When in doubt about freedom, you are WRONG.

[osan]

Osan's rule of thumb #674b:

Whenever the condition of proper human freedom gives rise to a paradoxical result, it is you who are wrong, and not freedom.

There are no paradoxes.

When I was a physics major, I wondered about all the paradoxes that arose in the quantum "world" these geniuses had concocted. It finally dawned on me that there are no paradoxes because the world exists, thereby implying with great force that mutually exclusive (paradoxical) conditions cannot by definition exist in contradiction to each other. Therefore, it is the "standard" model of reality that is flawed and not reality.

And so it is with freedom. Freedom is ALWAYS right and NEVER wrong. Therefore, when you encounter a result that displeases you, the fault lies in the fundament assumptions and all that follows therefrom that have lead to your desire to reject that result, which in turn leads you into the strong temptation to limit freedom in order to avoid such results. The fault NEVER lies with freedom itself.

Therefore, whenever you find yourself in such a situation where some brand of displeasure arises, know that it is YOU that is at fault and that it is one or more of your base assumptions that needs revision, rather than some circumscription of freedom.

That is our lesson for today.

[P3ter_Griffin]

I'll toast a phatty to that one. Well said.

[heavenlyboy34]

Yup, prescriptive reasoning is always fallacious. Thing about being honestly descriptive about freedom is that it causes painful cognitive dissonance in most-which is why it ain't popular.

[pcosmar]

Therefore, it is the "standard" model of reality that is flawed and not reality.

Actually both are flawed.

understanding of the flaws vary.

[LibertyClick]

http://www.libertyclick.org/free-ful...taries-online/

---

Source: FreeDocumentaries.org

Freedocumentaries.org streams full-length documentary films free of charge, with no registration needed. For several films, we even offer the ability to watch trailers or to download the actual film.

The films are gathered by our researchers as we scour the web for well-produced videos and present them to our viewers. We adhere to all copyright laws and honor the wishes of the producers.

We created Freedocumentaries.org because we wanted to find an easy way to bring thought-provoking, educational, and entertaining documentaries to anyone with a high-speed internet connection. We believe that the mainstream media increasingly practices self-censorship, and that it ignores many opinions and historical events. With the media distorting or ignoring information, it’s often very hard to get an accurate picture of a problem, even while watching the news. Sites like Freedocumentaries.org are a much-needed counterbalance to corporate media: an industry dominated by special interests. Even though every dollar we make via advertising or donations is critical, we do not let any advertisers have any influence over which films we play. We would rather lose that money than lose our independence. And the fact that we won’t shy away from controversial films is one of the things that makes us unique.

While some of the films on our site have widespread distribution, others are created by independent filmmakers who depend on sites like ours to get their information to the public. The amount of work that these producers have put into making a 90-minute film is astounding. Different films create different reactions among different people.

There will be aspects of the films in which you may disagree or agree. After watching you may cry, become inspired, or you may get angry; in any case the films will get you thinking. We are proud that in the last two years, we have helped share these films with countless people that would not have seen the movies otherwise. We believe that we have made the world just a little better by doing so.

We are proud to help these independent filmmakers. We encourage you to visit their website and donate so that they can continue creating great films. If you haven’t done so yet, please watch a film. And if you enjoy the experience, tell your friends!

http://www.libertyclick.org/tag/documentary/

[osan]

Actually both are flawed.

understanding of the flaws vary.

Reality is flawed? Please elaborate.

[pcosmar]

Reality is flawed? Please elaborate.

Perhaps because I view reality differently. But all of creation has been corrupted,, knocked off balance, and deteriorating.

so yes.. flawed.

[timosman]

Osan's rule of thumb #674b:



There are no paradoxes.

When I was a physics major, I wondered about all the paradoxes that arose in the quantum "world" these geniuses had concocted. It finally dawned on me that there are no paradoxes because the world exists, thereby implying with great force that mutually exclusive (paradoxical) conditions cannot by definition exist in contradiction to each other. Therefore, it is the "standard" model of reality that is flawed and not reality.

