THE UPS AND DOWNS LISTS

The recent series of stories of celebrities acting in bizarre and unexpected ways..."I didn't know they were like that, how could they do those things?r"...brought me to the subject of Principles and why they are where the answer to that question may be found.

A principle is a general statement that expresses a guideline for how life should be lived. Like, "One should always tell the truth" or "One should always tell the truth unless it will hurt someone you love" or "One should always tell the truth unless you have something to gain by lying".

There are principles about all aspects of life...personal relationships, business,politics, etc...and we all have them because, without them, it would be difficult to know, and time-consuming to figure out, how we should act in every situation we find ourselves in.

Where did we get them from? Parents, teachers, ministers, movies, etc. As a general rule, we adopted them haphazardly and without much independent thought..."it sounded right", "I heard it over and over when I was a kid", "most people live that way".

And therein, as Wil would say, is the rub. What was almost never considered, as a principle was about to be accepted as a way of life, was PRECISELY what benefits it would bring to our life if we adhered to it...and PRECISELY what damages it would cause to our lives if we violated it.

Go ahead. Test that out. Take a sheet of blank paper, write at the top any principle you hold, and then list 5 specific benefits you gain by living by that principle, and 5 specific ways you would be harmed if you chose not to live by it. Easy or hard to do?

In my view, the prime reason those celebrities, and many of us, abandon our principles from time to time is that they and we would have trouble with those lists. You will likely never intentionally ingest poison because you clearly know the downside and you want no part of it. You know you should not abuse those you love because you know the upside of having that love in your life and the downside of losing it. But are the lists for why you should have integrity, clear to you? Or why you shouldn't commit undisclosed adultery? Or why "It is ok to steal from the rich to give to the poor" is not a life nurturing principle?

Don't blame yourself for not knowing all the ups and downs, at least not until now. You were likely never taught them, and likely never thought about them, never even told they were important to know.

But that is in the past. It behooves you now to examine your principles, prove to yourself they are the desirable ones for you to live by, or speak with someone who can help you with that proof, and then place them in a secure place in your mind and confidently get on with your life.

UNMASKING CONSERVATISM

Commentators on radio and television who label themselves Conservatives generally support their political arguments with undefined talk of "limited government" and their "Biblical roots"...both being open to many interpretations. Their rantings opposing the Obama Administration give me a sense of what they are against, but not precisely what they are for...and more importantly, what exactly are their guiding principles and what proof, if any, do they offer that their positions on the issues are correct.

If Conservative Republicans are to become a serious alternative to both liberal Democrats and liberal Republicans, and for them to obtain the support of thoughtful voters, they will need to answer the following questions with specificity:

1. Which particular federal programs should be eliminated in their entirety? Why?

2. Which particular federal programs should be reduced in size? To what size? And why?

3. What new federal programs should be implemented? Why? At what cost? How will it be paid for?

4. Should the federal deficit be eliminated, and if so, how? Should all new federal programs that would generate a deficit be rejected?

5. Should an abortion be legal if the pregnancy was the result of incest? Rape? If it endangers the life of the mother? If the mother-to-be is under age? What age?

6. Should homosexual unions be legally recognized as fully as are heterosexual marriages, and would the parties to such unions enjoy the same rights as marriage partners? If not, in what ways? And why?

7. What specifically should be the principles guiding our country's relationships with other countries? To what extent, if any, should we have diplomatic relationships with countries whose priniples and actions are antagonistic to American ideals of freedom and equality?

8. What should our missions be in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan...one of total victory over the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other terrorists, or one of containment?

9. Once those missions are set, should their military implementation be determined by the President or by the military?

10. Should nuclear weapons be used against our enemies? If so, under what conditions?

11. Should our income tax system have each adult pay the same dollar amount of tax on the theory they each receive the same government services and protection?

12. Should a military draft be declared unconstitutional, as violating a pperson's freedom and right to life?

13. Should the use of hard drugs by an adult be decriminalized on the theory that the only restraint there ought be in a free country is the initiation of force against others?

14. Should adult prostitution be legalized since it does not entail the use of force against others?

15. Should the Bible or other religious writings continue to be used as the ultimate authority of what is moral or immoral> Or should that be determined by know, rather than merely believe on faith: the reality of man's nature and the nature of the world he lives in? Do you recognize that your belief in God is no stronger than the terrorists' belief in their God?

16. Is it the Conservative view of man that he is a link in a social chain, a member of a group obliged to act in the interest of the group? Or is each man an independent sovereign being?

Answers to the above questions, and others, will determine whether Conservatism will become a central political force in our country, or remain on the vociferous fringe.