Do current trends in immigration, extreme weather events, cyber and biosecurity, energy, and food security, declining trust in government, truth decay, populism, loss of freedoms, national debt, mass shootings, drug overdoses, obesity, wealth concentration, economic uncertainty, species extinction, hate speech, the evolution of weapons, civic education and elections, political polarization, and hypocrisy domestically and globally – concern you? They should! None are sustainable.
It should
be self-evident that we must understand the two primary sources of these
worsening trends. Some of our core principles
and our Constitution are flawed. Skeptical?
Read our Constitution’s preamble. Then
give each of its seven objectives a school grade. It is vital we take the most cost-effective
means of halting, reversing, and even preventing these trends. Urgency is desirable and achieving wise outcomes
could be fast. But not easy given our
mind’s resistance to change and our government’s systemic dysfunction. Global
progress in halting preventable mass human deaths, disabilities, and suffering is
achievable with humanity's existing resources and technologies. But ONLY with sufficient political will and a
genuine patriotic commitment.
Recall
that the first paragraph of our “Declaration of Independence” set the stage for
our nation’s founding principles that we have never applied. It holds these profound yet usually forgotten words,
“the Laws of Nature and
Nature’s God”. Nature with its bountiful systems once freely
provided our basic life support infrastructure. Now, civilization depends on how we treat it
and one another. Together these primary
factors ultimately determine to what level we can sustainably maximize our most
cherished freedoms, health, and needed security.
Thomas
Paine in his pamphlet Common Sense stated "Here
then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by
the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and
end of government, viz., freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with
snow, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or
interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason
will say, it is right.” Thomas Paine, Common Sense. Published Feb. 14, 1776.
He
asserted “It is the duty of everyman, so far as
his ability allows, to detect and expose delusion and error.” And, "We
have it in our power to begin the world over again."
Nearly
100 years later Abraham Lincoln wrote that our Declaration of Independence is
our “Apple of Gold” and our Constitution its “Frame of Silver”. We revere the
frame.
We must gain a firm grasp
of reality and a commitment to fundamental principles. We must engineer those “truths”
that we all hold to be “self-evident” into a more perfect global union for healthy
and sustainable generations to come.
REALITY 1: The three most
complicated systems in the known universe that have enabled humans to survive
and thrive.
1) Nature.
2) Immune systems
3) Our mind's problem-solving ability.
Why
is this important? Nature’s microbes have always
been our greatest threat. Pathogens
change rapidly. Immune systems in higher
organisms must keep up with microbial changes to survive and thrive. When mental concepts fail to grasp this and
act improperly in response to this irreversible reality, we risk actions that
reduce the health and fitness of our immune systems, thus increasing risks to
our own species' vitality and survival.
REALITY 2: Everything is connected, interdependent, and vulnerable. Literally!
“Everything is connected,
everything is interdependent, so everything is vulnerable.... And that’s why
this has to be a more than whole of
government, a more than whole of nation [effort]. It really has to be a
global effort....” Jen Easterly. Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency
director. Oct. 29, 2021. [CISA is our
nation’s newest federal agency established by the Trump Administration in 2018]
REALITY 3: Our body’s experiences and perceptions start with three biological
suppliers.
1. Five senses. Animals, plants, and scientific instruments offer
vastly superior sensing and experiencing of reality.
2. Emotions and feelings (internal
experiences) - usually depend on what we see, think, or experience within our
culture or the values we have adopted.
3. Mental concepts. Our minds have many profoundly powerful capabilities.
a. Problem-solving.
b. Creativity
c. Believing ANYTHING.
d. Defending flawed ideas to our death (or damaged relationships).
e. Mass murdering others who look
different or create other concepts.
f.
Avoiding
what we know needs to be done.
g. Doing the opposite of what’s
needed.
h. Ignoring wisdom
i.
Codifying
women as lesser citizens
Why
is this important to understand? "We need more understanding of human nature, because the only
real danger that exists is man himself. He is the great danger. And we are pitifully
unaware of it. We know nothing of man ... far too little. His psyche should be
studied -- because we are the origin of all coming evil." - C.G. Jung
REALITY
4: Paces of change in three global
factors.
1. Technology’s
exponential growth in power, affordability, speed and spread of distribution, anonymity,
and multi-use nature.
2. Our
mind’s linear capacity for learning new things and understanding connections.
3. US
government system and global governing system are virtually flat-lined.
REALITY
5: There are three underlying human
demands/expectations. Freedom, Security,
and Independence. All we really have is
freedom. Individuals are free to do, or not
do, anything they want. But humanity is
never free of the consequences. [See REALITY 2]
REALITY
6: Humans have two fundamental means
of resolving disputes. Fight or talk (the
law of force or the Rule of Law.
ASSERTION 1: For the Rule of Law to function peacefully each
of these 3 elements are needed.
1. Laws must be made and enforced by a democratic process.
2. Laws must be applied equally to everyone.
3. The only purpose of Law is to protect human rights and the
environment.
"A
bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on
earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse."
Thomas Jefferson.
We
must choose wisely. Living by the Law of
force will end badly. And excluding any one of the 3 ‘rule
of law’ elements will lead to a dysfunctional governing system.
"When shall it be said in any country of the world, my poor
are happy, neither ignorance or distress is to be found among them; my jails
are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want, the
taxes not oppressive; the rational world is my friend because I am friend of
its happiness. When these things can be said, then may that country boast of
its constitution and government." Thomas Paine.
ASSERTION 2: There are only two types of laws.
1. The
“Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” and
2. Human
laws.
These must work in harmony because human laws tend to be unjust creating
unfavorable global consequences.
ASSERTION 3: There are three types of Truth.
1. Personal
(What God do you worship, or not?)
2. Political
(What political system do you swear to defend, or not)
3. Practical
(What truths do you hold to be self-evident).
When two scientists debate an issue there are only three possible outcomes. A. One is right, the other wrong. B. Vice versa. C. Both are wrong – now find it if possible.
ASSERTION 4: “the earth belongs to the
living, and not to the dead”. Thomas Jefferson.
“The earth belongs always to
the living generation… Every constitution, then, and every law,
naturally expires at the end of 19. years. If it be enforced longer, it is an
act of force and not of right.” Thomas Jefferson In a 1789 letter to James Madison
Dr. Benjamin Rush (a signer of the Declaration) suggested Jefferson
edit its best-known phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit...” suggesting “Happiness” be changed to “Health”. Imagine how different we and the world might
be today if Jefferson had listened. And our constitution prioritized it.
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