Perfect New Day

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. - John Wayne 

I like the concept that each new day comes to us perfect and it is up to each of us to keep it that way.

(Other posts on Perfection) 

Works' Reflection

In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man. - Sidney Poitier 

Your work is a reflection of yourself - make it a good one.

(Other posts on Work) 

Civilized Business

No enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need, it performs some great service, not for itself, but for others; or failing therein, it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist.  - Calvin Coolidge 

That is Capitalism. It is also why Mr. Coolidge said "Civilization and profit go hand in hand."

(Other post on Business) 

Scenic Vision

Every once in a while, take the scenic route. - H. Jackson Brown Jr. 

A change in scenery will improve your vision.

(Other posts on Seeing) 

Seeing Through Walls

What you see, but can't see over is as good as infinite. - Thomas Carlyle 


Learn to see through walls that block your view.


(Other posts on Seeing) 

Sermons of All Kinds

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible. - George Burns 

And Power Point presentations.

(Other posts on Words) 

Mood Changes

There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune. - Thomas Carlyle  


Make sure it is not just your mood which has changed before thinking it is bad fortune.

Helping Hands

It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.' - Sam Levenson 


You've always got a helping hand (or two).


(Other posts on Achievement) 

Your Time is Limited

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Steve Jobs 


Also have the courage to follow your principles.


(Other posts on Principles) 

Create Yourself

Be yourself, because everyone else is already taken.- Oscar Wilde 


"Create yourself" might be more apt - it indicates you have a choice of who you are.


(Other posts on Character) 

Experiments

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. - Ralph Waldo Emerson 


Experiments test hypothesis. Be sure to have one before trying an experiment - otherwise you are just wandering aimlessly.


(Other posts on Discovery) 

Grown-up Questions

You know that children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers. - John J. Plomp


You know they are grown when they start answering your questions.


(Other posts on Learning) 

Live With Integrity

Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 


Likewise when you think of things you have done.


(Other posts on Character) 

Active Conviction

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. - Thomas Carlyle 


Conduct and action.


(Other posts on Progress) 

Repressing Evil Taint All That Good

Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.  - Calvin Coolidge 


Calling "repressing evil" as "good" is a poor substitute.


(Other posts on Negativity) 

Misery Should Be Unequal

Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.  - Calvin Coolidge 


Help make the weak stronger. There is no glory in making misery equal.


(Other posts on Success) 

Rest Easy

I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom. - Thomas Carlyle 


You'll sleep better as well.


(More posts on Achievement) 

Life is Dusty

You either make dust or eat dust. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 


Your choice.


(Other posts on Motivation) 

Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say. From a previous post:

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.  Thomas Jefferson 

Sorry Tom.

The Founding Fathers failed. They would agree, I'm sure, if they could come back and see the loss of individual Liberty since their time. I used to think that the U.S. Constitution was flawed and if we could find and fix that flaw further erosion would be prevented. I have since come to believe the Constitution to be utterly magnificent in it's concept and simplicity. Trying to fix minor flaws would never result in a "perfect" document where no one was able to find some kind of loophole.  They did not fail when formulating or writing the Constitution. Their concepts of individual liberty, self reliance and property are just as perfect today as they were then. The concept that government is the servant of the people and that the only true function of government is to protect the liberty of the individual was a revolutionary idea which is made concrete by the Constitution. This was not a failure - it was a supreme success for mankind.

The failure of the Founding Fathers was not in how their new government was formed. Their failure was not providing a morality which was matching in it's perfection and a true complement to the governmental system they provided.

The moral principles of then (and today) are derived from a Christian ethic. These moral principles are in direct contradiction to the governmental principles embodied in the Constitution. Christianity tells us we are sinners - were born sinners - must repent our sins regularly and made amends for them; The Constitution tells us we are good and do not deserve punishment unless we are found guilty (the Judiciary); Christianity tells us the highest moral good we can do is to help our fellow man - to seek personal reward is a sin; The Constitution tells us we are free to make our own lives better. Christianity tells us to give; The Constitution tells us to trade. Christianity tells us to be subservient; The Constitution tells us we are masters of our lives. Christianity is anti-capitalism; The Constitution is pro-capitalism.


