Tag Archives: #american

The Book is Published

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The book I have promised is finally published.  I apologize for the time this has taken.  I needed to get it right.  It is “Liberty and the American Idea: Rebuilding the Foundations” by Tom Harriman.  It is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.

Amazon is providing an unusually generous preview or “sample,” which includes the entire preface, introduction, and first chapter.

Regular readers of this blog will find the book familiar, yet detailed, thorough, and coherent.  I begin the introduction with the following words:

“Is there an ‘American idea,’ a shared understanding of the character and meaning embodied in American history? Would you like to think there is, or could be?

“What would you like to see accepted or discarded among the values, qualities, or attributes that contribute to our national character?

“While I am an American addressing Americans with this question, it is not my place to assert an answer.  Rather, I offer a brief review of ideas and influences that have made the United States what it is, followed by an invitation: A practical long-term strategy to make authentic dialogue actually possible among concerned citizens.”

The introduction goes on to explain the structure of the book.  Readers will find the proposed strategy supported by careful explanations and detailed guidance.  Dangers and stumbling-blocks are discussed frankly. 

This is a book about responsible citizenship and constructive action.

The preface to the book might also interest you.  Contributed by a distinguished historian and Professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it harkens back to the foundations of the American Republic:

“’These are times that try men’s souls,’ Thomas Paine declared in ‘The American Crisis,’ urging patriots to rally during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War in 1776. In ‘Liberty and the American Idea’ Tom Harriman issues a similar call to action, urging Americans to work together to confront the deep challenges facing the nation today.

“Harriman’s book offers a two-part approach. First, he provides an unflinching diagnosis of the historical, social, and economic forces that have brought us to this critical juncture.  

“He [surveys] the erosion of civil society effected by ideological partisanship, ethical incoherence, rampant materialism, environmental pressures, and media disinformation that divides the nation and weakens its capacity to solve common problems effectively….

“However, unlike many appraisals of our ills, this book is also dedicated to providing constructive solutions and strategies for how to rebuild a functioning community life. It is a sincere plea to all citizens of goodwill to take pragmatic steps to restore a shattered social trust.”

I look forward to hearing from readers of the blog as we engage constructively in building an American future we can trust and believe in.

Tom

Regular readers can watch for the next post on or about December 1.

I expect to build a new website to better facilitate continuing dialogue.  I want to hear from you.  The URL will remain unchanged: http://www.freedomstruth.net.

Safety in a Fractured World

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Americans have been living in the wilderness of corporate-dominated mass society for more than half a century.  We are accustomed to it.  But do we understand that things have not always been this way?

We accept our isolation in the emptiness of mass society because we know of nothing else.  Without authentic community, many of us do not even know our neighbors.

Do we really want to accept the insecurity and poverty of opportunity this imposes on us?  What does it mean to be without a home in genuine community?

Communities have served as the foundations of civilization for thousands of years.  Grounded in a place and anchored by dependable relationships, they have provided the basis for security and well-being. 

What happened?

There are some things we know deep in our hearts.  I think it is time to step back from disorder and degradation and to think carefully about what we truly know.

There is no greater security to be found than in real concern for each other’s well-being.  Safety is earned with commitment among neighbors.  There can be no freedom, no stability, without personal respect and responsibility.

Yes, we have a great many differences.  Our physical bodies and social circumstances are various.  Personal experience and perspective are always unique. 

But every person—our heart and soul, our self, our inner being—is absolutely the same.  We have been made this way.

Knowing this, understanding this, is the ticket to safety.

With our knowledge and experience, our skills and viewpoint, our readiness for responsibility, everyone can contribute to authentic community.

As our world comes apart, we will need one another.

And there is a silver lining waiting to be discovered:  What could be more rewarding than to find acceptance and welcome in a society as richly diverse as ours?

This discovery has a challenge, though: Someone needs to take the first step.  No one can respond until they are touched.

Neighbors need neighbors to actually be neighbors!

Listen, my friends: We must be confident in our own courage, knowing in our hearts that we will be ok when we step into responsibility.  Generosity of spirit is its own protection.

Many young people already know this—that their true purpose is not only realized in bettering themselves, but also in contributing to the life of society.

How long will it take us older folks to realize this is equally true for all of us?

No one is asking us to change our values or views.  This is not necessary.  We are who we are.  We simply need to wake up.  Taking initiative is empowering.

Problem-solving only becomes possible when we are ready to listen, to understand, to engage constructively.  Communities where differences can be set aside are communities that seek to build a safer, more dependable world.  

We know we have to do this together.  We cannot stay isolated.  Without constructive purpose we will join a downward spiral into darkness and degradation.

