Late night thoughts...

Some people say all is relative and nothing is absolute. But how does that make sense? Relativity, by definition, means “the absence of standards of absolute and universal application.” Saying all things are relative is admitting that there is at least one absolute, which is that all things are relative. This can easily get confusing. So, the point I want to get to is that I believe there are absolute truths. What kind of world would we live in if there were more than one truth? Perhaps what people might mean when they say all is relative is that perspective is relative. For example, there can be five individuals that witness the same exact car accident. However, their perception of the event will vary based on their perspective. What influences perspective? A lot of things do (e.g., experience, personality, culture, etc). So, if you ask those five individuals about the car accident, I guarantee that each one of them will recollect the story differently. Perhaps, one of the individuals was distracted and did not catch the first part of the car accident. Just because that individual did not see what happened at the beginning does not mean that it did not happen. There is the truth and then there is perspective. So, it could be said that perspective is relative.

Anyway, I am thinking about this because I had a long conversation with my friend Jon earlier about government’s role in our society. We disagree about a lot of things. But he asked me an interesting question. He said, “How do you know you are right and I am wrong?” Up until that point, I had not put thought into why I thought I was right and he was wrong. I am clear on why I believe these things, but I had never thought of why or how I was lead to believe my perspective is correct. It’s pretty obvious I fervidly support libertarian ideals and believe that limiting our government will help solve a lot of the problems we see today. It will not solve them immediately and it will not solve all of them, but it is a great start. Anyway, I realized that I do not know how to show people, like Jon, I am right. I talked about the way history shows us that large governments, fiat currency, empires, and private central banks (e.g., Federal Reserve) are ingredients for a collapse.

The truth is that there is no way to prove I am right to him if he cannot perceive what I perceive provided all the information I have gathered over the past few months. While I cannot prove to someone else that what I believe is the truth, I can most definitely know in my heart and in my being that it is. What do I mean by that? Well, I believe that individual liberty is God given. If God gave us freedom of choice, the government has no right to take it away. The government did not grant us our freedom. That is totally false. The government’s role is to protect our liberty. From there, life goes on. The government does not exist to appease all our problems (e.g., welfare, universal health care, financial aid, etc). Why are we trying to rid ourselves of the natural human struggle? I realize that some people are born into rich families and do not have to struggle with financial issues. I agree that money provides people with the opportunity to do what they please, providing a sense of freedom. But money is not everything and it most definitely does not make you happy. Just look at the rich reality TV stars who are famous for being rich. What is that about? Some of those people are very dense, not much substance there. I must say, though, some have good hearts but that does not take away from the fact that a large portion of their lives revolve around superficial thoughts and aspirations. I would much rather have a struggle or two and grow wiser if I had to choose. In fact, some of the most valuable lessons I have learned have been as a result of my struggles. Every struggle of mine has helped me become a better, stronger, wiser person. I would never take back any of those struggles. It is what makes me real. If we receive entitlements, there is no deeper satisfaction. How can you ever be confident and sure of your ability to do something great if everything is handed to you? Life is an everlasting struggle but that is not a bad thing. It’s just life. So, like they say, you cannot taste the sweet without the bitter.

Anyway, I always go off on tangents. But I would just like to say that I believe a free society is the best type of society. Some people mistake the United States for a democracy. Well, that is almost true because we are a type of democracy. We are a representative democracy. Therefore, we the people elect others to represent us. That is where the executive and legislative branches come in. Nowadays, people are apathetic about politics and our government is really not a representative democracy anymore. We have basically become an oligarchy, which is when a group of elite individuals have power over the government. So, that sucks. From my understanding, our Framers intended us to have a republic, a free society ruled by the law, not by people who can misinterpret the truth.

Anyway, back to my original thought about free societies. So, we may not agree with some choices people make (e.g., drugs, prostitution) but that does not mean that we will be forced to join in. Ron Paul said just because you endorse freedom does not mean you have to endorse what people do. I completely agree with the great doctor. We cannot start picking and choosing what we will allow in a free society. If people make bad choices, they will be accountable for those choices. You are free to do what you want as long as you do not infringe on another person's liberty. So, murder would definitely be considered infringing on another person's liberty, which is the right to their life. Moreover, if we allow the government to start regulating what individuals do in their private life, even if we agree with the government’s stance, it can always backfire. One day, the government might regulate you and you will not like it.