The American Manifesto Absolute: each is responsible for himself alone, and none may delegate or yield said responsibility. Corollary #1: One may do whatever one pleases, so long as one does not infringe upon another’s person or property. Corollary #2: If one breaches the first corollary, then one yields one’s claim to its protection, and is subject to the righteous defense of the victims. Corollary #3: There are no victimless crimes. I am a sovereign man, responsible for my own actions and their consequences. I am the supreme authority of my life, and may do with it as I please. I hold this to be the inalienable right of my humanity, and I will not suffer it to be infringed upon. I do not dwell on that which is outside my control. I accept it, and adjust accordingly: I am permanently flexible and perpetually stoic. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. I consider religion a personal matter. Whatever I believe, I separate it from my judgment of others; I judge others only by the one absolute. My faith dictates my personal code of ethics, but I do not hold others to it. I neither impose my will upon others, not do I forcefully oppose their will; if I choose to attempt to convert someone to my point of view, I use logos, swaying them through immutable fact and inviolate logic. I maintain an open mind, and provided I am convinced through the use of persuasion that the other party is correct, I will readily yield to another point of view. I refuse, however, to coerce or be coerced in any matter whatsoever. I am fiercely competitive. I strive to be the best, not by pulling other people down and restraining them, but by striving to outdo them, to better them at every opportunity. I will not apologize for my ability; I resolutely embrace my skills and intelligence, and use them to my best profit. It is my right to be uncommon, to walk the path less traveled by. I hold that if everyone were to work for their best interests (while refraining from infringing upon others), then competition would drive quality up and price down. I will neither ask for nor receive unearned handouts: I will trade value for value. I will work for what I own, and I will own what I work for. I abhor debt, considering it as merely a front for economic slavery. I do believe in the principles of capitalism, where one is rewarded according to his ability and productivity. I make money, not just gather it: producing products and services of value, squaring off against my competitors in an effort to win. I wish to assume the calculated risk, to wager my livelihood and well-being upon the decisions I make; I desire to test my skill and intelligence against all form and fashion of challenge. Danger is the spice and variety of life: all activity entails risk, and risk is simply potential harm. I weigh the risks and assume that risk that offer the highest return for my exposure; that return might be material gain, spiritual enlightenment, temporal pleasure, or simply the euphoria of success in the face of difficulty. Being responsible for my own fate, I do not deign to leave it in other people’s hands. I take it upon myself to acquire skills and knowledge that I can use to defend myself and those I love, and to give myself as much of an advantage in any situation as I can. I maintain a high level of awareness, both of myself and my surroundings. I respond decisively and with no apology to defend myself, my possessions, or the lives of others. I choose my friends from among my betters, constantly seeking to improve myself. I maintain an inviolate sense of honor: my word is my bond. I deal with people in a straightforward way, expressing the truth, with tact, in all I do and say; I communicate precisely and simply, speaking and writing what I mean to convey explicitly. As the logical result of my economic and moral conscience, I believe in living under my means and preparing for a rainy day. I fix things myself. I become the master of my possessions, learning their inner workings and using them to best effect, not to be held in their thrall. I buy items of superlative quality, for the increased intrinsic value of the item, because something made to the highest standard show a mind and mentality such as mine, and because the value over time of an item is more important to me than initial cost. Buy once, cry once. I am always a student. I enjoy studying literary works of great acclaim, apprenticing under a master, and exposing myself to fresh experiences. This does not mean I accept everything I come to understand: I apply myself to think critically and skeptically of all new material, keeping the grain and letting the wind blow the chaff away. I do not limit myself to any particular trade or subject, but seek out and delve into divers topics. I dress immaculately. I present myself with sang-froid and amiability; not to curry favor with others, but because anything less would be less than gentlemanly. Despite my congeniality, I do not shy from physical labor, and when the time to work comes, I wear clothes whose form is expressed in flawless function. I voluntarily surrender a measure of my authority over myself to my government, which I hold to exist for the sole purpose of removing coercion as a viable means to achieve an end. I participate actively in the politics of my land, not as a method to raise myself above my peers or achieve a position of power, but to serve. I consider political service a necessary duty, because if I decline, then I open the door to evil: a large, intrusive government, which is a great evil, can only exist when good men do nothing. I am a proponent of citizens being free to arm themselves: the point of arming the populace is not recreation nor is it individual protection, the idea is to ensure the people have more force available to them than the government has, then the government is held accountable and subject to its citizens. Anything less is tyranny. I am an American. I own my life, my mind’s creations, and the products of my labor. With these, I will contend with fate. I will not trade my freedom for a guaranteed existence. I am, therefore I think.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 10:08:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015