The Law of Cause and Effect: Part I

The following is the second installment of the paper on Personal Freedom.

The concept of choice introduces us to the Law of Cause and Effect. This is a universal law that, like gravity, is always in effect whether or not you know about it or even believe it. It has been called by many names as it has been discovered and rediscovered over the centuries. It is known as the Law of Reciprocity. Ancient script calls it the Law of Harvest or the Law of Reaping and Sowing. Newton’s third law of physics is the Law of Action-Reaction, and Emerson called it the Law of Compensation.

This law requires that for every effect or result there is a cause; or as more commonly stated, you reap what you sow. Its meaning is both a word of condemnation and a word of hope. It means that you are who you are, you have what you have, you do what you do, you know what you know, and you lack what you lack because of the choices you have made. Now the tendency here for some may be to argue that they are experiencing the effects of what others have caused. This idea may be true, but refers to situational effects.

Situational Effects implies another very important principle which is, we do make choices but we cannot choose the consequences. In an extreme example, one can choose whether or not to pull the trigger. Once that choice is made, the consequences will unfold naturally and beyond anyone’s control. The consequences of that choice may be that a life ends, a person goes to prison, lives are disrupted, and the ripple effects of that choice reverberate across space and time. It is rightly said that no man is an island. Every person touched by that choice is experiencing a situational effect—they have been placed in a situation not of their choosing. (Excluding those who chose to associate with a disreputable individual or other ethereal, distant choices.) But for purposes of this discussion, we will say that Victor Frankl was in a concentration camp for reasons not of his choosing. And that the heart-break of losing his wife to an executioner was also an experience not of his choosing.

The fact is that all of us, every one with no exception, are experiencing situational effects in every moment of every day. It is a mistake to think that because we did not create the situation, we are not responsible for how we respond to it.

For the continuation, see Part II: Responsibility

Legacy of G.W. Bush

In these waning days of the Bush Presidency it seems appropriate to render unto Cesar that which is Cesar's. Following is partial list that represents the Bush Presidency. It will be interesting to compare this list in coming years to that of the Obama administration.

So what did President Bush do for which he deserves any credit? Here’s a short list:

• Banned partial-birth abortion
• Reinstated parental-consent clause in the Medical Privacy Act
• Upheld ban on abortions at military hospitals
• Proposed, worked for, and signed into law two income-tax cuts
• Worked to eliminate the Death Tax
• Worked to privatize Social Security
• Eliminated OSHA’s ‘ergonomic’ rules for home businesses
• Reduced H1B visas from 195,000 a year to 66,000
• Killed attempts to revive Kyoto Global Warming Treaty
• Revised Forestry Management Act to allow cleanup to prevent fires, removed need for Environmental Impact Statement before removing dangerous brush and fallen tress from fire-risk areas
• Removed Saddam Hussein from Iraq
• Eliminated Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan
• Eliminated Al Qaeda operational existence outside North African continent
• Disarmed Libya of its WMDs
• Improved US military review ability, emphasis on asymmetrical warfare
• Best friend to Israel since 1948
• Prohibited putting US forces under UN command
• Brought back EP-3 plane and crew from China without conflict
• Ended participation in International Criminal Court
• Faced down the UN, saying “America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country."
• Worked to reform Medicare
• Worked to address border security, created largest budget and roster for enforcement, internal fugitive capture, and employer penalty system in history
• Constructed ABM silos in Alaska, Montana, and Maine
• Operation Tarmac
• Denied ABA role in vetting federal judge/justice nominations

This list is courtesy Stolen Thunder: A Better Man Than His Detractors

Who was Hayim Solomon

On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States.

The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.

If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.

Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.

Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson suggested "Annuit Coeptis" when he put together the final design of the Great Seal in June 1782.

Thomson did not provide an exact translation of the motto, but he explained its symbolism: The Eye and the motto Annuit Coeptis "allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause."

