you can spend that government check before the prices go up. But ya really gotta be quick about it!
All this thinking and questioning has caused me undue stress and so screw it....I am taking the money and going on vacation....anyone want to join me?

Why I became a blogger..

I always used think that blogging was sort of useless and I never considered there to be any value in "blogging" and thought it to be a waste of time... UNTIL I remembered the principle that exchange creates wealth. I believe that through the exchange of thoughts, we truly become wealthy with knowledge and wisdom.

There is a great passage which can be found in a book written by a man I consider to be a great friend and mentor. It begins, "Deep within the souls of all men stirs one eternal question. How each of us individually answers this question determines everything. It is in fact the question of life. It is not complex, sophisticated, or difficult to understand; yet, it is not often discovered by the conscious mind. In its most abbreviated form, the question of life is simply 'Will I choose to be free?' For millenia before the foundations of the world and continuing still today, the battle for the 'Eternal Cause of Liberty' has been waging between those who answer this one question in the affirmative and those who do not. The power of a man's mind allows him to penetrate the obscurity of ignorance and question the state of the world in which he finds himself. Darkness, doubt, fear, and despair-though the common experience for billions who have lived and are now living on the earth- are not the necessary or natural conditions of man. These are instead the result of choice, and the result of man's choice either tends toward devastating slumber or awakening greatness-toward captivity and death or liberty and life."
"Each of us chooses the perspective with which we approach the struggle for liberty and freedom. Those who choose to do so from a paradigm of scarcity become like 'starving dogs fighting over meatless bones' while those who choose the paradigm of abundance throw off the victim language and the helpless thoughts of the prisoner and begin seeing the end from the beginning. Those who see in abundance know that life is more than the false constructs and fake allurments of dialectical materialism. Those who choose to see in abundance throw off the habit of living constantly with a 'fear of loss' and instead make a deliberate and concentrated effort to develop a faith in true principles."
I believe I am a woman with the ability to live a life worth loving, to live a life of principle full of abundance and prosperity. There is no justification for living a life of quiet desperation. I write the story of my life each day through action and deed, and I choose to be a hero and not a victim in the story I write each day. I have decided to begin each day with this proclamation...I am the woman who loves her life!
"

A true American...

There is a talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson entitled, 'The American Heritage-A Plan of God'. In this talk, I found some great words of wisdom and a call to action, coming from who I believe to be a prophet of God. In this talk President Benson states, "No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or communist or support programs leading in that direction." This quote was pretty significant for me because I not only consider myself a true Latter-day saint but I also consider myself a true American. I love my country and from travels to impoverished cities like Tijuana Mexico at a young age, have a sincere appreciation for the freedoms and abundance I have been blessed with. Isn't that what a true American is? I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy, I support the troops, I vote, I don't break the law and I pay my taxes. So am I a true American? Do I support socialism or programs leading in that direction? Do I even know what Socialism is? The answer to that question was found in the same talk. Socialism "is simply governmental ownership and management of the essential means for the production and distribution of goods." So what does that mean for me and what should I do to ensure that I am not supporting this philosphy? What can I do to make sure I am being a true American and a true Latter-day saint? Again, my questions were answered in this talk. Pres. Benson states, "first, we should become informed about communism, about socialism, and about Americanism...we should know enough about American free enterprise to be able to defend it. We should know what makes it possible for six percent of humanity-living under our free economy-to produce about one-half of the earth's developed wealth each year. We should know why paternalism (which means: a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relations to authority and to each other), collectivism (Ayn Rand did a great job of explaining this philosophy but this means: a political or economic theory advocating collective control especially over production and distribution), or unnecessary federal supervision will hold our standard of living down and reduce productivity just as it has in every other country where it has been tried. We should also know why communist leaders consider socialism the highroad to communism." He then goes on to say, "we should resist the influence and policies of the socialistic communist conspiracy wherever they are found- in schools, in churches, in government, in unions, in business, in agriculture. We should help those who have been deceived or who are misinformed to find the truth. And here is the call to action: "Unless each person who knows the truth will 'stand up and speak up' it is difficult for the deceived or confused citizen to find his way back. We should use our "influence in the community to resist the erosion which is taking place in our political and economic life...use the political party of his choice to express his evaluation of important issues. He should see that his party is working to preserve freedom, not destroy it. He should join the responsible local groups interested in promoting freedom and free competitive enterprise, in studying political issues, appraising the voting records and proposed programs, and writing to members of congress, promoting good men (and women, I might add) in public office, and scrutinizing local, state, and federal agencies to see that the will of the people is being carried out." I now have a clear idea of what it is I can do and may I also suggest what we all have a great opportunity to do. The local neighborhood caucuses are coming up at the end of this month, March 25th and I have decided that I am going to run to be a state and county delegate in my precinct. I know this is one way that I can get involved at the grassroots level of government and one very important way my voice will be able to "speak up" against socialistic policies. I am amazed at how much the Lord loves me and grateful that he has given me the opportunity to live in this great nation. I now have a responsibility and a calling to act upon the things that I know to be true. I want to be a true American....what about you?