From 119da9625894dfca2f0c111da4a3bd52027cf590 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: wellspringcp <69349872+wellspringcp@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2021 08:03:38 +1100 Subject: [PATCH] Update 00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md --- 00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md | 10 ++++------ 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md b/00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md index c128448..148467b 100644 --- a/00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md +++ b/00-declaration-of-individual-sovereignty.md @@ -6,15 +6,13 @@ Reason entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that t We concur with those founders and follow their example by issuing this statement declaring our causes for separation: -- Whereas it is an axiom that that existence exists; and that the act of grasping this implies two corollary axioms: that something exists which one perceives and that one exists possessing consciousness to perceive it; -- And whereas these two -- existence and consciousness -- are axioms humankind cannot escape: these two are the irreducible primaries implied in any action one undertakes, in any part of one's knowledge. -- And whereas whatever one knows, the axioms remain the same: that it exists and that the subject does know it; and moreover, whereas to be is to be something, of a definite nature and all existents are identities: +Whereas it is an axiom that that existence exists; and that the act of grasping this implies two corollary axioms: that something exists which one perceives and that one exists possessing consciousness to perceive it; and moreover, whereas to be is to be something, of a definite nature and all existents are identities: -We who are gathered here, hold this to be axiomatic and self-reaffirming: that **Existence is Identity and Consciousness is Identification**. +We who are gathered here hold this to be axiomatic and self-reaffirming: that **Existence is Identity and Consciousness is Identification**. -We hold that humankind are rational creatures possessing rational consciousness which is their only tool of survival and that to hamper a rational creature's mind is to hamper its ability to live and flourish - thus a man's right to life is his right to the unhampered use of his rational faculty in the pursuit of his life and flourishing. +We hold that humankind are rational animals posessing the ability to think and produce the material values (i.e, private property) required for their own lives and flourishing by means of their mind which is their basic means of survival. The initiation of force severs the link between rational judgment and action by preventing human beings from acting on their own judgement and leaves the person's mind impotent; and thus is anti-human. The right to one's own life ultimately consists of the right of every person to apply their mind's judgement to the task of their own survival and the achievement of their own values, for their own sake. Each person has an inalienable right to their own life, liberty, private property, and the pursuit of happiness. -We hold that to secure this right to life means to secure it against the predations of other rational creatures who wish to survive as brutes who extort others rather than as rational individuals who think and produce; that governments are instituted among men to enforce this necessary security against predatory men; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is implied by the right of rational creatures to their own lives, that they may alter or abolish such government, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to enforce this right to rational life to the end that they may pursue their happiness. +We hold that securing these rights means to eliminate the initiation of force from human affairs; and that the sole role of a proper government is to secure these rights; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is implied by the right of rational creatures to their own lives, that they may alter or abolish such government, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to enforce this right to rational life to the end that they may pursue their happiness. We lay these charges against `{_hostile government/political status quo/ruling entity_}`, that it has set itself up to be an enemy of the right of rational creatures to pursue their lives by reason, subjecting said rational creatures to a life lower than the rational -- to a life lower than human. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world: