Auburn, Society and Values

I have a Murphy’s Law book that has in it a corollary of Murphy’s Law. ‘You can’t win, you can’t break even, and you can’t get out of the game. All of life’s major philosophies are based on some violation of this axiom. Capitalism is based on the idea you can win, socialism on the idea you can break even, and mysticism on the idea you really can get out of the game.


My daughter will be going to Auburn this fall, and they have a ‘creed’, or statement of values that I liked very much. So many of our social and political problems are violations of this creed, that I have reproduced it here, with comments about each part of it.

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.

We have become a country where just under 50% of us pay the taxes that support the rest of the country. That is not sustainable. It is superficially compassionate to tell a suffering person ‘I will take care of you’. When that suffering is based on corrosive habits, bad behavior and lack of education, such help is merely enabling. By supporting failure we condone and enable it. We will have to severely limit entitlement programs, not just for the wealthy, but for everyone.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

We denigrate the achievements of those who pursue education. While there is association between white race and wealth and education, that association is not nearly so strong as simple intellect. IQ is a stronger predictor of educational attainment than race or family income. We need to rejoice in the achievements of those who try, and stop making excuses for those who do not. If you go to school and do nothing but disrupt class, take drugs and skip school, I have no sympathy for your lack of skills and opportunities. Their lack is not prejudice or a failure of the school system. It is a personal failure that only the individual can change.

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

This is simply the truth. Our government lies and distorts in an attempt to gain votes, often accompanied by promises of more monetary support. We as individuals lie to others and to ourselves, about our actions, about our motives. It is not possible to make good decisions without honesty. I long to hear a politician say ‘ our budget is not balanced, and we need to cut entitlements and defense spending and end cut-rate imports from abroad.’

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.

This paragraph combines several significant items. We have so obviously abandoned sound bodies in our nation. Schools have no physical education programs, organized sports are only for dedicated varsity level players, as opposed to programs encouraging physical activity. We eat hideous, non-nutritious, processed food that is high in fat and salt. We as a nation are incredibly fat.

We have abandoned any kind of spiritual values and guidance. Regardless of my concerns with church organization, I strongly support the values espoused by the Christian church. Walking away from these in the name of egalitarianism is folly. We need to remember our spiritual selves individually and nationally.

We also have forgotten what it means to dare, to try, to innovate, to lead. We are collectively and individually so concerned with our comfort and ‘lifestyle’ that we have forgotten our lives and their content. We are not so much afraid as craven.

Our social values produce sports that are filled with cheaters and manipulators interested only in their own performance. This is in turn a reflection of the societal values that support such individuals and teams.

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.

We do not believe in law, and we have ceased to be interested in justice. People look constantly for ways to circumvent law, rather than to support what laws are for.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

Long since forgotten. Service to others through charities, churches and community organizations is laughed at. The Boy Scouts are considered a homophobic, overtly religious group that is prejudiced. We are concerned only with our own well being, and foist off to an over-burdened government our responsibility for our neighbors.

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."

Just saying those sentences in Washington DC, the Pacific northwest or the northeast US will get you openly laughed at and considered a kook. I agree with every one of those sentences, and wish we as a public that could openly espouse them without feeling ashamed or odd.

This is why I live in the south, and why I am proud my child is going to Auburn.

Ted