Philosophy, Principles, & Values

independencehall11 Philosophy, Principles, & Values“If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author, and its finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time, or die by suicide!” -Abraham Lincoln

Free governments are instituted by God for the protection and happiness of mankind. Life, liberty, and the right to own and control property are so connected to our happiness that we need the protection that a proper form of government provides.

With a few exceptions, the original American Constitution instituted those timeless principles and secured those rights upon which any free society is based.

We the People have the responsibility to uphold and secure our liberties through the safekeeping of proper forms of government. However, good forms of government only function when they are instituted by and govern a moral and virtuous people.

As James Madison once wrote,

“We have not staked the future of our society upon the power of government — far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

If we are to remain free and preserve our rights and privileges for our posterity, we must remain trustworthy to safeguard a proper government and a free society.

statueofliberty1-300x199 Philosophy, Principles, & ValuesConstitutional government is nothing but words on paper unless its principles are alive in the souls of the people; people get the government that they deserve.

When a free people fails to internalize and exhibit public and private virtue, no government on earth can keep them from destroying themselves.

On the other hand, people who cultivate and maintain virtue and value their principles above their privileges enjoy unlimited prosperity, peace, and happiness.

It is our moral obligation, our sacred duty, to keep the flames of liberty burning perpetually for ourselves, our posterity, and the world.

Core Values

freeman1-300x200 Philosophy, Principles, & ValuesPersonal Liberty

The Constitution of the United States did not guarantee freedom and happiness; it merely protected the right of individuals to pursue those ideals.

Political and economic freedom are impotent — and soon cease to exist — if the individuals whom they protect are not spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially free.

Man must constantly strive to overcome fear, pride, apathy and complacency, jealousy, destructive appetites, and scarcity and embrace faith, humility, diligence, love, courage, temperance, and abundance.

Virtue

Personal liberty is achieved through virtue. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”

Virtue is based on Natural Law, or what George Washington called “the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.” Individuals and nations are only as free as they are virtuous.

Personal Responsibility

Rights are inseparable from responsibilities. As Viktor Frankl wrote, “Freedom threatens to degenerate into arbitrariness unless it is balanced by responsibleness.”

Man is responsible for his own acts, his well-being, fulfilling the terms of any contract he enters into, and any children he has brought into the world. Man also has a responsibility to the society which has provided a framework within which he can use his faculties for his own ends and for the fulfillment of his obligations (see The American Tradition by Clarence B. Carson).

Freemen seek to contribute to the society more than they take.

Happiness and prosperity are choices, not accidents or the products of exploitation. Mankind has both the ability and the responsibility to choose happiness, virtue, and prosperity regardless of external circumstance.

Freemen are self-reliant and self-determining; they don’t rely upon other men, the government, or other institutions to provide for their needs and happiness.

3generations1-300x299 Philosophy, Principles, & ValuesStewardship

Stewardship means that we are responsible for our actions, and that we are held accountable for our choices.

Stewards understand that — in terms of material things — they came into this life with nothing, that they will leave with nothing, and everything they enjoy in between is a gift from God to be used wisely in the service of others.

Prosperity

The natural result of living in accordance with Natural Law is prosperity. Personal prosperity is defined as an individual having access to every resource — material and otherwise — that they need in order to fulfill their God-given mission.

As Buckminster Fuller said, “Everyone has the perfect gift to give the world — and if each of us is freed up to give the gift that is uniquely ours to give, the world will be in total harmony.”

An individual who lacks necessary resources is limited in their ability to make impact in the world, to do what they were born to do; prosperity is therefore an integral part of personal liberty.

Governmental Liberty

Government is the institutionalization of protection, and as such, its proper role is to protect the inalienable rights of each citizen equally; to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.

The People at large hold all legitimate authority to administer and change government; they also hold the responsibility to respect the rule of law.

The government cannot rightfully do anything that an individual cannot rightfully do; if it is wrong for an individual to forcefully take property from another, then it is equally wrong for the government to do the same (see The Law by Frederic Bastiat).

Free Enterprise

Free enterprise defined is a political and cultural system where an overwhelming majority of the population are owners of land, businesses, and capital; that an economy can regulate itself in a freely competitive market through the relationship of supply and demand, allowing enlightened self-interest to operate freely in the marketplace; that there is a minimum of governmental intervention and regulation; and that all men and business entitities are treated equally before the law.

This is contrary to socialism, which uses force to favor the poor over the rich, and capitalism, which uses the force of government to favor those with capital over those with little or none.

theascent1-211x300 Philosophy, Principles, & ValuesVoluntarism

The health of a society is equal to what individuals will do voluntarily without the force or assistance of the government; therefore, the Cause of Liberty places great emphasis on philanthropy.

Optimism

The power of the human spirit is indomitable. Mankind has shown incredible resilience, adaptability, and fortitude despite wars, calamities, and oppression.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “It is a part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate, to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance.”

Freemen are optimistic about the nature and future mankind, if for no other reason than that they have seen the effects of positive internal change in themselves.