We started this blog in order to facilitate a discussion with friends and family about the economic and political environment in the United States today. We believe that there are certain principles that all people of our nation should understand in order to "form a more perfect union". We also believe you don't have to be an expert to understand these principles. We hope to discuss them with you here.
Okay, now that we've explored morality and the need for free agency, how can we decipher the balance of morality, free agency and the role of government? We know that first, we must uphold our own personal values if we expect to live in a society with any kind of value system. Morality must take root as individuals, by our own choice. So where does government fit in? In our constitution, we learn that government should be the defender of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, that is what we as privileged citizens of such a country should be defenders of. Yet with all of the decisions that we are accountable to participate in as a citizen, it is difficult to sift through the information and what our actions should be. I was directed to this video/recording by a friend, and found it extremely enlightening in how to judge my duties. In the recording, we are given a simple test to determine the appropriateness of all of our votes, voices, and debates. It is beautiful, it is simple, it is true. You will see the sensibility in it:
“Do I, as an individual, have a right to use force upon my neighbor to accomplish this goal?If I do, then I may delegate that power to my government to exercise it in my behalf.If I do not have that right, I cannot delegate it.”
-Ezra Taft Benson
I encourage you to listen to the following recording in full. It is so applicable to current events, and wonderfully enlightening.
Clarifying what our moral obligations are and how to accomplish them can sometimes be daunting. We are inundated with conflicting definitions of what is bad and what is good. In general, people are religious, at least moral. We want to be good. Our hearts are generous. We want to help the poor and those without opportunity, but how we help matters. We are endowed with unalienable rights-- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those are very individual rights. They give us opportunity to act for ourselves as long as we don't infringe on another's unalienable rights. We cannot wrong one person to right someone else. We cannot force a good deed. In fact, I would argue that force not only infringes on the unalienable right of liberty but also upon the pursuit of happiness for both those who are forced to give and those who are forced to receive. My experience is that both good will and self sufficiency bring great happiness. I believe that the more free agency we have, the more good deeds, satisfaction and happiness come to fruition. We must not be deceived in what some try to convince us is good. The end does not justify the means. In fact, the means determines results in many ways. When free agency is taken away and replaced with force, the fibers of morality disintegrate. The good in mankind is stifled, and who is left to govern it? Consider this video:
Here's a video for those of you who don't know anyone who has experienced "obamacare." This is just a sample, but it won't take you long to find people yourself that came to the good ol' USA to GET AWAY from this kind of care. Take note of a lady in this video who compares her health care to her dog's. Guess which one has the better health care:
