Not exactly ethics, but proto-ethics: our beliefs vastly affect, even control, how our ethics alarms are calibrated, what makes them sound, and what disables them. Beliefs can be biases (not all biases are bad), but they also constitute what our linear constant is for navigating the chaos of life—and we all need that. Beliefs define our values as well as how we interpret the world.
In the most famous scene from the cult baseball film “Bull Durham,” Crash Davis, the iconoclastic minor league catcher played by Kevin Costner, is asked what he believes. He answers (unrealistically rapidly, as if he had memorized the speech in advance, which has always bothered me from a directorial perspective, but I digress)
“I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”
My list is better (and longer) than Crash’s, and I’ll probably post it later, but right now I’d like to see what the readers here believe.
I started to think about this when I realized that I have no idea what one of the Presidential candidates believes, and I am not entirely sure what the other one believes either. I think that Donald Trump, based on his family background and the culture he was raised in, believes in the capitalist system, individuality, entrepreneurial spirit, minimal government interference with personal liberties, traditional male and female roles, strong leadership, not being a weenie, America as a force for good in the world, American exceptionalism, that abortion is wrong, that he is almost always right and is the one person he can trust to fix what he sees as wrong with our government, and that the 2020 election was rigged against him.
I have no clue what Kamala Harris believes.
This is a problem.
What do you believe, if you are comfortable revealing it?
______________
[I thought everyone should be reminded that the great Frankie Laine sang songs other than “Rawhide.”]
Ethics Alarms 
Right up front, I believe that there is no way for me to list all my beliefs but here are the first ones that popped into my head in no particular order.
I believe…
I’m certain there are more, and some are likely very important.
Thank-you, Steve, for being the first to jump into the pool. I also believe all of what you listed, so it relieves me of restating at least some of my list, which, like yours, is too long to post.
I’ll add to my list of beliefs each time a commenter ventures into this discussion, so here, in no particular order, are some of the items on my list…
I believe…
That the United States is both the greatest country on earth and the luckiest one, and that everyone here is lucky as well, and should appreciate that reality.
That wars sometimes have to be fought, and when a nation fights one, it should fight to end the war as quickly as possible.
That pacifists are grandstanding and deluded.
That morality is essential for those who lack critical thinking skills, but that ethics leads to better outcomes.
That I learned more about life, leadership, ethics and human relations from my theater activities than I did from college and law school combined.
That baseball molded my values more than any other single factor.
That all of our Presidents deserve honor respect and the nation’s thanks without exceptions; that Washington and Lincoln were the two greatest by far, the FDR had the greatest leadership tools and skills, that Eisenhower is the most under-rated POTUS and Kennedy the most over-rated…
That some crimes must have the death penalty,
That I was not as good a father or husband as I should have been
That regret will kill you, and the bias makes you stupid,
That the greatest film ever made is “Casablanca,” the greatest ethics movie is “Man for All Seasons,” the best movie musical is “Singing in the Rain,” the best action movie is “Raiders…” and the greatest comedies are a tie among “Animal House,” “Blazing Saddles,” and “Airplane!.”
That watching live theater in an audience is a crucial part of creating community and a healthy society, and its loss will cause problems we cannot even quantify….
I believe the answers to your penultimate belief will differ for many people, but that civil discussion and debate are healthy for society and tend to make for better conclusions.
Well done.
jvb
I believe whether the world was created in 6 days or evolved over 6 billion years has very little bearing on day-to-day human life. I believe the universe is too complicated to not have been designed. I believe in Christ and in He who sent Him. I believe Mohammed probably put a big hoax over on the Arabs and they did the rest. I also believe in the Devil and that he planted the seeds for evil, and humans brought them to bloom.
I believe miracles usually happen because men help them along.
I believe Europe and the Europeans got to where they are because they learned to be better at navigation, exploration, and warfare than others, no other reasons.
I believe Christopher Columbus was a brave navigator who sailed where no one else dared to go, and that without his opening the way between old world and new, the United States would not have come to be, and the world would be the poorer for it.