Neighborhoods are not safe places for opinionated conflict.  Neighbors depend on a forgiving attitude, on respectful dialogue and genuine friendship.

We must be determined to build trust and create safety.  Only then can we reasonably turn our attention to solving the ills that plague the wider world.

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about November 1.

My new book, “Liberty and the American Idea,” has now been published and is available from Amazon and other booksellers.  Amazon is providing an unusually large sample, including the preface, introduction, and first chapter.   Search for “Tom Harriman.” 

The Two Faces of Freedom

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Americans are a freedom-loving people.  But we do not often think about what this means.  Freedom means different things to different people.  At this extraordinary moment in our nation’s history, it might be wise to consider what we understand it to mean.

Two distinct views of freedom have emerged during the past two centuries. 

One is simply the idea that we should be free to do or to be what we are able to do or to be without human interference.  The second is the idea of having full control over our own initiative and purpose as self-directed individuals.

These two concepts seem quite similar at first glance, but they differ substantially in their implications.

The first involves the absence of coercion—the wish simply to be left alone.  It asks that we be assured of a minimum area of personal freedom in such manner that our humanity is not denied or degraded.

Recognizing the potential for personal freedom to impact negatively on the freedom of others, this view seeks freedom for the many.  It asks only that we be guaranteed a reasonable measure of completely free space around ourselves.

Perhaps we would also agree that, at the very least, the liberty of religion, opinion, expression, and property need to be protected from arbitrary interference.

The second concept is quite different.  This view insists on unrestricted self-assertion and absolute control of one’s own life regardless of the consequences this imposes on others.

Deriving from the will to control one’s own life and destiny, the second concept has significant consequences for society.

Clearly those seeking such liberty perceive themselves as responsible persons possessed of good judgment and perhaps exceptional wisdom, who are able to make choices based solely on their own ideas and purposes.

However, given the natural human resistance to rational and moral limits, this attitude can easily disrupt the equilibrium in communities, or in society as a whole.

These two concepts of freedom have come into serious conflict with one another over the course of the last two centuries.

An insistence that we should be free to do as we wish cannot be exercised in isolation. It readily evolves into a belief that we may have the right to influence or control the lives of other people.

It is convenient to assume that we know best, and some people think they know the true interests of other people better than those people do themselves.

This view gained traction during the 19th century, hitching a ride with the powerful Enlightenment belief that all of reality must ultimately be harmonious, and that science and reason would give humankind knowledge of a single unified truth.

It followed, therefore, that fully rational thinkers would never disagree and that conflicting values or truths were ultimately impossible.

Consequently, a number of well-known thinkers became convinced that if reason and rationality demand that our values must coincide in a free and “just” society, they must be made to coincide by any means necessary.

The historian of ideas, Isaiah Berlin has written about this concern in his famous essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty.”  He reports that Enlightenment philosophers became convinced that the better educated members of society had a right and responsibility to create and maintain a “free” society.

They believed we should do for citizens what they would do for themselves if they possessed the rationality and competence to understand their own best interest.

Thus, political philosophy rationalized the idea that it can be valid to restrain people in their own interest.

In this extraordinary view, writes Isaiah Berlin, “freedom is not freedom to do what is irrational, or stupid, or wrong.  To force empirical selves into the right pattern is no tyranny, but liberation.”

“Liberty,” he continues, “so far from being incompatible with authority, becomes virtually identical with it.”

Needless to say, this problem raises substantial concerns about our understanding of justice, morality, and governance.

Can it ever be justified or appropriate to place pressure on citizens for being, in our view, “irrational?” 

It was not long before this idealistic absurdity led to the nightmares of totalitarian despotism and total war in the 20th century. 

Tom

Regular readers can look for the next post on or about October 1. My forthcoming book is “Liberty and the American Idea,” subtitled “Rebuilding the Foundations.”  It is now in the hands of my publisher and will be available at Amazon and other booksellers very soon.  Sample chapters can be found at the top of the homepage.

Foundations of Trust

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The deterioration of civility and social order in the United States has brought with it estrangement, disaffection, and distrust. This unhappy affliction has been growing for decades. First focused primarily on government, distrust has gradually come to involve almost anything perceived as related to government.

Very little is trusted now. In the eyes of many Americans, educators, scientists, medical doctors, news media, and even the Constitution itself have all fallen from grace. Distrust has permeated society, causing anxiety and confusion, undermining our sense of security, and troubling personal relationships.

This is not simply a symptom; it lies at the heart of our difficulties. Trust is essential to the integrity and well-being of a society. It depends on justice and truthfulness, not political opinion.

Without trust no family or community or nation can long subsist. Truthfulness and trustworthiness are necessary foundations for order—in every aspect of our lives.

The loss of this security has brought the future of our country into question. Has the degradation progressed beyond repair? What can be done to bring healing—a return to genuine order and personal safety?

Americans face a multi-layered challenge. While trust must be won, it is very easily lost. Building trust takes time and lived experience. Loss of trust can happen in a moment.

Distrust in government is complicated by history, politics, and personal disappointments. Perceptions come to us with experience, and sometimes from pain. The challenge before us is imposing.

To overcome such overwhelming disaffection and estrangement it will be necessary to re-establish trustworthiness as the foundation for the character and prosperity of American society.

Real trust comes to life most readily in active interpersonal relationships. Real trust depends on meaningful interpersonal dialogue.

Consequently, it will be in local communities where the healing of distrust can realistically begin, and where it is most needed. When we face hard times, we need dependable neighbors. This is where trustworthiness truly matters when the going gets tough.

Americans are not accustomed to addressing this need. As important as it is for our safety and well-being, few of us seem to have the vision and courage to build supportive relationships.

When we engage in genuine personal relationships, we gradually bring trust to life in ever-widening circles. Trustworthiness becomes real as we experience dependability. We want it because we need it. But there are no shortcuts.

Building a stable, prosperous society will take as long as intelligent and determined people need to make it so. An inquisitive interest in understanding, and a willingness to be the first to listen, makes many things possible. Restraining ourselves from fractious debate when it will not be helpful, takes responsibility and discipline.

With respectful listening, we can make clear that we have heard the feelings, recognized the pain, and tried to understand. And this can happen best while we are working together to address neighborhood improvements and shared needs.

The mystery of differences and diversity does not need to be threatening. The greatest tests on this rocky road are those that call for grace, constancy, and generosity of spirit.

No one is asking us to change our views and our values. Instead, we are called to seek dignity for others as well as ourselves.

This is indeed honorable. But we are also called to something even greater. The integrity manifested in dependability soon spreads to influence the character of the wider world.

Strangely enough, it is actually just one thing—trustworthiness—upon which the integrity of nations, cultures, and societies depend.

Nothing in business or politics will matter until we get this right. And it can only be made right by each of us, made real in ourselves.

Trustworthiness is the supreme instrument for the safety and prosperity of the world.

Tom.

Regular readers can watch for the next post on or about December 1.

The forthcoming book is being prepared for publication. The Introduction and an annotated Table of Contents can be found at the top of the homepage.

Will Tomorrow Be Like Yesterday?

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A multitude of interacting crises are converging on America and the planet in the 21st century—material, social, moral.  The extraordinary number and diversity of threats is unparalleled.  Something extraordinary is taking place.  Our experience of normalcy is evaporating.

It is natural to look for someone to blame, but this is not useful.  The most significant mistakes now plaguing us were made over the course of many decades.  And massive structural change is now impacting our lives, which is inevitable and no one’s fault.

Interrelated global dynamics—economic, political, agricultural—are all subject to a fragile fiat monetary system and supply chain, to the rapid and uncontrolled emergence of advanced technologies, and to the massive displacement of desperate populations.

This is structural change: Incoherent, ungovernable, disruptive.

Our most imposing challenges fall into two distinct categories, which will interact with devastating effect.  These two can be clearly distinguished, one from the other.  One is material in nature, while the other is social, mental, and ethical in its influence and consequences.  The second of these, while profoundly significant for us personally, also impacts our ability to respond effectively to everything else. 

When anxiety and stress are dominant, it becomes difficult to see clearly, to solve problems, to listen well and understand others.  Uneasiness and confusion prevail. Nothing is more subversive than distrust, nothing more destabilizing than dishonesty, nothing more destructive than fear.

Our current view of the future is disoriented and anxiety-provoking.   That a faltering social order and growing tensions have generated conflict and political divisiveness is not surprising.

Yet these extraordinary challenges present us with an equally extraordinary window of opportunity.  Yes, an opportunity.  Here lies both the problem and promise presently at hand. Never have Americans encountered a more powerful stimulus to rethink and re-negotiate a future we can accept and depend upon.

How, you ask, can such dialog be possible when no one is willing to listen or to talk rationally?

There is no quick fix.  There is, however, a practical response which will require courage and foresight, and can be initiated promptly.

We might resist personal effort or actual engagement with other people, but I don’t think we have a choice. The way forward will be determined by practical necessity.  Reality will impose itself.  The need for dependable neighbors is rapidly approaching.  And this is where authentic dialog begins.

Safety and security will soon require functional communities and neighbors we can depend on regardless of religion or politics or the color of our skin.

No political hero can do this for us.  We need to stand on our own feet.

