Ought v. Naught: The Conclusion

Ought v. Naught

The Conclusion

I have now done most of what I set out to do with this project with two exception. Like any good plan, I have remained flexible enough to adapt it as I go. I originally set out to review our founding documents and to spend a moment thinking about the lessons from our creative content. The documents were fairly easy to define as The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, The Bill of Rights and the follow-on or other amendments, which so far number seventeen, but also consist of several proposed but as yet not adopted amendments. It also occurred to me that a review of the 85 Federalist Papers might be worthwhile. I accomplished all of that without addressing the Federalist Papers. What I learned about the Federalist Papers was that they were written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay specifically to help convince the New York State delegation to accept and ratify the U.S. Constitution, which was apparently not a slam-dunk for the independent and somewhat Tory-minded influencers of this well-entrenched new state/colony. They did cause some changed in the Constitution including the simultaneous adoption of the Bill of Rights. Since my project is somewhat oriented towards doing something every American can and should do, I have revised my thinking about the Federalist Papers. They are wonderful pieces of historic literature that are worthy of historical study and review, but they are hardly something most Americans would enjoy immersing themselves in since the 85 constitute about 274 pages of rather terse prose by some amazingly erudite minds. I found that reading the other founding documents was incredibly easy and concise and thus ended up concluding that they were sufficient for the purposes of this exercise and that I could leave the Federalist Papers (as well as the judicial record that has further molded the interpretation of our Constitution) to the history buffs and scholars.

The creative content exercise was a bit different than the founding documents review. The starting point was the thought that the soul or our nation might best be found in its films. That is a bit presumptuous and probably reflects the bias my pal Tom and I share from our days of going to high school in Rome, where the the popular form of entertainment for us (and the biggest slice of American available to us) was at the Pasquino Theater in Trastevere where nightly showing of the most obscure American films could be watched for a mere 500 Lire (80 cents at the time). For Tom and me, that American cultural beacon of film was all-important and we became accustomed to the two-hour narrative ark format more than any other. I certainly read a lot in those days and we all listened to lots of mostly rock music as it was evolving in the lat 60s and early 70s. There was plenty of American messaging coming through those mediums, but let’s face it, literature and music have always been more universal and less American specifically, and sorting out its influences on our governmental thinking proved to be more challenging for me. I went through the exercise with songs that might drive patriotic thinking, but I couldn’t get there on books and literature since the greatest of those simply are not oriented towards the American ideals even though there are certainly some that do just that. After completing the Ought v. Naught process on films and songs, I chose to not pursue it for books with the full awareness that my biases for creative content form were already making my proposed exercise less than compelling for all American taken as a group. Who is to say I shouldn’t have included poetry or television shows and series or even jingles for that matter. And what of painting and sculpture? Artistic content and forms of expression are wide-ranging and it is simply too presumptuous of us to narrow the focus of review. Instead, I propose to suggest to anyone wanting to engage in their own Ought v. Naught thought process to consider the artistic expression forms that most appeal to them and explore them for deeper patriotic meaning that speaks to the aspirational elements of collective governance.

So, I am back where I began, thinking that a review of founding documents is at the heart of the exercise and are surely worth review by every American for them to create their own personal delineation of what America ought to represent and stand for. Saying those words “stand for” reinforces my thinking because I believe that it is essential for us all to stand for something in life. Our deeds need to be rooted in things we stand for. I learned in teaching ethics that trying to leave out the subjectivity of what we stand for when making ethical determinations simply doesn’t work. All ethicists agree that ethics and morality are rooted in our conscience and our normative fabric. To be ethical beings, we must stand for something and we must understand what it is we stand for (I suppose that qualifies as one big tautology). In the study of logic, a tautology is a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form. That must mean that I believe we ought to understand what we believe in and or stand for. Now that I’ve completely circled this thought several times, I feel that the best way to get to those views is to summarize and organize the oughts that I have developed in my Ought v. Naught process.

1. MAJORITY RULE – Our democracy is the shining light of the modern world. It has its roots in the idea that we ought to be governed based on the just consent of the governed which ought to be based on majority rule.

a. We ought to expect that no one, including the government itself, will be able to abolish and rights or laws already established other than via super-majority referendum, and yet we ought to also expect to be heard in the grievances with their government.

b. We ought to rely on one another to pledge their loyalty to one another in following these governing principles.

c. We ought to expect that we are electing an executive team and able to vote directly for all their Congressional representatives.

d. We ought to expect continuity of government that is consistent and properly managed and that democracy requires a balance between continuity and renewal to keep autocracy at bay.

e. We ought to expect that ALL citizens have the right to have their votes duly counted. even those with limited resources.

f. We ought to expect that there be a clear and prudent process for amending the Constitution and that there will be no undue partisan political influence in the ratification of amendments by the states. These amendments ought to fairly represent the will of the majority of the people.

g. The intersection of wealth and politics ought to be closely monitored and tightly regulated.