It translates to "Providence favors our undertakings"

The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.' At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI)

"In God We Trust" is emblazoned on the currency.





If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery , and is the centerpiece of most hero's mouments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.

The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read, ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning,'one from many.'

Above the Eagle, you have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one.

Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.

They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this:
13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence,
13 stripes on our flag,
13 steps on the Pyramid,
13 letters in, 'Annuit Coeptis,'
13 letters in 'E Pluribus Unum,'
13 stars above the Eagle,
13 bars on that shield,
13 leaves on the olive branch,
13 fruits,and if you look closely,
13 Arrows.

And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper.

I often ask people, 'Why don't you know this?' Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many veterans never came home at all. Let us always remember their sacrifice.

Let us understand that the Founding Fathers never intended to remove God from the State. Their primary concern was to remove the State from the Church. The founding Fathers understood what we in our arrogance seem to be forgetting--this nation cannot stand but for the grace of God.

Attributed to an unknown source.

Tolerance

"Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself."

Robert Green Ingersoll
1833-1899, Orator and Political Speech maker

Tolerance is not to be confused with approval or condoning.

A New Civil Religion

The following is an excerpt from "A New Civil Religion" delivered in 1992 by James Faust, formerly of President John F. Kennedy's Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights.

"There seems to be developing a new civil religion. The civil religion I refer to is a secular religion. It has no moral absolutes. It is nondenominational. It is nontheistic. It is politically focused. It is antagonistic to religion. It rejects the historic religious traditions of America. It feels strange. If this trend continues, nonbelief will be more honored than belief. While all beliefs must be protected, are atheism, agnosticism, cynicism, and moral relativism to be more safeguarded and valued than Christianity, Judaism, and the tenets of Islam, which hold that there is a Supreme Being and that mortals are accountable to him? If so, this would, in my opinion, place America in great moral jeopardy.

For those who believe in God, this new civil religion fosters some of the same concerns as the state religions that prompted our forefathers to escape to the New World. Nonbelief is becoming more sponsored in the body politic than belief. History teaches well the lesson that there must be a unity in some moral absolutes in all societies for them to endure and progress. Indeed, without a national morality they disintegrate. In Proverbs, we are reminded that “righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34.) The long history and tradition of America, which had its roots in petitions for divine guidance, is being challenged.

The new civil religion is different from that envisioned by Benjamin Franklin, who seems to have first used the term “civil religion.” (M. Marty, Pilgrims in Their Own Land, 1984, pp. 155–66.) Franklin’s “civil religion,” as I understand it, was envisioned to replace the state religions of Europe, with their forced taxation and oppression. Franklin no doubt envisioned that this vacuum would be filled with a patriotism reflected by national symbolism, pride, ethics, values, and purpose. His eloquent statement concerning divine intervention in the Constitutional Convention clearly indicated he was not opposed to religiosity.

The new civil religion isn’t really a religion as you and I would use that term to describe a faith or a church or a synagogue of people that worship Almighty God and espouse a code of moral conduct. This new civil religion teaches a sectarian philosophy that is hostile to traditional religion. It has its own orthodoxy. It could even end up in an ironic violation of the U.S. Constitution that says that there shall be no religious basis for office. (Article IV, U.S. Constitution.) Will irreligion become a test for office?"

What are your thoughts?

Faust graduated from the University of Utah in 1948 with a B.A. and Jurist Doctor. In 1962, he was elected president of the Utah Bar Association, in which office he served for one year. The same association awarded him its Distinguished Lawyer Emeritus Award in 1996. During the 1960s, Faust was named to the Utah Legislative Study Committee and later to the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission. Faust served in the House of Representatives for the 28th Utah State Legislature (1949) as a Democrat for Utah's eighth district. Faust also served as chairperson of the Utah State Democratic Party and helped manage a campaign for Senator Frank Moss. In 1996, he was awarded with the Minuteman Award by the Utah National Guard.

Faust was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights. He was also an adviser to the American Bar Journal.