Humankind evolves toward appreciating the-objective-truth[1]
The entity “We the People of the United States,”[2] so far bemused by political regimes, expresses doubt in freedom of thought. The 1791 amended US Constitution dictates faith and values and also infuses religion into governance. We the people may remedy this tyranny by amending the amended Constitution. Appreciation of the-objective-truth[3] and statutory justice may trump respect for religion. [4]
I think there is confusion over three governances: law, religion, and integrity. Most people are lawful and humble toward the-objective-truth, but many people are bemused over religion. Respect for the-objective-truth would liberate the people.
The people, privately holding diverse religious or metaphysical hopes, could civically unite under the US Constitution and its consequential details—observe the law even when proposing to amend it for justice.
People expect “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Justice empowers liberty. For example, most travelers choose justice at traffic signals. Accomplishment or contribution facilitates happiness. Most people act responsibly, at least to avoid being wards of other people, a pain that was observed after Katrina.
Most people just want to live privately and in peace and self-govern their needs: food, shelter, clothing, physical health, mental health, risk exposure, and accomplishments. They expect no interference from other people.
From dependent infant to mature adult, primary focus evolves from learning to performance. People learn or acquire inspiration, and perhaps only death ends self-discovery.
Freedom of thought, often taken for granted, seems an enigma. People who think not, forego freedom; people who constantly labor, think little; unfocused people enslave themselves; indoctrinated people cannot perceive ideas that would be new to them; hateful people cannot learn. No one can escape uncertainty; therefore, intellectual self-reliance seems essential.
The collective humans—humankind--defends and labors to understand the-objective-truth, using processes such as the following:
· Perceive a phenomenon or the-objective-truth.
· Propose hypotheses to explain the perception.
· Design tests of the hypotheses.
· Perform the tests and process the data.
· Evaluate the results and draw conclusions.
Possible results include the following: the perception was false; all hypotheses failed (yet the perception may remain, unexplained); a theory emerged; or the evidence indicated a discovery or the-objective-truth.
Borrowing Einstein’s 1941[5] words, understanding “can only be created . . . with the aspiration toward truth [and] the faith . . . that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational.” Humankind seems to respect the-objective-truth and remain open to improved measurements or new discovery. For example, despite preponderant evidence, evolution remains a theory.[6] However, religion, the practice of adopting an idea/belief as the-objective-truth, stops at the second step in the above process. Thus, creationism, lacking evidence beyond human existence, is a hypothesis.
With only an idea—imagination--people can create hypotheses/beliefs. For example, thinkers such as Aristotle hypothesized that a soul determines the character of a human. Some religions hypothesize that saving the soul can defeat death, provided their doctrine is practiced. Perhaps there’s nothing beyond what the individual accomplished during life after his or her body, mind, and person stop functioning.
Practicing hypotheses can burden life and alienate the-objective-truth. Therefore, no one should influence another person’s attention to the soul or afterlife expectations.
On faith, believers trust religion: on faith, some non-believers respect the-objective-truth. Believers have the right to believe religion, provided they respect the rights of people who respect the-objective-truth. Civic people do not impose on other people what just people do not want to experience.
Many people perceive everyone wants religion. However, some people are inspired without religion. They hold life, what they have, above soul, a construct that may not exist. For example, I ended my Protestantism to accept my faith in the-objective-truth. I became a man of faith, trusting the-objective-truth: not a man of belief, trusting religion. Fifteen years later, I wish studying and practicing virtue had been my family tradition and do not fear afterdeath. I would not influence anyone to so accept the-objective-truth-- to change his or her religion—because I do not know the-objective-truth; yet I do celebrate, promote, and practice respect for the-objective-truth. I accept no substitutes for the-objective-truth. When I do not know the-objective-truth, I establish an opinion that is consistent with what has been discovered.
The Constitution anticipated revisions for discovered justice. Thus, amendments outlawed slavery, granted women suffrage, and recognized civil rights. However, a great tyranny remains: religion is held above the-objective-truth. Borrowing Abraham Lincoln’s words about slavery, religion “deprives [America’s] republican example of its just influence.” Religion blocks America’s path to integrity.
Historically, the majority of US elected officials unjustly holds piety essential to good governance and unconstitutionally imposes religion on citizens. For example, the Congress opens meetings with prayer. By allowing elected officials to advocate “God,” We the People of the United States lead innocent, capable citizens to expect help from God, that diverse construct that magically tolerates suffering. Without religious input from elected officials, such citizens might take action and avoid disaster. Therefore, We the People of the United States, who may rightfully be religious or not, cannot justly involve religion in government.
Hopefully, fellow citizens who support We the People of the United States evolve toward the-objective-truth. Thus, hopefully the U.S. Constitution will someday express neither piety nor responsibility for souls, a human, constructed mystery.
Just governance requires leaders who have faith in the-objective-truth--leaders who subordinate heartfelt religious comforts and responsibly execute due process of law. As long as we fail to elect such leaders, accountability, which always falls on us, will continue to be painful.
Note: this writing and the ideas are copyrighted to preserve my opportunity to use them in future writing; Phillip R. Beaver, September 27, 2018. I encourage sharing the ideas herein and would love to receive comments on them at phillip@beaver.brcoxmail.com, at 225-766-7365, or at 1624 Leycester Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.
[1] This adapted article with original title “Humankind evolves toward trusting truth,” was published in The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, November 5, 2005. This is a revision for 2018.
[2] The people and the systems for maintaining the law. “We the People of the United States” is defined in the Preamble to the US Constitution.
[3] I hyphenate the-objective-truth to remind myself and readers that the-objective-truth cannot be modified, including the-objective-truth that is unknown. Inserting, for example, “ultimate” to posit “the ultimate truth,” is only self deception. A person respects the-objective-truth by not trying to adopt substitutes.
[4] Religion is the practice of making assumptions about heartfelt concerns then creating dogma based on the assumptions then attempting to live according to the dogma.
[5] See text inside the online post at https://samharris.org/my-friend-einstein/.
[6] In 2016, Einstein’s general theory of relativity was confirmed as a law of physics (the object rather than the study, or “science”). See online at https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211.
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