And so it is with freedom. Freedom is ALWAYS right and NEVER wrong. Therefore, when you encounter a result that displeases you, the fault lies in the fundament assumptions and all that follows therefrom that have lead to your desire to reject that result, which in turn leads you into the strong temptation to limit freedom in order to avoid such results. The fault NEVER lies with freedom itself.

Therefore, whenever you find yourself in such a situation where some brand of displeasure arises, know that it is YOU that is at fault and that it is one or more of your base assumptions that needs revision, rather than some circumscription of freedom.

That is our lesson for today.

Can you provide "examples" of this great rule of yours?

[osan]

Perhaps because I view reality differently. But all of creation has been corrupted,, knocked off balance, and deteriorating.

so yes.. flawed.

How do you know this to be the case?

I look at the stars and see perfection - everything as it was meant to be.

Your thoughts form your reality and your words form your thoughts.

[osan]

Can you provide "examples" of this great rule of yours?

Can you think of nothing?

Free markets is an example. The thinking of many liberals is that we cannot have free markets because people will run amok with greed and pollution and all manner of bad behaviors. Therefore, freedom must be restricted. Such people are dead wrong, every second of every day on such matters.

Others want firearms banned so that people will not be killed. Being killed is a risk we carry in life, whether free or a slave, but as free men we accept that risk. It is only the deluded lover of pretty slavery who wants all the benefits of freedom with none of the risks and costs who demands that a mob of other men with guns stops those who frighten him from doing whatever it is that has him wetting himself. His demand that the rightful freedoms of other men be circumscribed in order to make him feel better is wrong, Sunday through Saturday, 24x7, without cease or exception.

Freedom is NEVER wrong. People unwilling to accept all that true freedom implies are the ones who are wrong, 100% of the time.

[pcosmar]

How do you know this to be the case?

Entropy .

The universe is dying.

[timosman]

Can you think of nothing?

Free markets is an example. The thinking of many liberals is that we cannot have free markets because people will run amok with greed and pollution and all manner of bad behaviors. Therefore, freedom must be restricted. Such people are dead wrong, every second of every day on such matters.

Others want firearms banned so that people will not be killed. Being killed is a risk we carry in life, whether free or a slave, but as free men we accept that risk. It is only the deluded lover of pretty slavery who wants all the benefits of freedom with none of the risks and costs who demands that a mob of other men with guns stops those who frighten him from doing whatever it is that has him wetting himself. His demand that the rightful freedoms of other men be circumscribed in order to make him feel better is wrong, Sunday through Saturday, 24x7, without cease or exception.

Freedom is NEVER wrong. People unwilling to accept all that true freedom implies are the ones who are wrong, 100% of the time.

Thanks. It seems many of us have trouble accepting reality.

[Ender]

Osan's rule of thumb #674b:



There are no paradoxes.

When I was a physics major, I wondered about all the paradoxes that arose in the quantum "world" these geniuses had concocted. It finally dawned on me that there are no paradoxes because the world exists, thereby implying with great force that mutually exclusive (paradoxical) conditions cannot by definition exist in contradiction to each other. Therefore, it is the "standard" model of reality that is flawed and not reality.

And so it is with freedom. Freedom is ALWAYS right and NEVER wrong. Therefore, when you encounter a result that displeases you, the fault lies in the fundament assumptions and all that follows therefrom that have lead to your desire to reject that result, which in turn leads you into the strong temptation to limit freedom in order to avoid such results. The fault NEVER lies with freedom itself.

Therefore, whenever you find yourself in such a situation where some brand of displeasure arises, know that it is YOU that is at fault and that it is one or more of your base assumptions that needs revision, rather than some circumscription of freedom.

That is our lesson for today.

Exactly.

What is 'REAL'?

[osan]

Entropy .

The universe is dying.

How do you know that to be true? Assuming it is so, how do you figure it to be a flaw?