So if the Founding Fathers had set out to embody pure Christian ethics in their new government what would they have come up with? A Monarchy or a Theocracy or a Theocratic Monarchy. If they had truly believed in that, there would have been no need to revolt; the Declaration of Independence would never have been written because that is what they had. They knew it was wrong, they just didn't know why. This was their failure.


So the choice is yours. Do you believe in the Common Good or do you believe in Individual Liberty? If your moral ethic does not match your political ethic you will get neither. You will be bewildered. 


Could the Founders have avoided their failure? Probably not, because they did not have the tools or the understanding. To challenge or change the moral ethic of a people is a gargantuan task compared to changing a political system. I commend them for what they did. I think it is up to us to do what they could not.

You Are Not Safe

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. - Frederick Douglass 


Though I imagine he was thinking about the majority conspiring against a minority the same is true of the majority being oppressed by the concept of the "common good."


(Other posts on Rights) 

Insults

A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me. - Frederick Douglass 


If you throw out an insult you are not a gentleman.


(Other posts on Manners) 

Patriotism = Self Interest

Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.  - Calvin Coolidge 


Remember this when you hear someone ridiculing Patriotism.


(Other posts on Liberty) 

Property Rights

Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing. - Calvin Coolidge 


Remember this when you vote.


(Other posts on Rights) 

Narrow Necked Bottles

It is with narrow souled people as with narrow necked bottles; the less they have in them, the more noise they make in pouring it out. – Alexander Pope 


Pay attention to the quiet ones.


(Other posts on Character) 

Fear of Contradiction

The reserve of modern assertions is sometimes pushed to extremes, in which the fear of being contradicted leads the writer to strip himself of almost all sense and meaning. - Sir Winston Churchill 

I love being proven wrong - I learned something.

(Other posts on Learning) 

Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say. From a previous post:

Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily. - George Santayana 

Voters; news media; investors looking for a quick buck; advocates of the latest doom and gloom scam are prime examples of people who throw out their skepticism when faced with a charming personality.

I've thought a lot about why people are so inclined to sign on with the latest doom and gloom scheme (Y2K, overpopulation, Armageddon, etc.). They have been around forever but with the communication explosion their proliferation seems to be going at a faster pace. I originally thought it was like gossip- "I know something you don't know so I'm special." Now that everyone on the planet has instant communication with everybody else, people still sign-on to these schemes. I recently came across the following theory and I present my take on it here, not as Truth but as a thought to consider.

Most of us go abouts trying to improve our lives and the lives of our family. This is self-interest and it is what made this country great and gives us an ever increasing quality of life. On the other hand we are taught from the day we were born that the ultimate moral goal is to be perfectly altruistic (mother Teresa). This places a dichotomy in your personality, the result of which is quilt. You are supposed to feel guilty because you are successful and because of that guilt you need to pay alms to make amends for your sin.

The latest is the Global Warming scenario (Oh, I forgot, we are now supposed to say "Climate Change" because the evidence is pretty clear we are not warming). We are supposed to feel guilty, especially the developed world, and need to make amends by denying that which made us successful and the rewards it brings. Change light bulbs, buy a tiny car, use less, conserve more; not to save your hard-earned money but to amend for the fact you can afford things which make your life more pleasant. The science behind the scenario is not important - it can be bad and lead to flat out false predictions - but what is important is that you assuage your guilt. When the predictions prove to be blatantly wrong there is always another Doom and Gloom scheme to take its place.

So if you are like me these false predictions are troublesome and a diversion from reality. The solution then would be to remove the dichotomy and that can only be done by having an integrated set of morals. Do not  feel guilty for doing things in your self interest (and I don't mean to go out and cheat your neighbor - that would be in contradiction of your moral value of honesty). Let others do the same. Encourage and admire those who are successful (morally). Be generous when you can - as opposed to altruistic because you ought to be. You have committed no sin so you should feel no guilt.

Do Not Quarrel

Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention. - Abraham Lincoln 


Or the most of his marriage.


(Other posts on Marriage) 

Theory of Ignorance

Theory helps us to bear our ignorance of facts. - George Santayana 

Remember a theory is only a theory - abandon it when you get enough facts to verify or disprove it.

(Other posts on Information) 

Word Treasure

The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels. - Hazrat Inayat Khan 


Hopefully some of the quotes I find will enlighten your soul and will be treasure for you.


(Other posts on Words) 

A Rose?

In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. - Hubert H. Humphrey 


Would Google by a different name be so successful?


(Other posts on Success)