Discuss, Fight, Die – Tidbits of Audacity

On the Various Levels of Commitment

This is another piece written as fast as I could type it. No resources. No thought out clever phrases. Just raw, unfiltered thoughts on the level of commitment to certain areas of civilization. I did, however, go back and summarize sections with more thought.

There are things I’ll discuss, things I’ll fight for, and things I’ll die for. I’ll discuss policies, practices, and ideas. I’ll fight for human rights, peace, and kindness in disagreement. I’ll die for my faith, my family, and the US Constitution.

Discuss

Policies

I’ll discuss policies. Like whether we need to remove the head start program because it hasn’t shown results… ever. Or maybe I’d discuss a policy setting term limits for politicians. Sometimes, a policy and its efficacy is known based on history. But sometimes they’re ideas that have never been tried. I’d discuss ideas of criminal rehabilitation for some, but not for all. I’d discuss policies being minimized to maximize liberty.

In short, I’ll discuss public policy by its demonstrated consequences and the constraints of human nature rather than by its intentions, however noble the origin may be.

Practices

I’ll discuss practices such as diagnosing a 7-year-old with ADHD because he was born in August and doesn’t like sitting still for 8 hours during the day. Subsequently we give him a diagnosis that follows him through life. Should therapists be allowed to challenge a person with gender dysphoria? Should we be affirming a known lie? I’ll gladly discuss better ways. I’ll discuss whether CBT is a better fit than psychodynamic work with one particular client. I’ll discuss Supreme Court decisions and whether they are ruling on the established rule of law or inventing a new law by attempting to interpret the current, modern meaning behind the law. This falls into the concept that I’d trust the average many over the elite few. I’ll discuss how the accumulated knowledge of the average many will always be superior to the acute knowledge of the elite few.

In short, I’ll discuss whether the specialized knowledge of the elite few, however extensive in their relative fields of expertise, justifies allowance of their judgment upon the many in spite of, and in disregard to the inherent limitations of any individual knowledge, but juxtaposed to the accumulated knowledge, experience, and competing perspectives of the average many, whose collective wisdom is seldom confined to assumptions of any particular profession, and whose authority had become a substitute for scrutiny.

Ideas

I’ll discuss ideas about law and order, education, mental health, the role religion may play in our mental health, and ways in which most can live freely without government intervention. I’ll discuss the ideas you have as to how I can be a better friend, writer, counselor, husband, father, and leader. I’ll discuss ideas about new ways to treat individuals who come into the counseling office saying they have anxiety because they get nervous before dates with their girlfriend. I’ll discuss ideas concerning how men should treat women and how women should treat men.

In short, I’ll discuss ideas concerning not only how individuals ought to conduct themselves within families, communities, and society at large, but also the extent to which established assumptions, professional judgments, and government interventions facilitate and/or undermine the very outcomes they were intended to achieve.

Fight

Human Rights

I’ll fight for human rights. I will not fight for equal results, as this is completely impossible. Never, in the history of our planet, at any point in time or place, has there ever been true equality of results. This is because of human nature and the various motivational systems we employ. But I will fight for one’s right the same process. I’ll fight to restrict those who intend to harm and inhibit freedom so the majority of society can live freely to pursue happiness. Therefore, I will pursue the right to equal opportunity. Whether you take that opportunity or not is up to you. I’ll continue to fight for the right of children who have been physically and sexually violated, urging for stronger mandatory sentences for such offenders.

In short, I’ll fight for the protection of individual liberties, equal application of laws, and the preservation of opportunities through which individuals may pursue their own ambitions, recognizing that equality of opportunity seldom produces equality of outcomes, least of all among people whose abilities, motivations, and circumstances differ, while insisting that he freedom of the many must not be surrendered to the harmful actions of a few, particularly when those least capable of defending themselves are made to bear the consequences.

Peace

I’ll fight for peace. The reason I’ll fight for peace is because peace doesn’t come through passivism. Peace comes through boundary setting, firm expectations, and following through. Peace comes only when we place a hard line on how we will be treated and how we expect others to act when in our presence. Peace does not come by softly asking one to stop berating you in public. Peace comes when you no longer give that person access to your life because they don’t know how to act. If they desire to be back in your life, they must abide by your set of social rules. This produces peace. Yes, I will fight for peace.

In short, I’ll fight for a peace secured not through passivity, but through firm boundaries, mutual respect, and enforceable consequences, recognizing that peace is never achieved through mere tolerance of mistreatment nor at the expense of one’s own dignity and freedom.

Kindness In Disagreement

I will fight for disagreement to be delivered in kindness. We all have disagreements. Some disagreements invoke stronger emotions than others, and some invoke stronger emotions than they should. In any case, this should be done in kindness. There are many studies that show political polarization weakens when forced to have open discussion with someone who you see as a good person but sees politics from a different lens than you. It costs nothing to be kind. I’m kind to you even if you don’t reciprocate. The primary reason people don’t choose kindness in disagreement is they are very insecure about their own place in life. Those weighed down by insecurity often defend their convictions at any cost, resorting to hostility from fear of being wounded rather than confidence.

In short, I’ll fight for the preservation of civility amid disagreement, recognizing that differences of opinion seldom justify personal hostility, particularly when the strength of one’s convictions is mistaken for a license to abandon kindness and mutual respect.

To Die For

My Faith

I truly believe Jesus is exactly who He says He is. I believe he came to save the world. I believe that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. I’d wager my life on it. I’m not asking you to agree with me on this. And I’m certainly not proselytizing. I’m merely sharing my perspective.

In short, I’d die for my faith, recognizing that genuine faith requires neither the agreement of others nor their submission to beliefs they do not espouse.

My Family

I’d die for my family, starting with my wife. Everyone comes after that. I’d die for my kids, their kids, my siblings and their families. I would willingly sacrifice my own life if it meant saving theirs.

The US Constitution

Yes, I would die for the Constitution. This seems to be a reach for many. Allow me to explain. The military swear and oath to the Constitution, not the president. The Constitution upholds the fundamental liberties that preserve a free life for anyone who will abide by the basic tenets of an agreed upon set of values. Now that the government has gotten way too big, the only salvation we may have against a tyrannical top-down takeover will be those citizens who are willing to defend the US Constitution. This document sets us apart from every other nation in the world. This document was the foundation of every good thing that has taken place in America, allowing us to be the best nation on earth, as viewed by every person trying to get here, as well as most Americans. The Constitution is the best defense against tyrannical rule. I’d rather die than live in tyranny. So yes, I’d die for the US Constitution.

In short, I’ll die for the Constitution and the liberties it was established to protect, recognizing that freedom is never preserved through passivity, especially when those entrusted with governmental authority become the very threat against which constitutional restraints were established.

Conclusion

I won’t discuss or fight among those whose rationality left the building a long time ago. I will not discuss ideas with those unwilling to subject their own convictions to the same scrutiny they demand of others, those refusing to test their own ideas. Meaningful discourse won’t be found where intellectual humility is absent. I will not fight for the imposition of equal outcomes, the establishment of authority without restraint or accountability, or a peace obtained through the surrender of individual liberty, especially when such demands are made in the name of some presumed “greater good” by the “anointed.” Lastly, I will not die for political personalities, ideological movements, or the ambitions of those who mistake their own usurped authority for moral superiority. I simply no longer have the bandwidth for those so weak they cannot form a sentence without an insult. Yes, I will discuss, fight, and die for certain things in life.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger