Wrapping up the [redacted] project
Since October 2023, I have taken time out of each day to think about and intentionally apply the Principle of Human Respect (PHR) in my life. Initially called the Human Respect Fellowship, the project was retitled [redacted].
At times writing has felt like beating a dead horse. The PHR is just not a complicated idea.
More often it felt like whispering into the void. There is no doubt that it has been time well spent, though. Even if it didn’t improve your life, it has certainly improved mine.
The PHR is a tool in the tool belt. I believe it is downstream of Consent and Value, but a useful and specific framing of proper action and good governance to help more people understand how their lives can become better without hurting others along the way.
Though my initial goal was to put out a new article every single week, I took a month off in silence and would like to briefly address that decision. I had drafted an article about the nature of Human Respect versus respect for animals, specifically related to the role of farming and homesteading after I had to kill several young chickens following their exposure to some unknown pathogen that was a risk to the rest of my flock, and my family’s food supply.
The point I hoped to make was that Human Rights and Human Respect are of a higher priority than animal rights, and in a world of finite resources, we should prioritize humanity until our species has our house in order. Sometimes, animals pay the price for human happiness, harmony, health, and prosperity – and that’s not necessarily unjust.
I was already on the fence about hitting publish as it dealt with an ugly moment that was horrendous for everyone involved. Then, the “Kristy Noem shot her dog” story broke, and I decided to hit pause and reflect. Like I said on day one of [redacted] you don’t really need me, but I’m glad if I can help.
I still don’t plan to publish that article, or the follow-up about raising meat rabbits and killing invasive rats (no glue traps, friends). I mention it now as an explanation for the gap, and also because the point of the article is relevant to wrapping up the project: Humans make choices and should simplify their options to prioritize Human Respect.
More importantly, not everything needs to be said and shared. During the May 2024 publishing gap, I participated in a Virtual Reading Group (VRG) hosted by Liberty Fund titled, “An Economy of Words: Adam Smith and the Political Philosophy of Language” which gave me a greater understanding of how language developed in Western thought, and how much ink has been spilled to explain how language has evolved. My biggest takeaway is that a lot of writing about language is a distraction from Truth for the reader, though it undoubtedly helps the writer in their own life. I would suggest reading the work of Ursula K. Le Guin, both the Omelas essay I’ve written about previously and her other work that I first encountered in the VRG which explores the hypothetical translation of animal languages and puts a mirror up to the reader. The latter is also interesting to consider in light of Governor Noem and a broader conversation of lived human experience.
Perhaps the most important lesson of these eight months has been the importance of individual creativity in seeking a better world through moral means – i.e. consensual means that do not initiate violence or diminish wealth by force or fraud.
In every conversation I’ve had with someone who attempts to justify violent acts and the diminishing of wealth through force or fraud, they have adhered to someone else’s idea of happiness and struggled to define it for themselves. They have seemingly never gotten around to finding their own Values and have been eaten alive by the resulting need to conform in a constantly changing world. They are boxed in by belief, instead of seeking to transcend toward unity, ironically what they often endorse in principle. Their despair has fueled their willingness to seek shortcuts by harming others. If a human cannot fathom their own Value, their view of others’ Value is diminished or warped and violent or coercive methods become, improperly, thought of as permissible.
This is a common problem, and the Foundation for Harmony and Prosperity is right to focus on the “Terrible Exception” of Agency Delegation. If it’s someone else’s wrongdoing, enablers feel less responsible and perhaps even feel solidarity with others suffering. Not only does collectivism necessitate unjust power and run counter to Human Respect, but there is also less pressure to come up with solutions in one’s own life. “There is someone else working on it, so I don’t have to” – even if those people are not just imperfect, but often deliberately immoral.
Those who are invested in moral action and human respect are some of the most vibrant creative and thriving people I have had the pleasure of knowing. They are inspirational.
Necessity is the mother of invention and, despite those short-sighted enough to choose violence and force, I’m optimistic about the future. Each and every person has an opportunity for a better tomorrow, and that becomes more likely upon awakening to that possibility and belief.
This is the end of [redacted], but I am not done working with the Principle of Human Respect. In May 2024 I signed a contract with Respect America, a PHR and Foundation for Harmony and Prosperity-adjacent organization, where I will be writing testimonials of those who have been hurt by coercion. You can sign up for their emails, here: https://www.respectamerica.org/#signup and they will also be published where you are reading this now.
Thank you for reading and engaging with this content. The results varied – some weeks we had upward of 1,500 users read the article, and other weeks less than 100.
The numbers don’t matter – the human impact does. I’m wrapping this up with joy.
If you get some Value from the Principle of Human Respect, share the Foundation for Harmony and Prosperity with someone you love. You’re going to get more love back in the short and long term than you ever could have imagined.
