Democracy works only when people act with virtue.

The check on lapses of virtue
Is the diversity of the Republic:

The Republic: A collection of mostly autonomous states
Any bad decisions that may arise
Can stay within the particular state.

The alternative is allowing bad decisions to concentrate at high levels,
where they cascade down from a national government
Through standardized programs
A one-size-fits-all ideology.

Because leaders with great power
Naturally want to help everyone they can.

Some people feel it so strongly
They believe there is a right way to live.
They will judge you and want to regulate your behavior
to have you fit into the moral of the story they learned,
probably in childhood.

Liberate these people if you see them,
whether they’re speaking from a religious camp or a political camp.
Call them out. Nicely.
They’ll thank you later.

And if you find yourself wanting to force others into the moral of your story,
or you’re suffering to fit into your own version of morality,
then it’s time to start being radically honest

And liberate yourself.

We need a purpose.

What we put in the foundation of our purpose makes the purpose relevant. The foundation is where we choose our principles.

My first founding principle is that I don’t need to do anything.

My second principle is that every action is sacred and profound. I strive to live every moment appreciating the miracle of life.

Only after realizing these principles, do I determine my purpose.

What’s in your foundation?

As long as you are afraid of anyone or anything, there can be no happiness. There can be no happiness as long as you are afraid of your parents, your teachers, afraid of not passing examinations, afraid of not making progress, of not getting nearer to the Master, nearer to truth, or of not being approved of, patted on the back.

But if you are really not afraid of anything, then you will find – when you wake up of a morning, or when you are walking alone – that suddenly a strange thing happens: uninvited, unsolicited, unlooked for, that which may be called love, truth, happiness, is suddenly there.

That is why it is so important for you to be educated rightly while you are young. What we now call education is not education at all, because nobody talks to you about all these things. Your teachers prepare you to pass examinations, but they do not talk to you about living, which is most important; because very few know how to live.

Most of us merely survive, we somehow drag along, and therefore life becomes a dreadful thing. Really to live requires a great deal of love, a great feeling for silence, a great simplicity with an abundance of experience; it requires a mind that is capable of thinking very clearly, that is not bound by prejudice or superstition, by hope or fear.

All this is life, and if you are not being educated to live, then education has no meaning. You may learn to be very tidy, have good manners, and you may pass all your examinations; but, to give primary importance to these superficial things when the whole structure of society is crumbling, is like cleaning and polishing your fingernails while the house is burning down.

Excerpt from: Think on These Things, by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Progress is a winding path
Involving many steps
for the individual
And for society.
But it follows principles.

Anyone who claims to know the right principles for you
Is deluding himself…and you.

This is why America works
And why so many immigrate here
Legally and millions illegally.

The American principle is simple:
It allows you to have your own principles
But only if your principles don’t steal from others.

But we are losing the way
As our federal leaders bloat the system
With the Department of This
And the Agency of That.
Pushing us into monumental debt.

Hard to blame a government with a printing press of money.
They offer sweet deals
To both corporations and the public
Which keeps politicians in office.

Our progress has left the path
The path of American principles.
The principles of the Constitution
These rules have become bendable and loosely applied.

And it needs to stop.

Where is the mind?
Not the brain.
Your mind.

Is it even your’s?
Do I own my thoughts
Or do they originate elsewhere?
Are they reactions
Traced back to my environment?

What am I feeding my mind?
Fresh uncontaminated air
Or digital exhaust?
From an anxious angry collective
Restless and desperate.

Where do you spend the most time?

Who said that you, a man, can always perceive justice?

Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it can be manifest within a generation, within ten generations, within the entire span of human existence?

What you are talking about is common sense, not justice.

Justice is higher and not as easy to understand – until it presents itself in unmistakable splendor. The design of which I speak is far above our understanding.

But we can sometimes feel its presence.

Excerpt from A Winter’s Tale.

The devil comes smiling.

Offering comfort and pleasure

But not joy

Which comes from trials

Going into your dark places.

Because only after a form of death

Do we emerge greater

Tempered in the fire

Reborn into a deeper existence.

Take care of yourself.

Then sort out society.

Counsel those who prioritize freedom

Over those who prioritize the opposite .

While setting the example for the latter

So one day they will realize:

Prioritizing safety requires sacrifice

Much more than prioritizing freedom does.