2. GOVERNANCE – How we agree to be governed is an important indicator of the sustainability of our democracy. The balancing act between federalism and community governance is central to purpose.

a. We ought to be governed on many fronts by our communities (defined as our states), but we should understand that our state ought to both owe allegiance to the country and fellow states and follow federal laws.

b. We ought to expect a country where the federalist imperative takes a primary driving role in governance. Politics is a process of compromise, but fundamental freedoms and ideals like federalism ought not be lost.

c. We ought to expect that our states will act in the best interest of the country as a whole, including all other states and that they will operate as a republic under the consent of the governed as determined by the majority.

d. We ought to expect a country run by our elected representatives in the form of the chief executive, who must honor the Constitution and serve the needs and wishes of the citizenry ahead of all else. We ought to expect that Congress will be the governing lawmaker of the country. We ought to be empowered to elect those who make their laws.

e. We ought to expect that there be a clear means to maintain executive continuity under any circumstances and that there are reasonable procedures to insure that the Executive be able bodied and of sound mind.

f. We ought to expect that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are either reserved for the states or, by referendum, to the people.

3. COMMON GOOD – General Welfare is Eighteenth Century speak for the common good and citizens ought to expect that their government will promote what’s best for the health, peace, and safety of its citizens.

a. We ought to accept that the common good is a constantly changing reality and that personal freedom will always be in conflict with it and thus ought to be judgmentally balanced with it. The greater good always ought to prevail over our personal desires.

b. We ought to understand that majority rule might lead to temporal and social restrictions based on societal mores and that mores change such that majority rule must govern, and that rules or laws that no longer reflect those mores can change.

c. We ought to recognize that the repeal of the 18th Amendment is the best example that the Constitution is intended to be a living document.

d. We ought to expect that the mores of the majority can and should determine the age of majority with regard to voting, and that such age should be reasonable and consistent with other duties afforded or imposed upon people of that age.

e. We all owe something to our neighbors in America and our obligations to community ought to supersede all else, and yet we ought to recognize that there are limits to what any of us ought to be required to sacrifice for the greater good and the rest of us ought to be ready to take up the slack.

f. Collectivism may be the best economic model and neither the zero-sum game nor the winner-take-all economy ought to be assumed as a necessary path for success. We ought to do all we can to eradicate poverty in order to keep our society from going over to the dark side.

g. So we ought to be both free and thankful to our country and ought to ask ourselves what we can do for our country and not the opposite.

4. STEWARDSHIP – People ought to expect their government to protect the natural resources of the nation to prevent plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts, burning our lands and towns, abusing all other natural resources and future rights, tangible or intangible, and thereby destroying the lives and livelihood of our people and their descendants.

5. DEFENSE – Common Defense is a central reason for government in that people ought to expect that their government will protect them from external threats.

a. The smell of napalm in the morning ought to sicken us all. We all ought to “walk point” against war and inhumanity.

b. Strength with honor ought to be all of our guiding light. The Republic ought to prevail above autocracy even despite the false prophet adored momentarily by the mob.

c. We all ought to work hard against the oppression of autocracy. We ought to turn that around and suggest that we need to export the goodness of our wonderful and free land and not work to better ourselves at the expense of others.

d. We ought to stand strong against evil and actively work against it, and understand that to to otherwise is to invite evil onto our shores.

e. No war, conflict or technology ought to be more important than humanity.

6. RULE OF LAW – We ought to be allowed to protect themselves from enemies from outside and within and ought to expect a country based on the rule of law.

a. We ought to be allowed to be ruled under laws of our making.

b. We ought to be able to expect compliance by government to that rule of law and we ought to expect that our government will not incite domestic insurrections amongst us.

c. We ought to expect that the military is subject to our duly elected leaders but only to the extent that they comply with the Constitution. Domestic Tranquility means that we ought to be able to expect peace and harmony within the country.

d. We ought to expect a judiciary that operates in a manner to balance the other branches of government to create an equilibrium.

e. We ought to have a properly functioning and fairly balanced judiciary system that is not beholding to anyone appointing them or seeking to unduly influence them. We ought to expect the protection of the courts against any criminal activity, even if perpetrated by the government itself. We ought to expect the protection of the courts against any criminal or civil action taken against them us the government or other citizens. We ought to expect a judiciary that is unbiased and obliged to no internal or external influences and owes no political allegiances.

f. We ought to expect to be free of unreasonable search and seizure and only under duly executed warrants based on duly supported probable cause. We ought to expect to only be indicted criminally by a Grand Jury of our peers and ought to expect the absence of double jeopardy in criminal cases and due process under law. And as well we ought to be able to avoid bearing witness against ourselves.