And we can begin today—to gather those among our friends and neighbors who are ready to start thinking and planning together, assessing shared needs and acting constructively. You will need only a few to form a nucleus of dependability.  Others will be attracted gradually to the presence of sanity and civility.

Let me be clear:  We must do this in place, where we already are and with the neighbors we already have.  If we relocate out of fear, attracted by the mirage of like-minded partisans, we will sow the seeds of doom for the future of America.

There is a natural human tendency to think with our imaginations, rather than to investigate rationally.  But the bottom line this: In local communities, security depends on a diversity of experience, perspective, and learned skills.  And this is made possible with courage, authentic dialog, and a generosity of spirit.

It is time to act.  In today’s world it is not wise to think every day will be like the last.

Tom

Regular readers can watch for the next post on or about November 1. My forthcoming book is being prepared for publication.  I hope to see it available early in the new year.  The Introduction, an annotated Table of Contents, and several sample chapters are available at the top of the homepage.

First Principles

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If we wish to live in safety we will seek to create safety in our communities, actively engaging with our neighbors and forming dependable relationships.  When the going gets tough having dependable neighbors will matter.  Trust becomes real when we work together to resolve local problems and meet local needs.  Without personal initiative, this just isn’t going to happen.  And we cannot afford to put it off until tomorrow. 

Collaboration among neighbors is not encouraged by the world as it is today.  Isolation is pervasive and partisan politics dominate.  We shy away from friendly problem-solving and fail to take responsibility for our local circumstances. The future of America depends on our escape from this paralysis.  We are better than this.

In my view, our first priority must be to see with our own eyes and think with our own minds.  We must never submit to the willfulness of partisan opinions.  How can political manipulation be trustworthy?  Can we see that the vast quagmire of social media has its source in the human imagination?

Political philosophy can be a meaningful and valid concern.  But if truth be told, it is the ethical consensus embodied in human behavior, social conduct, and in law that secures order and forms the character of society.

The fundamental question facing each of us is this— How can we live with the moral integrity that civilized order depends upon? Avoiding this question changes nothing.

I expect the thoughtful reader recognizes the role of ethical consistency and moral rectitude in ensuring safety and fairness in the social order, as well as in a personal life well-lived.

The problems confronting us in the world as it is are complex.  They often impact us personally.  We should not expect to live in a stable society, or engage in a genuinely functional community, without being prepared for ethical questions.

Ethical rigor does not require an unforgiving attitude.  Our differences cannot be undone, and we must rise above them to get where we need to go.  We may never know of the hardships or disappointments another person has experienced.  These are among the influences making them who they are.  We all have disappointments, and we are all in this together.

The deterioration of civil order is apparent.  The painfulness of loss is all around us.  It is in our interest to identify the shared principles we need to give us strength, and to bring us through the long crisis ahead. 

We must pull ourselves away from moral degradation that imposes on us from every side.  Its addictive nature of is a growing influence, subverting economic stability, social order, and mental health. 

In the days ahead, Americans will be increasingly dependent on dependable neighbors and strong communities.  We must make this real.  Local neighborhoods need to be the wellsprings of dependability.

And, if we are to create safe communities, we must begin with the personal integrity upon which community depends.  Authentic community is defined by trust, and by the conditions that determine the quality of trust: truthfulness, moral responsibility, and active interpersonal dialog,

These are not things that come by way of wishful thinking.  They depend on committed intentions and personal engagement.  They are learned and lived in the context of time-tested relationships.  Real community is not possible otherwise.

This may seem idealistic to some and to others simply out of reach.  However, I believe we have no choice.  If we are to find safety, we must come to know and trust one another.

We really do not need to agree on everything.  But the future will depend on dependability. Trust matters!

We cannot wait until next week or next year.  The future is now.

Tom

Regular readers may watch for the next post on or about September 1.

The forthcoming book has been completed and is being professionally edited.  The Introduction, as well as an annotated Table of Contents and several chapters are linked at the top of the homepage.

Truthfulness and Trust

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I have reminded you, not long ago, that no family, no community, no society can long endure in the absence of trust.  No principles, beliefs or opinions can be effective if we are unable to trust. It is possible to pull ourselves back from this downward spiral, but it will not be with a quick fix.  We must each focus first on our personal responsibility—on the necessary attitudes, behaviors, and virtues that form the basis for a stable society.

This, the American Founders warned, is what freedom would require of us. Do we understand?

Let me be clear.  The future of the United States will, in my view, depend on general recognition that truthfulness is essential at all times.  Yes, truthfulness—the truthfulness upon which all trust depends.

You laugh?

Well, my friends, you can laugh all the way to chaos and mayhem.  Because we have no choice.

