The American flag, the “star-spangled banner” is one of those things whose meaning to me has changed significantly over the course of my life. Once upon a time it meant being a winning nation, the best the world had ever seen in terms of righteousness, justice, freedom, and opportunity. When I saw the flag, those are the ideas that were brought to mind, ideas that I value, and produced the warm and fuzzies deep inside. I admired and waved the stars and stripes with a sense of pride. What the American flag means to me today is very different than what it meant to me as recently as 10 years ago.
Tag: principles
Bravery Isn’t Easy, and It’s Overrated
You are brave when you will lose stuff you deeply desire in order to live by principles you believe in, with no other immediate perceived reward. That being said, bravery is overrated.
“I Can’t Post This Status Because It Doesn’t Have Any Likes”
Being inspired is like having friends. If you use it as a prerequisite for doing the stuff you want to do, you’ll constantly miss out on awesome opportunities.
Zero Archation Principle
This new, general ZAP is shorter and more comprehensive than the “special” ZAP that laid the groundwork. Sure, you’ll have to define “archation”, but admit it– you’ve always had to define “aggression” anyway.
Outrage for Outrage Sake
I will almost never be outraged by what others are outraged by, even if I legitimately find whatever it is to be horrific. This is because the fact that most people feel outraged about something means that it is culturally handled.
Can Self-Directed Education Exist In Public Schools?
“Do you think Self-Directed Education (SDE) can be integrated into the current public schooling model?” Responses ranged from “no way” to “anything is possible,” with commenters pointing out the key factors that would need to exist to make it work: increasing parental empowerment and mobilization; loosening compulsory schooling regulations; trusting children more and weakening the authoritarian structure of modern schooling; investing in smaller schools and classrooms.
The Structure of Your Principles
Part of the challenge of lifelong learning is to understand that the goal is not to add to your collection of “well what do you know’s”, but to assimilate your new knowledge with the creation of, revisiting, modification of, or withdrawing (shedding) from your current set of principles. It does one no good to regard new information as just “interesting,” one needs to test that new learning against the structure, the principles, of one’s information system.
Abortion: A Voluntaryist Perspective
From the moment an egg is fertilized, there is a living cell with a unique set of human DNA. That is — scientifically — a human life. However, science cannot answer questions of morality on its own; that is the realm of ethics and philosophy and religion. Here, we consider the moral question from the Voluntaryist standpoint.
Putting Principle above Party, People, and the Past
When I put principle first, I’m better able to judge the compatibility of parties, people, and the past with what I believe in. And when my understanding of those things change, it’s easier to move on. I’m also less likely to be fooled and subsequently betrayed.
Puppets on a String
How often does the mainstream media give attention and coverage to people who calmly and rationally explain the concepts and principles of voluntaryism? Answer: pretty much never. And how often does the mainstream media give attention and coverage to “alt-right” types frothing and ranting about Jews, blacks, immigrants, etc.? Answer: as often as possible.