I believe that it is all well and good to talk and write about freedom and liberty, but sometimes you just have to pick up a gun and make it happen.
I believe that George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and FDR were the right men at the right time to deal with the biggest crises this country found itself in, and lesser men might well have failed, and we’d be worse off for it.
I believe that the Founding Fathers got it right, and that their work doesn’t deserve to be discarded because men two centuries ago did not measure up to the values of not much more than 2 years ago.
I believe that the conquest of the frontier was inevitable, as is always the case when a more developed society meets a less developed one.
I believe that slavery was wrong, that it benefitted increasingly fewer and fewer as time went on, and that the US took longer than it should have to abolish it. I also know that abolition came at a terrible price when it did come, and that if the issue had been forced in 1787 this country would never have come to be. I also know that it now hasn’t existed in this country for 155 years and no one who was a slave or who owned, traded, bought or sold a slave, or did so on another’s behalf, is still alive.
I believe there are two genders, male and female. Only the combination of those two genders can perpetuate humanity. I also believe that those whose inclinations point them towards the same sex rather than the opposite sex should have essentially the same rights as those who are inclined typically. I also believe there are those whose bodies do not fit within those two genders due to the fact that occasionally people are born very different than the norm, and those people should be given whatever care they require. I believe that it is wrong to indulge mental illness by living a life of chemical and surgical imitation of the opposite gender to the one one was born with.
I believe in individual rights, not group rights, and that the color of your skin, your gender, what name you use when you pray (or if you pray at all), or how you work out your sexuality gives you no more and no less rights than anyone else.
I believe that no one owes anyone else anything except by whatever transaction he and another may freely choose to enter into.
I believe that everyone is himself primarily responsible for his success and happiness, and that everyone should make the best use of what talents he has to overcome whatever obstacles he meets.
I believe in individual responsibility, not group responsibility, for wrong acts. No one should be made to answer for wrong acts that he himself did not commit.
I believe the playing field is NOT level and the books of life do NOT balance out perfectly, and that’s just how it is, how it always has been, and how it always will be.
I believe in freedom of speech – and that means I may not like what you have to say, but I will not interfere with your ability to say it. I ask that you reciprocate.
I believe everyone is free to choose to honor or not to honor whoever and whatever he chooses, but not to tell others who they can and can’t, nor to destroy what he disagrees with simply because he does. No statue ever dismounted its plinth and sought to harm anyone.
I believe that limits and boundaries are usually put there for a reason and should always be respected.
I believe it is government’s role to protect people and provide necessary services, not to run their lives, and that includes not trying to enforce civility, kindness, or “right thinking” among citizens.
I believe in freedom of religion, not just freedom of worship. That means the power to compel someone to go against his conscience is very limited, and that if the government can’t compel you to vote for your leadership or to pick up a gun and defend your country, it should not be able to compel you to bake a cake or arrange flowers.
I believe that anyone is free to move about this country and free to move about the world, although other countries may have their own ideas on the matter. That’s all right, each country gets to decide these things for itself. However, if you choose to enter this country with the intention of staying, you must do so by the rules we have decided apply.
I believe that if you want the government to do something, you need to go through the established process, not force it by mob action or vandalism.
I believe society should try to help those who find themselves in difficult circumstances through no fault of their own. However, I believe there is a limit to that help, and it is meant to be help, not a lifestyle.
I believe those who break society’s rules should receive appropriate punishment. Sometimes that means lengthy confinement or even execution. Justice may be combined with mercy, but there is no requirement that it be, especially for those who persist in breaking society’s rules.
I believe that your success or failure is mainly yours, and one person’s failure does not create a lien on another’s success.
I believe climate change happens every day, it’s called the weather.
I don’t believe I owe anyone an apology just for being who and what I am. I believe there is always room to do better, but that doing better means increasing your knowledge, your skills, or the good you do, it does not mean thinking the way others want to force you to think.
i believe that if there is an obvious explanation for something, then that is the explanation you should go with. I also believe that there will always be some things that can’t be explained satisfactorily and a few that can’t be explained at all.