Seeking liberty in a new order, the Founders introduced the Constitution with an extraordinary lack of constraints and restrictions.  They knew the future of the nation would depend on the behavior of its citizens, and they said so. 

Why is truthfulness necessary?  Why does civilized order depend on it?

Another virtue, sometimes called a “cardinal virtue”, is prudence.  And, if truth be known, all the virtues are prudent—for the simple reason that a civilized society depends on them.

The virtues, among which are patience, forbearance, compassion, and ethical consistency, are the means for securing a safe, stable and productive society.  These are not simply “nice ideas”; they are among the core tenets of human civilization.

Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, and prudence is their purpose.

Where do we start?  Our society is heavily burdened by the discord and disunity that come with distrust.  Conflict and contention are the source of degradation and loss.

Actually, we do not need to agree on much to be trustworthy.  However, we do need demonstrate our trustworthiness.  And this can only be done in active, engaged relationships.

It will only be possible to build trust with civility, and with a genuine interest in understanding the reality of other people.  Those who differ from us come to their views and perspective by way of their experience, their hopes, fears, and disappointments. So it is that unity of action in a community is only possible where there is genuine dialog leading to authentic relationships. 

First, we need to agree with our neighbors only on resolving the immediate problems at hand. Accepting responsibility for interpersonal dialog contributes to safer neighborhoods, to meeting practical needs.  Kindness attracts loyalty.  Reciprocity engenders productivity.

Being realistic about this means preparing ourselves for situations that are sometimes frustrating.  This is our reality today.  A great deal of damage has been done. So, steadfast patience becomes essential, a way of being.  We must determine not to be compromised by difficult circumstances or diverted from our purpose.

Interpersonal relationships are the sinews of community, and communities form the foundations of a society.  Genuine dialog and ongoing working relationships build trust.  This is where the groundwork for stability is built.

Sometimes it takes courage to engage with people we don’t know or understand.  But without this we remain stuck in helplessness and in the dark. Without truthfulness and good will, constructive action is impossible and security is a mirage.

Finally, let us please beware that we not walk in the ways of those whose words differ from their deeds.  We see this all around us, and it is the kiss of death.

Be true to your words, and ensure that your actions are consistent, trustworthy and faithful.

Tom

Note to regular readers: You may look for the next post on or about May 1.

An Introduction to the forthcoming book and several sample chapters are linked at the top of the homepage: http://www.freedomstruth.net.

A Doorway to Safety

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With a society in disarray and social stability faltering, our problems and uncertainties are many.  As the horizon darkens, where can we find safety and assurance?  Who can we trust?  How will we build a future we can accept and believe in?

My proposition that dependable neighbors are essential in a time of crisis, often seems to fall on deaf ears.  We need our neighborhoods to be safe and secure, and surely we possess the ability to make them so.

Can we imagine dependable neighbors or truly functional communities in today’s America?  How many of us have made a serious effort to cultivate trust among those around us?

Are we unable to see what’s coming?

Community is something we have had in the past.  America was built on the foundation of local communities, authentic communities, and we can learn how to do it again.

The widespread dispersal of working people all across America, resulting from the ascendancy of corporate ‘mass society’, has had profound consequences.  The loss of coherent communities has blind-sided Americans.  It has uprooted lives and led to disorientation, insecurity, and growing distrust.

We know something is missing, but we are not sure what it is or how it happened.

Throughout human history local communities have provided a foundation for stability, and the means to develop personal identity and understand what it means to belong somewhere. 

Genuine community supports trustworthy relationships and provides opportunities for engaging productively in society.  It is here that we gain confidence in our ourselves as free and independent individuals.

The loss of such dependability has opened up a void, and it needs to be filled. 

We are experiencing a deeply felt need for belonging which manifests itself in many ways.  Consequently, we find ourselves drawn to whatever available options seem most attractive. 

Dishonest and deceitful interests and manipulative ideologues are often the benefactors.

Americans are intelligent people and capable of thinking rationally.  But for several generations we have been enveloped in an amorphous unreality dominated by huge corporations.  Such a society has its own impersonal interests which are not our own.

Today true community rarely exists.  We don’t know what it is.  Political community is often the only community we know, and partisan politics are defined by division and conflict.  Unity is imagined as illusory, and cooperation is thought a fool’s errand.

We covet isolation as an escape from negativity, but submerse ourselves in the aimless tedium and distorted dreamworld of televised entertainment and social media.

Many barely know our next-door neighbors.  Few of us live in a neighborhood that provides the safety and organized coherence that communities have provided in the past.  While we may not be aware of everything that has been taken from us, we do know the uncertainties that come with the loss of community. 

However, there is a door in this wall and we must learn how to find it.