g. We ought to expect the sanctity of private property unless just compensation is given.

h. We ought to be able to get a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of our peers and to confront any witnesses against us as well as expect the assistance of counsel regardless of our means.

i. We ought to be able to bring about civil actions under common law and have those adjudicated by a jury of our peers.

j. We ought to expect reasonable bail and no cruel and unusual punishment as well as to be free from unlawful or unduly harsh rates and manner of imprisonment.

k. And wherever people are unilaterally in control over other people, we ought to expect that the system is free of public corruption.

l. We ought to expect that no person is above the law and yet every person is equal before the law.

7. EFFICIENCY – People ought to be able to expect an efficient and minimalist governmental structure that does not burden them with costs that they have not legislated and approved by majority.

a. We ought to expect that we will not be taxed without our consent by majority rule. We ought to expect a country where taxation would be used by the federal government for the general welfare of the citizenry as determined by our duly elected representatives. We ought to expect that we will be taxed on our income and that the process will be even-handed and not biased by state or population thereof.

b. We ought to expect a country where the federal government can fund its obligations with the full faith and credit of the union.

c. We ought to expect a country governed by a Constitution which reflects the updated sensibilities of the current electorate.

d. We ought to realize that the best of capitalism is brought forth by democratic principles.

8. EQUALITY – We all ought to be treated as equal. Equality ought to include ALL men and women (as they identify) regardless of race, creed, religion or national origin, and especially including indigenous peoples.

a. We ought to expect equality based on race and that slavery per se is non-existent in our nation. We ought to expect that racial equality extends to the fullest extent of citizenship. We ought to expect that racial equality and citizenship include the right to vote and that each person deserves an equal vote. We ought to expect that all people, regardless of gender, are created equal and have the full rights of citizenship including the vote.

b. We ought to be who the Constitution serves…all of the people.

c. We ought to expect a country where there is no religious bias.

d. We ought to be allowed to expect an inflow of new citizens through an agreed and embracing process of immigration and naturalization. We ought to promote both an open borders immigration policy AND a program to create both educational and vocational opportunities to more assuredly integrate these communities. There is room for everyone. Justice ought to be the idea that people (citizens and non-citizens alike) are treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law.

e. Indigenous people ought to be given rights like everyone else and they ought to be allowed to control their own destiny.

f. Our society ought to settle equality on the least common denominator among us.

9. OUR RIGHTS – We ought to be entitled to natural rights, among them to be free. People ought to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

a. Liberty for ourselves means that we are free of restraint or control by others and ought to have access to political, social and economic rights and privileges.

b. We ought to expect to be free in the exercise of the religion of our choice and that there be complete separation of “church and state”.

c. We ought to be able to speak freely.

d. We ought to expect a free and unfettered press.

e. We ought to be able to assemble freely.

f. We ought to be able to petition the government for grievances freely.

g. We ought to be able to keep and bear arms, but only non-hunting arms for purposes of the security of the state and as part of a well-regulated militia.

h. Marriage ought to be a fundamental right that cannot be overruled either federally or by any state. No one ought to be told who they can or cannot love.

i. We ought to make education and opportunity available to all regardless of means. We all want to seek the American Dream as we choose to define it and we ought to be free to do so.

j. We ought to expect that there are unenumerated rights to which we are entitled as changes in the times and environment dictate.

10. STAY POSITIVE – We ought to be positive and not negative in our outlook. This is the essence of Ought v. Naught. Proving a negative is simply too hard since it requires the absolutism of impossibility. The hope of possibility is simply a far stronger argument that embraces life rather than dooming it to the void. What we seem to miss too often and ought to better understand that it is the journey and not the destination of America that makes it so wonderful.

a. Assume the best, not the worst of people and circumstances.

b. Think about the long-term because in its absence we return to the void.

c. Liberty for our posterity means we ought to expect that it is a sustainable and assured right and privilege for our descendants.

d. We ought to keep the faith that goodness will prevail over inhumanity.

e. We ought to turn our face forward rather than trying to reclaim past glories.

f. We ought to keep the faith, thinking about the long term.

g. Nature can and will solve all problems, even ones created by man, but man ought to guide those solutions to his own benefit.

This now feels complete to me. I’m sure it is not 100% comprehensive and that there are more things that we ought to expect of our government. But I feel confident that with only a few exclusions for what I consider to be anachronisms, this list of oughts fully reflects the aspirations of our founding fathers and in so doing and as amended by my creative content reviews, they feel like they fully reflect my aspirations for America. The organization of these oughts is of my own fabrication and prioritizes our American ideals I see them.