I believe that once government starts to not be about serving the people and to be about perpetuating and expanding itself, someone needs to cut it back.
And your bonus EA Host beliefs in appreciation for this comment:
I Believe…
That policies aside, the Democratic Party has mutated into the most radically Machiavellian, aspiring totalitarian political organization in US history, discounting the Klan
That Barry Bonds and Pete Rose should never be admitted to the Hall of Fame, and that other members should make it clear that they will resign if either is.
That the collapse of journalism as an independent and reliable source of information unmarred by political agendas is among the most dangerous threats to the nation we have ever encountered.
That public education has now completely failed, and some alternative structure or major reform is essential.
That “Moby Dick” is, by far, the greatest American novel; that “King Lear’ is, by far, the greatest play, that Eugene O’Neill was our greatest playwright, and that “The Music Man” is the Great American Musical.
That “Shane” is the best Western of them all, in a very tough field.
That dropping the bomb on Hiroshima was 100% right and necessary, and that it was also, by contemporary standards, a war crime.
That Woodrow Wilson was our worst President by far, but that Biden is coming up on the inside rail.
That legalizing pot is a social and cultural disaster, but that there’s nothing that can be done about it now.
That the collapse or organized religion, for all its flaws, is a worldwide societal catastrophy.
That I have accomplished a only small slice of what I was capable of in my life, and only have my own laziness, selfishness, dilettante tendencies and lack of focus to blame.
That I have had almost every advantage while engaged in that life failure, with just occasional instances of terrible luck.
Uh oh, you just gave away your ruling on the worst president before you posted the last installment.
Yeah, but you’re forgetting about the play-offs and the Wild Card.
Kudos, Steve.
jvb
Yeah, all of these have been outstanding, but Steve-O’s really grabbed me.
I believe in salt, fat and beef(in that order)- but will play agnostically with pork and chicken.
I believe not even my choice of Jesus could never contribute to motivating the Father to judge him guilty of my sin and transgressions, thus if I stand with my debt erased then this is only because he did it so eriegnly and irrevocably for his glory and for my enjoyment of him.
I believe nothing in this life is sustainable both because of entropy and supply and demand, so eat the fat first when and while you can get it.
I believe that reading Ethics Alarms tempers my shallow opinionation.
I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, my Lord and my Savior.
I believe in America – no, not the line from “The Godfather” – but in American exceptionalism, especially our propensity to reject being told what to do.
I believe in love, faith, joy, peace, kindness and self-control.
I believe in being as gentle as a dove, but as wise as a serpent (Matt. 10:16). In other words, speak softly and carry a big stick.
I believe in dogs.
I believe in Mr. Golden. I believe in me.
I believe, first and foremost, that Jesus is my redeemer and savior,
in the capitalist system that has made America the envy of the world,
the incredible opportunity our nation affords the individual,
small government ensuring our liberties and freedom,
I believe in Constitutional originalism,
and I believe in American exceptionalism.
I also believe Frankie Laine was one of the greatest of all times, had a long 70+ years career acting (film and TV), singing, and song writer, selling more than 250 million records.
I believe in one God, who is triune in nature, uncreated and eternal, unlimited and unbounded, purely actual, who created everything and sustains everything in being. I believe that God created purely out of selfless love, that he sustains all things in being from moment to moment, and that he allows nothing evil to happen from which he cannot draw a greater good, and no amount of pain and suffering is beyond his ability to redeem.
I believe that God created man free, that man chose to rebel against God, that said rebellion impacted all future generations of man so that everyone born is born under the curse of original sin. I believe that man retains free will, but it is wounded by this fallen nature. I believe that man is incapable of saving himself, and faced a seeming impossible paradox: human hands had to make justification for man’s transgressions, but that offering had to be of infinite value, for an offense against the infinitely good creator is of infinite size. I believe God reconciled this paradox through the incarnation of the second person of the divine trinity, who in Jesus now and forever possesses both human and divine natures, each whole and distinct, so that in this one persons it is true to say he is both fully man and fully God. I believe that Jesus freely offered himself as sacrifice for man’s sins, that he truly died, and truly rose from the dead. I believe Jesus founded a Church to carry the good news of man’s redemption to all the world, and that the Catholic Church is the selfsame church Jesus founded.
I believe in non-material but substantial entities that we call angels and demons.
I believe that all living beings have a soul, in that the soul is the animating and vivifying principle. Angels and demons are spiritual souls. Plants and animals have material souls. Humans have material bodies but spiritual souls, and man’s nature is a body-spirit composite that is incomplete with either component. I believe that a soul exists the moment an individual living being comes into existence, and if that living being is of a rational nature, it has a spiritual soul from the moment it comes into existence. That means that a human individual has a spiritual soul, one that will exist forever, from the moment of conception. I believe that in death the human soul is separated from his body, but will at the culmination of all time, God will resurrect all those who died, reuniting their souls with their bodies so they are complete human beings once again.
I believe the universe is billions of years old, that God designed all the forces of the universe to be knowable, and that the material form of man evolved gradually over time. I believe that man’s spirit is immediately created by God at conception, and is not inherited from his parents.
I believe ethics follow nature, and nature follows purpose. We can known what we are from what we were created for, and we can know how we ought to act from what we are.
I believe that man was created male and female for a specific reason, namely for man to participate in the divine prerogative of creation, but also so that all mankind would ultimately be related through generation. I believe this shows man is meant to be either male or female, and that anything that arises contrary to that is a disorder. I believe this shows that man’s sexuality is properly expressed in lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual relationships that are open to procreation, and anything outside of that is a disorder.
I believe that man is both individual and collective, and that the balance between pure individualism and pure collectivism is hard to find. Man has to live in society, and one of our great struggles is building a society that balances the individual needs and collective needs. I believe that no form of government is perfect, and even the American experiment has fatal flaws. I believe nonetheless that the American experiment has been one of the greatest forms of government man has created. I believe we all, however, yearn for a king.
I believe that protection of private property is vitally important for a just society. I believe that society flourishes best under the principle of subsidiarity, with those who are closest to the problem are the ones who should address the problem. It is only when those are incapable of solving said problem that recourse to next highest authority should be made. I believe that free market capitalism is one of the best economic models, but it is easy for it to delve into abuses and requires some amount of regulation. However, the government should have as light a hand on the economy as possible.
I believe that a man should be free to defend himself, up to and including through lethal force.
I believe all current scientific theories will be replaced with better ones down the road, just as all previous scientific theories have been replaced with the ones we have today.
I believe mankind can have significant impact on the environment, even globally, but that current warming trends are due almost entirely to natural warming patterns. I believe a surge of CO2 in the atmosphere is healthy for plant life, which in turn benefits man.
I believe P is not equal to NP, but I am unable to prove it. I believe Goldbach’s Conjecture and the Twin Primes Conjecture are true.
I believe we should all use the Oxford comma.
I believe the Crusades were on the whole a good thing. I believe both the Roman and the Spanish Inquisitions were far superior to and more merciful than secular courts and represented a positive movement in law.
I believe taxes are a necessary evil, but that we’re taxed too much.
I believe governments spend too much money.
I believe history is messy.
I believe the most beneficial thing that can be done for people is to hold them responsible for their own actions, and insist they live up to their potential.
I believe I have a hundred other beliefs I could state, some greater and some more trivial. If anyone wants to know what I believe on any particular topic, I’m happy to answer.
I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. (Ridiculous, if one compares the number of raindrops to the number of flowers).
My cynical college room mate used to sing, “Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, I get pissed off!”
I am responsible for my choices, that the divine is real and that none of Man’s religions are 100% correct. Hubris is Man’s greatest failing. The founding father’s and the US constitution are the best attempt at government yet in progress. There is no such thing as a positive right, in that the universe will not give a shit. If you cannot conceive of being wrong you are either young or an asshole. Violence most certainly can settle some issues.
I believe in God the Father and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. I believe that the pure and everlasting Gospel and the Holy Priesthood have been restored in these latter days through the founding of Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints.
I believe in freedom of conscience, and that differences of theology need not get in the way of similarities in social values. I believe we are not qualified to judge people’s souls, only their actions, and even then we are capable of error. This goes doubly to people of the past. I believe people can disagree without being disagreeable.
I believe that mankind has the right to life, liberty, and property, and such rights are not to be taken without due process of some manner. I believe the best way to preserve these rights is through representative democracy where leaders and enforcers are as bound by law as civilians.
I believe that if a representative democracy fails, totalitarianism is not a suitable alternative, though some may find it easier.
I believe laws in general should be followed for the sake of a smoothly running society and public safety. Laws that threaten the aforementioned rights, or that one deems counterproductive to a smoothly running society should be changed through due process. If one finds such process inadequate, and wishes to engage in civil disobedience, one must accept the consequences of such action. Armed revolution is only permissible when there is no other viable way to preserve one’s rights from government abuse, and such revolution should lead to the installment of a government that respects individual rights, or it is pointless.
I believe that physical violence and armed conflict, be it among individuals or nations, should be a last resort. But when used, the goal should be ending the conflict as quickly as possible, and no grudge should be held when you win.
I believe what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; the same rules, be they legal or social, should apply to everyone.
I believe responsibility to the less fortunate falls to individuals and the community. Government bureaucracy is not the community.
I believe that life is about finding balance. A life lived solely for the sake of personal pleasure is empty at best, self-destructive at worst. A life lived solely to please others misses out on personal joys and relies on a faulty compass. I believe one’s obligations should be God, country, family, neighbors (in the broadest sense), and self. The last must not be neglected, otherwise one is less able to attend to the others.
Glad to read your favorable description of President Trump. Despite his flaws and sins and peccadilloes, his bombast and annoying ego, I will be casting my vote for him not as the lesser of two evils, but because he has greatness him him. He is a True Believer … like me.
I believe people can learn to do better.
I believe that people deserve to deserve better.
I believe everyone needs (good) therapy.
I believe it’s important to question all assumptions and authority, human or otherwise, and to earnestly seek good answers and never accept unsatisfactory answers (except in emergencies).
I believe that applied existentialism is the key to wisdom. Wisdom is as wisdom does.
I believe that people are made of motivations, mindsets, memories, and emotional patterns, all calibrated based on their experiences, and that all of those evolve over time. There are probably some other things as well that I’m just not thinking of at the moment. (I believe that eventually we’ll figure out the nature of qualia, the unquantifiable sensations of subjective consciousness like colors and flavors.)
I believe that “human” and “person” are not synonymous, that between those two concepts “person” is the one with ethical significance, and that people should take care to avoid false negatives when evaluating the ethical obligation to treat an entity as a person.
I believe that all consistent universes exist, and that personal identity is fuzzy rather than discrete, so that subjective consciousness may be fragmented and remixed but never actually ends.
I believe that “free will” simply means we don’t always know what we’re going to do in the future; part of choice is discovering what we want most when the option comes up. I believe that the commitments we make and the wisdom we accumulate become part of our identity, our predictable motivations, so that there need not be a “consistent” universe where we suddenly make a terrible decision that would betray our identity.
I believe that “fate” is just a word people use when they want to convince themselves or others that there are or were no other options.
I believe that we can learn to cure injury, disease, aging, and death, transcend the limitations of fixed physical form, and turn our world into a place of education and vitality, so that any consciousness that ends up here can heal from psychological scars, develop strength of character, and freely choose who they want to be and what roles they want to play.
I believe that the constructive principles of investment, preparation, challenge, and ethics are what will allow people to unlock their individual and collective potential to create upward spirals and build a world we can all be proud of.
I believe that at its core, ethics is about building trust, and all ethics principles follow from that.
I believe that we can implement the constructive principles effectively by developing our attributes in the basic mindsets of analysis, synthesis, organization, operation, tactics, strategy, semantics, empathy, and observation, and all the mindsets that come of combining these building blocks.
I believe that when we proactively support each other materially, mentally, and emotionally, the vast majority of people will feel confident in developing their capabilities and making the effort to contribute to the world’s prosperity, safety, vitality, and harmony.
Thanks. I was particularly curious about what you would have on your list…
I believe in freedom. I believe in the golden rule. I believe that it is wrong to annoy other people for no good reason, that shoving your beliefs down other people’s throat is wrong, and that arbitrarily changing user interfaces without making them actually more useful to the user is an abomination. I believe that if amazon “updates” its user interface one more time I will start buying DVDs again.
I believe in freedom of speech. I believe that there is an objective version of reality and that second order consequences exist and are important to consider before imposing orders upon large groups of people by force. I believe magical thinking is a despicable method of excusing the consequences of selfish behavior on other people.
I believe in self responsibility and accountability. I believe in working hard and accepting the consequences of your own actions. I believe in honesty. I believe in hard work. I believe that there is no such thing as free.
I believe in spoiling cute little puppy dogs, but not too much. I believe in happiness and sacrifice and being a good person. I believe in community and friendship and family. I believe that you should try to help others to the extent that you do not harm them via over application of kindness.
I believe that life is complicated, that there are few hard rules , and that exceptions prove the rule. I believe in good judgment and standards. I believe that no real change can occur quickly and without sacrifice.
I believe in operant conditioning and human nature. I believe in the variation of human psyche. I believe that it takes effort to make life work for the better and that people need goals and follow through to be happy.
I believe hard work and reasonable goals are the key to happiness.
I also believe that chaos theory is insufficient for controlling human nature.
I believe that I believe in everything on your list…
I wish I would have written something about our dog Bailey…I believe I miss that pup every single day!!
What a great topic to write! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the responses. Here are some of mine…
I believe all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I believe the fundamental right to life extends to the unborn and that abortion should be illegal. By extension, I believe that Margaret Sanger is possibly the most profoundly evil person in human history.
I believe in the death penalty, not as a deterrent to criminal activity, but as a natural, necessary consequence for certain crimes.
I believe that when the full truth is known, anthropogenic climate change will be shown to be the biggest scam in the history of scientific research.
I believe in the U.S. Constitution as it was written and the Bill of Rights as it was written.
I believe that speech is NOT violence and that violence is NOT speech.
I believe the American flag, despite the First Amendment, should not be desecrated.
I believe there is one national anthem for all Americans: The Star-Spangled Banner.
I believe there is one Independence Day for all Americans: July 4th.
I believe that before a perfectly good God – the one revealed in the Bible – I stand completely undone in my own wickedness and evil. What is more, I believe all scripture in that Bible points me to one gigantic, horrific problem: if God is truly good, then I cannot be pardoned. God’s wrath and hatred towards my evil – and everyone’s evil – must be appeased and the demands of His justice must be satisfied in order for me to have standing before Him. That could only be accomplished by God himself becoming a man, living a perfect life, and dying under the punishment of His own wrath and justice. I could not appease God’s wrath, so God appeased His own wrath and satisfied the demands of his own justice on my behalf. I don’t believe I could ever love a God like that as much as He deserves, but I will go to my grave trying.
I believe that true Christianity – despite its adherents, 100% of which are flawed – has been and continues to be a tremendous force for good in man’s history.
I believe my hope for the future does not rest in what party is in power or what laws are passed, though those things matter.
I believe there is one race: the human race. It is beautifully multi-colored and varied due strictly to genetic dominance and recession.
I believe our tri-branched representative Republic is the most balanced and well-conceived form of government ever devised by men.
I believe the Democratic Party, in its push for ultimate, permanent power, has abandoned nearly all democratic and ethical principles.
I believe Ethics Alarms – including its host and its responders – has been the most important influence in my advancement as an ethical human.
I believe that if you think the world is currently messed up and evil, well, you have been given just a small taste of the evil that’s coming.
Wow. These are terrific. I can’t add to what is here, aside from the simple, immutable, incontrovertible belief that Rush is, in fact, my favorite rock band and they greatest band in the history of Western Civilization.
Here, here to the Oxford Comma!
jvb
Nice! I wanted to say something about the Straits (both George and Dire) because they’re favorites of mine, but then forgot. It took a while to type all that up and while my memory is good, it isn’t very long.
