The Pledge

I pledge to myself:

  1. I will consider anyone who I believe is trying to be the best version of themseves to be an ally.
  2. I will never use a monopoly (e.g. government), individuals backed by a monopoly, or individuals acting under duress by a monopoly, against anyone trying to be the best version of themselves.
  3. I will treat every living thing with dignity.
  4. I will leave the universe better than if I had never existed.
  5. I will contribute more than I consume.
  6. I will make more than I take.
  7. Outside my private spaces, I will only fight words with words, and inside my private spaces, I may also fight words with disassociation (e.g. expulsion) if I believe the speaker is not acting in good faith.
  8. I will not initiate aggression (force, theft, trespass, spying, fraud, or sabotage), and I will not threaten to initiate, plan to initiate, incite the initiation of, order the initiation of, or adopt a policy of initiating aggression; and I will not collaborate with those who do, and I may respond with sufficient aggression against such initiators and their collaborators in order to defend myself and anyone trying to be the the best version of themselves against such actions. I may defend others as well.
    1. Before I choose to act with aggression or to stand down,
      1. I will consider whether I am being played.
      2. I will consider what is the best tactical response.
      3. I will consider what is the best strategic response.
  9. Whenever I hear of an action or argument that could directly or indirectly further an unhealthy agenda, such as making good people more inclined to stand down, I will consider whether that could have been the goal.
  10. I will think for myself.
    1. I will trust my conscience and experience.
    2. I will go wherever the facts take me.
    3. I will only be convinced by my understanding of the facts and logic.
    4. I will not be convinced by a claim of truth because of the speaker's:
      1. status or title,
      2. power or authority,
      3. name or rank,
      4. dress or uniform,
      5. promises or predictions,
      6. threats or bullying,
      7. credentials or merit,
      8. awards or honors,
      9. experience or age,
      10. reputation or fame,
      11. intelligence or education,
      12. vocabulary or wit,
      13. style or charisma,
      14. because the only things that can be proved by the characteristics of the speaker are ... the characteristics of the speaker,
      15. and any characteristic of the speaker is just another claim of truth.
    5. I will not be convinced of truth by:
      1. hierarchy or protocol,
      2. coincidence or correlation,
      3. tradition or majority,
      4. media or government,
      5. technology or magic.
    6. I will not accept a statement as fact because it was in:
      1. a sign or book,
      2. a report or study,
      3. a movie or play,
      4. a poem or song.
    7. I will not accept a statement as fact because it is part of:
      1. the mainstream narrative,
      2. the official narrative,
      3. the government narrative.
    8. I will not be convinced of truth because the source is:
      1. aliens or angels,
      2. voices or visions.
  11. I will continuously improve and share my understanding of human nature, the world, and the universe.
  12. I will always be open to the possibility that I am wrong.
  13. I will try to be aware of my assumptions and premises.
  14. I will change course as soon as I understand that my actions are out of sync with my principles.
  15. I will fix my principles as soon as I understand that my principles are out of sync with each other.
  16. When I disagree with a position, I will try to find and articulate the strongest possible argument for that position, and if I still disagree, then that is the argument I shall try to defeat.
  17. I will be tolerant of that which does not violate my principles.
  18. I will accept the debt I incur when I violate my principles.
  19. I will honor the expectations that I voluntarily allowed.
  20. I will see others and think to myself, "The light in me is allied with the light in you."
  21. I will resist wanting something because others want it.
  22. I will be the primary authority of whether I am on the right path.
  23. Every sentient being owns himself, and I will respect that.
  24. Every sentient being owns the fruits of his labor, and I will respect that.
  25. I will respect every individual's unlimited right to self defense.
  26. I will respect every individual's unlimited right to opt out of anything and everything.
  27. I will respect the right of every individual to trade, create, and innovate.
  28. I will only judge a person separately and individually, and only by that person's actions and statements, and by empirical probabilities.
  29. I will not say that people are bad. I may say that an action was bad, and I may say that people who possess bad motives or commit bad actions have lost their way or are losing their inner struggle.
  30. I will not intend to damage any relationship between others.
  31. I will not place an unreasonable burden on others.
  32. I will not misrepresent others.
  33. I will not hold double standards.
  34. I will not tell other people what they think.
  35. I will not be mean.
  36. I will not be a bully.
  37. I will not be petty.
  38. I will not be rude.
  39. I will not be whiny.
  40. I will not be a poser.
  41. I will not be an enabler.
  42. I will not be evasive.
  43. I will not virtue signal.
  44. I will not scapegoat.
  45. I will not project.
  46. I will not overreact.
  47. I will not abuse my authority.
  48. I will have fun—I will be fun.

About the Author

  • deplorablepatriot says:

    “I will not overreact”. How do you determine when a person overreacted? At what point is a person to be considered to be overreacting? Is there a standard/base line/guide set? Hypothetical situation, I discover a pedophile checking out children at a bus stop. I walk over and ask him what he is doing. His reply is “checking out the children”. My response could be a kick in mouth, knocking out all his teeth. Some could say that would be overreacting. I would disagree. See my point?

  • deplorablepatriot says:

    deplorablepatriot is my word press account. You know me as omnipresenthuman

  • B says:

    Point 9. I have trouble understanding, what that really means. Could you rephrase that pls, maybe separated in a few sentences?

    • Jim says:

      An example would be the claim that God/Karma will punish/reward people, which would tend to make people who believe that less likely to try to remedy injustice, so that is a belief that would be promoted by those who want others to be more passive.

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