We can only discover that people are trustworthy and dependable by allowing ourselves to know them as workmates and neighbors.  The best way to learn what people are made of—and to build trust—is to work shoulder-to-shoulder, resolving local problems and meeting shared needs.

It is very true that building safe communities is challenging.  But we can learn how to do it as a skill, just as we have learned others.  And surely, we know that a civilized future can only be built with civility, respectfulness, and responsibility. 

This is the doorway to safety.  Each of us is capable of walking through it on our own—with steadfast purpose, undeterred by the confusion or misbehavior of others. 

Interpersonal relationships form the substance of community, and communities form the foundation of civilization.

Tom

A note to regular readers:  You may watch for the next post on or about March 1.

To receive emailed alerts, you may visit the homepage at http://www.freedomstruth.net.  An Introduction to the forthcoming book can be found there, as well as an annotated Table of Contents and several sample chapters.

An American Choice

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Readers of this blog know the basis for my message.  With our future spiraling ever deeper into crisis, I believe there to be only one way to seek safety and stability.  Our neighborhoods and local communities can be prepared to provide organized and dependable cooperation.  As conditions deteriorate, we can choose to rise above our differences to the extent necessary.  Meeting shared needs will require effective planning and dialog.

This may well be an ultimate choice for Americans—and for two reasons.  First, it might very well determine the safety of our families during the coming storm.  And, second, as we work together in the face of hardship, we will discover what our fellow citizens are actually made of. 

This is probably the only way we can find our way back to the loyal perseverance and pluralistic traditions that first came to life in the American past.

It is easy to assume the worst of people who appear different from ourselves.  But they might actually prove to be quite ready to stand by us as dependable neighbors.

How can we start building such security?

Functional community always depends on personal initiative.  No organizational skills are necessary. When we reach out to our neighbors—down the street and around the corner—we will be welcomed by some and rebuffed by others.  But we only need a few to begin a productive dialog.

The effort to assess circumstances and identify needs will lead to planning and action.  Others will join when they recognize and trust what you are doing.  Some will take longer to come around than others.  Distrust is running deep and misinformation is pervasive.

The challenge of building local communities does not require expertise.  To get started, we only need to put our heads together. 

It is true, however, that the greater the diversity you bring together, the safer you will be.  This is because you will be tapping into more available knowledge, experience, and personal skills.

The dynamic interaction of diverse perspectives provides immense strength.  In my view, community is the crucial choice for us in the face of dire circumstances.

How much danger will we subject ourselves to, before we turn to constructive action?  What keeps us back?

I suggest to you that the greatest of all dangers is lodged in our unexamined assumptions.  There is no greater risk to the future of America.

Assumptions always get in the way.  They have no real existence except in our imagination.  But real people do not live in our imaginations.

We must free ourselves from this very dangerous source of alienation.  The danger is real and can become extreme.

Among those imprisoned in their imaginations, are those who propose a forceful approach to change.  Do we understand what this means?

Let’s be clear:  Force will create exactly the opposite of its intended purpose.  Traditional conservatism understands this quite well.

It was Hayek who said, “the principle that the ends justify the means is in individualist ethics regarded as the denial of all morals.”

Harry Emerson Fosdick may have stated this truth most clearly: “He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to.  It is the means that determine the end.”

And the conservative icon, Ayn Rand drove the point home most emphatically: “An attempt to achieve the good by force is like an attempt to provide a man with a picture gallery at the price of cutting out his eyes.”

Americans will depend on rational minds and moral principles as we navigate the rocky road ahead.  Incivility, negativity, and especially threatening behavior, will subvert virtually everything that matters. 

Influencing hearts and minds depends on demonstrating trustworthiness in our actions.  Which is why we can begin by gathering a few of our neighbors around the kitchen table. 

Personal sharing, honest dialog, and realistic planning are the foundations of local security–and for the future of this American nation.

The means by which we seek our intended purpose will determine the substance and quality of the outcome. 

Tom.

Notes to regular readers:  You may watch for the next post on or about February 2.

To receive email alerts, click the box on the right side of the homepage..  An Introduction and annotated Table of Contents for the forthcoming book can be found at the top of the homepage.

Trust and Distrust

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The steady corrosion of social order in the United States has been accompanied by the steady loss of trust.  This is not simply a symptom; it lies at the heart of our difficulties.   Trust is essential to the integrity and well-being of a society, and trustworthiness its first requirement.  Without trust no family or community or nation can long subsist.

At the present extraordinary turning point in American history, we are confronted with a broken society.  We need to understand what has been happening and what it means.  Americans face a multi-layered challenge, and the necessity for trust underlies every constructive response.