I believe spirituality is my relationship with my GOD. Religion is someone else’s concept of what my relationship should be with their God.
I believe in a supreme being who at best points us in a direction to take and our challenge is to hear and recognize the message.
I believe the supreme being plays no active role in the affairs of mankind.
I believe there are two motivating forces in the world greed and lethargy.
I believe that, baring physical or mental infirmaries or limitations, everyone can achieve anything provided they are willing to pay the price.
I believe society should help those who can’t help themselves. However, everyone has an opportunity to get an education and become a productive member of society, if because of personal choices you are unable to do so, it is not society’s responsibility to take care of you in perpetuity.
I believe there are more good people in this world than bad people, but that pure evil does exist.
I believe you can’t legislate morality.
I believe each of us should be able to live our lives as we choose provided our actions or inactions do not cause others physical harm, property loss, or significant emotional trauma. Raping, pillaging, etc. are out but if you are offended by other’s actions or views get over it.
I believe in using carrots and sticks to motivate people, but you don’t use sticks until you run out of carrots.
I believe the US Constitution and capitalism are flawed systems but are superior to all other economic and governmental systems.
I believe the quest for utopia is a fool’s errand pursued by simpletons and promised by charlatans.
I believe from the moment you are conceived the world is trying to destroy you. Illness, injury, our life choices, nature, and other humans can all end our lives too soon. And no one can survive very long without help. Surround yourself with people who can help you and whom you can help in the journey of life.
I believe life is too short not to be happy however happiness occurs when I count my blessings and discount my misfortunes.
I believe we can’t change the past or know the future. Obsessing about either is worthless and unhealthy.
I believe life is not fair. Deal with it.
I believe our fear of dying should not prevent us from living. You only go around once. Live it with style and panache. When it’s your time it’s your time.
I believe that if the world is better off for you having been in it that is the best that we can hope for.
And when a cat was asked this very question by Almighty God, the cat replied:
“I believe you’re sitting in my chair.”
–Dwayne
But on a more serious note, I believe . . .
* …in truth and honesty, and despise deception–with the understanding that there is such a thing (rarely) as an Ethical Lie.
* …that an Ethical Lie is one that, generally, is told specifically for the benefit of someone other than the liar.
* …that war is a terrible, awful thing that should be avoided whenever possible, but also that war is not the MOST terrible, awful thing there is.
* …that Civilization (not just Western) and the Code of Laws is the most important development that humankind ever created.
* …that Freedom is the key to unlocking human potential, for the simple reason that NO ONE–past, present, or future–understands what you want and need to live a happy fulfilled life better than you yourself do.
* …that Freedom of Speech is the most important right we have, and that to protect it we must protect ALL forms of it, including–and especially–speech that we personally find abhorrent.
* …that the line where it is acceptable to restrict someone’s freedom is in the difference between speech and actions. Speech does not and never will affect others in any tangible way, but actions obviously can and do.
* …that living a life based on the tenets of Christianity is a path to a happy and fulfilled life, and that no one’s life was ever ruined by doing so.
* …that everyone should spend some time learning about and thinking about Ethics, for largely the same reason.
and . . .
* …that Jack Marshall has been an incredibly positive influence in my life, and that I owe him far more than I could ever repay because of it–and that I don’t say it enough.
Thank you, sincerely.
–Dwayne
I believe that all of us living today should try to be decent to each other. We only have one life. A bit of decency would make that life a bit easier and more pleasant.
I believe that a lot of people will not be decent to each other, and that they should be avoided as best as possible.
I believe that the vocal minority trying to steer America to ruin are temporary and that we’ll get through this crisis like we have with every other crisis in our history.
I believe that the internet can be a net good if we can learn to use it a bit more effectively. Many won’t, but more people are learning.
I believe that we’re the only civilization in our galaxy.
I believe that humanity will reach the stars and conquer the galaxy before even our Sun has grown too large to support life on Earth.
I believe we’ll eventually all but eliminate natural death.