[pcosmar]

Assuming it is so, how do you figure it to be a flaw?

Faith. I suppose.

I believe that it was created in balance. a more perfect balance than is mortally possible.

I believe that the "fall of man" is part of a larger tragedy. and that the result is decay.

this belief fits my observations,, so I accept this as so,, till proven otherwise.

[osan]

Faith. I suppose.

I believe that it was created in balance. a more perfect balance than is mortally possible.

Isn't this just a wee bit presumptuous? It presumes so many things, I hardly know where to begin listing them.

I believe that the "fall of man" is part of a larger tragedy. and that the result is decay.

Also enormously presumptuous. You could be right, but what if you are not?

My suggestion to anyone having these sorts of churns in their thoughts is to look outward. We are not so much as a speck in the outer reaches of one arm of a small-to-middling sized galaxy, circling a very small star that is dwarfed by billions of masses by others such as Canis Majoris. There is so-called "dark energy". There are black holes. There are neutron stars and some are pulsars. There are quasi-stellar objects. There are super-novae. We could go on for pages listing the incredible and mysterious things we observe "out there".

Look out there - go to nasa.gov, or to observatories, look and see the images of what surrounds us. Try to wrap your head around those things, but only do so on the assumption that everything you think you know is WRONG.

If "it" hits you, your perspective WILL change and you will wonder and question everything you think you know or that you believe, including everything in the Bible. None of this is to say the Bible is "wrong", which is even a somewhat stupid term to apply in cases such as this, but it leads one to question. I for one believe God designed us to do just that. I do not believe in the sadist-infant God who wants to be worshipped. I could think of nothing more boring, were I eternally conscious and remembering.

But to each his own, of course.

this belief fits my observations,, so I accept this as so,, till proven otherwise.

Self-reinforcing/fulfilling prophesies/world-views are a dime a score, my pal. They are the easiest things in life to which one may fall prey. You do as you please, but as someone who wishes you nothing but the best in life, I cannot in good conscience neglect to raise the possibility that you have built for yourself a prison of thought, whose walls are more impenetrable than any concrete and stone edifice build by men. If you'd been where I have been, you would understand what I mean. Language is the key to everything, as well as knowing its limitations and the perceptual walls it almost invariably erects in the minds of all men.

The Hindus and Buddhists, to name only two, speak of inner quiet. Why do you think that is? It ain't for the sake of peace, I can tell you that. It is for the sake of drifting beyond the veils of thought and allowing the world to come into one's apprehension in a far more raw form. A similar concept was forwarded by Castaneda in his Don Juan series of writings; what he called "stopping the world" - ceasing the inner chatter that is virtually unending. Experiences with hallucinogens can be helpful to that end, but the price one pays is very high. But to experience unfiltered reality is no joking matter. It changes you in the marrow. You can never see anything the same way again and you become loathe to assume too much - you become verily aware of assumption and the traps that it lays for the unwary.

Your thoughts form your reality. Your words form your thoughts. People really do need to think on that a lot because it is perhaps the single most centrally significant aspect of the lives of every human being that ever has or ever will live.

[pcosmar]

Isn't this just a wee bit presumptuous?

Perhaps. Is Belief is a Creator Presumptuous?

Perhaps it is merely that my belief colors my view.

But to your original point on freedom,, I agree..

it is "reality" I have issue with.

[osan]

Perhaps. Is Belief is a Creator Presumptuous?

Could be, but the answer turns significantly on one's precise definition of "creator", not to mention the question of its adequacy.

Perhaps it is merely that my belief colors my view.

Our beliefs color all our views. In this you are anything but alone.

it is "reality" I have issue with.

Forsooth do I understand why. We occupy the same boat, pal.

It is endlessly depressing to know just how different the world of men could be and how simple are the necessary changes. But once again, "simple" !-> "easy".

The human race largely chooses to live in the hell it so vehemently proclaims to hate.

How ironic is that?