Trust is learned over time through lived experience.  It requires active interpersonal relationships.  Trust is grounded in authentic dialogue.  Civilization depends on this. But few of us take the initiative to make it happen. Whether such disengagement is caused by shyness, fear, or myopic foolishness, the consequences are severe.  Growing alienation has drained meaning and constructive insight from our lives.

Surely it is necessary to re-establish trustworthiness as the foundation for the character and strength of a genuinely American society.  This will take significant time and effort.  It will not come easily.

Learning to trust is most possible in local communities—because this is where interpersonal dialogue and consistent engagement are most possible and most necessary.  When the going gets tough, local communities are where trustworthiness truly matters.

When we engage meaningfully, honestly, in personal relationships, we gradually bring trust to life.  Trustworthiness becomes real as we experience its dependability.  We want it because we need it.  There are no shortcuts.  Building a stable, prosperous society will take as long as intelligent and determined people need to make it so.

This is our first challenge on the path to creating safety and resolving problems.  To seek genuine personal relationships in the presence of distrust and alienation, requires patience and courage and grace.  Only then will solutions follow.

An inquisitive interest in accurate understanding, and the willingness to be the first to listen, make many things possible.  Even the most stubborn negative attitudes can be influenced when approached with curiosity and generosity of spirit—however long this might take.

Compassion can be a great relief to people who have experienced the loss of their hopes and expectations for the future.  As good listeners we can make it clear that we have heard, recognized the pain, and tried to understand.

When others are not ready to listen or respond, we must leave them to themselves.  But remember: Personal integrity and trustworthiness lives and grows with genuine interactive engagement.  They come alive in caring and considerate relationships.

The mystery of differences and diversity does not need to be threatening.  The greatest tests on this rocky road are those that call for grace, constancy, and generosity of spirit. 

No one is asking us to change our views and our values, but only to seek dignity for others as well as ourselves.  This is indeed honorable. But we are called to something even greater.  The integrity that takes root in authenticity and dependability, soon spreads to influence the character of the society around us.

We can all work on this.

In seeking to build trust, we are each met with two challenges:  We need first to prepare ourselves—which means working on our own trustworthiness.  Secondly, we cannot respond sincerely to others without an interest in the pain, fear, and disappointments they have experienced.

This is about interpersonal engagement; but it is also about accurate information.  How have others come to think, behave and react the way they do?  Knowing more of the truth in the lives of others opens doors and allows us to embark on the journey to trust.

Tom

A note to readers:  You may watch for the next post on or about January 2.   To receive emailed alerts, click on the button..  An annotated Table of Contents for the forthcoming book is now available at the top of the homepage..

Freedom & Responsibility

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In the years since the World Wars, Americans have gradually come to terms with the idea that freedom and responsibility have a direct and integral relationship with each other.  This seems reasonable enough, but how much attention do we give it?  Why is it true, and what does it actually mean?

Self-reliance and the acceptance of responsibility for family and community are hallmarks of the American idea.  They are sources of human dignity and self-respect.  They support dependability among neighbors.

People respect people who are respectful—people who take responsibility for themselves and care about others.  When the going gets tough, whining and complaints really don’t fly.

We can all see the way things are coming apart.  Integrity in our relationships with friends and neighbors will matter.  In a crumbling society it will matter a lot.

We demonstrate our personal integrity in working relationships.  Responsibility can only exist in relationships.  This is where we show our true colors.

Some people imagine they can assert their freedom by simply doing as they wish.  But there can be no freedom without consideration for the realities of a civilized order.  Personal security depends on order and the quality of relationships.

Some seem never to have considered the conditions required to secure safety or justice or the basic functionality of human society.  Some seem ready to tear everything down without a thought for the consequences, even for themselves. 

Over-reactive drama, lacking foresight or wisdom, can actually destroy the means for needed change—for seeking constructive solutions.  A failure of foresight can undermine security and bring about the dissolution of order. 

In the previous post I spoke with you about the importance of truthfulness, trustworthiness, and forbearance, virtues which the American founders expected of the American people—not simply from political leadership, but from everyone. 

They knew liberty could not be had in any other way, and they said so.  They gave us their trust: A governing structure with almost no constraints other than those respecting the property and well-being of our fellow citizens.

Democracy was a new idea back then.  The Constitutional Convention of 1787 struggled with the concerns of a contentious constituency, and recognition that the Republic would face future threats and unpredictable stresses.

Libertarian sentiments were strong among Americans in the 18th century.  There was a natural fear of the oppressiveness of institutions from which they had so recently fled. Many had strong feelings about protecting the freedom they experienced in America, a freedom that stood in marked contrast to the ever-present example of slavery (which they insisted on maintaining).

The Founders were quite aware of the mood, and recognized that majority factions had no qualms about suppressing minorities or rejecting the interests of anyone who differed from themselves.  It was easy to imagine a tumultuous future.

The United States Constitution is the product of this tension, and the determination to create a dynamic framework capable of protecting freedoms while channeling the forces of conflict and change that would surely come. How did the Founders endeavor to project freedom and order into a future they could only barely imagine?

The Constitution provides a structure for governance designed for a diverse and argumentative population.  Yet, it is notable for its’ simplicity and provides few legal constraints. They chose a course that depends on Americans to govern their own behavior.  Fairness and balance are woven into the fabric of the Republic.  The rest depends on us. 

Americans are now more than 300 million in number and we have differences.  Disagreement is natural.  Differences need to be fully understood before solutions can be investigated.

Civilized choices are made possible through the collaborative problem-solving enabled by the Constitution.  Americans possess the tools for problem-solving, for managing change, and most importantly, for addressing violations of integrity and trust.

These things take time if we care about freedom and responsibility.  Instability begins with impatience, and the inability to compromise. 

We stand today at an extraordinary turning point.  We cannot abandon our inheritance and imagine it possible to start over again from nothing.  That would be impossible.

Tom

You may watch for the next post on or about November 1.

Note to new readers:  An introduction to the coming book, an annotated table of contents, and several chapters are available in draft at the top of the homepage: http://www.freedomstruth.net.

Courage and Authenticity

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We are Americans!  When we encounter other Americans who appear quite different from ourselves, either in their character or their views, do we shun them?  Or, are we curious?  Do we test our assumptions honestly?  How will we discover the potential for dependable neighbors if we walk away with our first impressions?

This is an important question: Do we investigate the positive contributions people might have to offer—despite our differences with them?  How many good people are we willing to toss into the trash barrel of willful blindness?  What are we afraid of?

If we have no need of trustworthy neighbors today, the time is fast approaching when we surely will.

Practical needs are not the only thing that require good neighbors.  There will be no trust and no possibility of a secure future without real dialog.

Yes, starting conversations with strangers can cause a little discomfort.  But only at the start.  When we discover who our neighbors really are, and how their experience makes them who they are, we sometimes discover unexpected dependability.

Strangers rarely turn out to be what we imagined. 

Some people will reject our good will.  This is inevitable.  When people are governed by their fear and unable to respond with civility, leave them to themselves.  We must keep moving on. 

However, it is essential that we identify every potential friend and neighbor, every diamond in the rough, as society deteriorates around us.

When it comes to local necessities, nothing can be done without unity on some level.  Safety is found in trustworthiness, not partisan politics. It will only be with dialog and cooperation that Americans can navigate effectively through the narrow place in which we now find ourselves.

This wisdom is rooted in American history and heritage.  Let’s think about what we already know.  Recognizing and rethinking cherished assumptions is always difficult.  There is nothing new about this.  It is normal to feel uncomfortable with people who appear different from ourselves.

Emerson famously said: “People only see what they are prepared to see.” Stephen Covey put it similarly: “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are—or, as we are conditioned to see it.” 

While this conditioning is natural, it interferes with constructive problem-solving.  And, in today’s world our ability to solve problems is the essential problem. We may need to help others push past this, but let’s not be responsible for it ourselves. Building the future will best be pursued with uncluttered emotions, clear vision and a pure heart. 

Albert Einstein once said, ironically: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” The reasonable person shudders at the immensity of the task.  But we do have the means to respond constructively. Americans are resourceful!

The path to a future we can respect and believe in actually exists.   It must be secured.  And, we do not need to change our values or views to contribute our skills and positive energy.

Trustworthiness develops with interactive engagement.  Working relationships that accept the mystery of differences and diversity need not be threatening.

In my view, the key to this riddle is best described by the Christian philosopher Henri J.M. Nouwen: “You don’t think your way into a new kind of living,” he wrote. “You live your way into a new kind of thinking.”

The kind of creative action Pastor Nouwen is talking about would be impossible in isolation.  Living our way into a new way of thinking can only take place in dialog and authentic community.

I have used the word “authentic” often.  What does it mean?  Certainly, something that is authentic is the “genuine article”.  Or I could say I am my “authentic self” when I am being consistently genuine in my words and actions.

So, let me be clear:  Authentic community is far more than one structured in a particular way.  Rather, it is one in which we share “a new kind of thinking”.  It can only be built on the foundation of trustworthy relationships.  And trust can only develop with experience—with genuine interest, practical engagement, and productive consultation. 

Tom

You may watch for the next post on or about August 1.

From the forthcoming book:  An annotated Table of Contents, a revised Introduction, and several sample chapters are posted at the top of the homepage.