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‘Truth is the recognition of reality; reason, man’s only means of knowledge, is his only standard of truth.’ -John Galt, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand truth- it is what is real even if everybody denies it is real. The closer to truth we stick the better off we will be. Winning a debate should never be the goal, unless one considers learning the truth winning. To seek truth is to attempt to recognize as much of reality as possible. Any discussions in THATLIFERAP will be ones that focus on finding truth. That means minimizing logical fallacies and being open to learning new information. But above all it means learning to trust your own mind and working hard to choose reason over emotional and irrational whims.

Happiness- is a state of noncontradictory joy experienced through the attainment of one’s values through the practicing of one’s virtues. It is not merely whim worship and it is not ever achieved at the expense of the happiness of others. Happiness cannot be given it comes from within and takes constant effort. ‘Happiness is not to be achieved at the command of emotional whims. Happiness is not the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes you might blindly attempt to indulge. Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy—a joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind, but of using your mind’s fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real, not the joy of a drunkard, but of a producer. Happiness is possible only to a rational man, the man who desires nothing but rational goals, seeks nothing but rational values and finds his joy in nothing but rational actions. Just as I support my life, neither by robbery nor alms, but by my own effort, so I do not seek to derive my happiness from the injury or the favor of others, but earn it by my own achievement. Just as I do not consider the pleasure of others as the goal of my life, so I do not consider my pleasure as the goal of the lives of others. Just as there are no contradictions in my values and no conflicts among my desires—so there are no victims and no conflicts of interest among rational men, men who do not desire the unearned and do not view one another with a cannibal’s lust, men who neither make sacrifices nor accept them.’ John Galt, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand ‘He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life.’ Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics ‘Happiness then, is found to be something perfect and self sufficient, being the end to which our actions are directed.’ Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

‘ Accountability: the quality or state of being accountable especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions’ -Merriam-Webster.com ‘To believe in personal responsibility would be to destroy the whole special role of the anointed, whose vision casts them in the role of rescuers of people treated unfairly by “society.”’ -Thomas Sowell It is important to take responsibility for one’s own actions and life. It is important to earn what one owns through productive efforts rather than through trickery or force. It is important to be honest when a mistake is made, it is even more important to learn what made it a mistake and work to avoid the mistake in the future. These are the qualities of an accountable individual; accountable to reason and reality.

Toleration is the ability to disagree with something and let it be. ThatLifeRap advocates for toleration of any action that is not infringing on rights. Tolerating the infringement of rights is wrong whether it is done by an individual or group of individuals (even and especially if that group is a government) Toleration is a key indication of whether a side is good or evil. What a side will tolerate as well as what they will not says a lot about a person. Nobody should tolerate the infringement of rights. Yet those who advocate for violence and government abuse not only tolerate but seem to cheer it on. What is it that they don’t tolerate? Opposition to statism in general. Both left and right will denounce and ignore any principled person willing to stand against them both. Another example is in the case of the systems of capitalism and communism. A capitalist system would tolerate voluntary socialism that did not infringe on people’s rights; for instance: if a group of people chose to go and hold all of their property communally and work together a capitalist system would not try to prevent that unless there was force involved. On the other hand if a group or people try to be capitalist in a communist system they are enemies of the state and subject to harsh punishments. Clearly the more tolerant system for rights is capitalism while communism is very tolerant of government abuse.

Love- as Ayn Rand states to love is to value. To be in love with someone is to value them as high as yourself. And Og Mandino says this on love, ‘I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the market place.’ Love can be our greatest weapon to convert people and shield against fear racketeering. ‘To love is to value. The man who tells you that it is possible to value without values, to love those whom you appraise as worthless, is the man who tells you that it is possible to grow rich by consuming without producing and that paper money is as valuable as gold . . . . When it comes to love, the highest of emotions, you permit them to shriek at you accusingly that you are a moral delinquent if you’re incapable of feeling causeless love. When a man feels fear without reason, you call him to the attention of a psychiatrist; you are not so careful to protect the meaning, the nature and the dignity of love. Love is the expression of one’s values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another. Your morality demands that you divorce your love from values and hand it down to any vagrant, not as response to his worth, but as response to his need, not as reward, but as alms, not as a payment for virtues, but as a blank check on vices. Your morality tells you that the purpose of love is to set you free of the bonds of morality, that love is superior to moral judgment, that true love transcends, forgives and survives every manner of evil in its object, and the greater the love the greater the depravity it permits to the loved. To love a man for his virtues is paltry and human, it tells you; to love him for his flaws is divine. To love those who are worthy of it is self-interest; to love the unworthy is sacrifice. You owe your love to those who don’t deserve it, and the less they deserve it, the more love you owe them—the more loathsome the object, the nobler your love—the more unfastidious your love, the greater your virtue—and if you can bring your soul to the state of a dump heap that welcomes anything on equal terms, if you can cease to value moral values, you have achieved the state of moral perfection.’ -John Galt, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand ‘The Scroll Marked Two I will greet this day with love in my heart Author: Og Mandino I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force. My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may distrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they may reject; and even my bargains may cause them suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay. I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs. Is it not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? Henceforth will I remember this secret and it will change my life. I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls. I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the richfor they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace. I will greet this day with love in my heart. But how will I react to the actions of others? With love. For just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger. Adversity and discouragement will beat against my new shield and become as the softest of rains. My shield will protect me in the market place and sustain me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments of despair yet it will calm me in time of exultation. It will become stronger and more protective with use until one day I will cast it aside and walk unencumbered among all manners of men and, when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid of life. I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkled my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And who is there who will say nay to my goods when his heart feels my love? I will greet this day with love in my heart. And most of all I will love myself. For when I do I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul, and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth. I will greet this day with love in my heart. Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate, only time to love. From this moment I take the first step required to become a man among men. With love I will increase my sales a hundredfold and become a great salesman. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world. I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.’ -http://blog.ncue.edu.tw/sys/lib/read_attach.php?id=4180

Individualism- is the primacy of the individual over the ‘collectives.’ It is the concept that rights belong to individuals. It is rooted in the fact that individuals have the ultimate responsibility of thinking and acting for their selves. Ayn Rand put it well when she said that a group does not have a collective stomach to digest food for its members just like it does not have a collective brain to make rational decisions for its members. All thought and action is done individually sometimes in cooperation with other individuals but never from a collective mind deciding it.

Freedom (p) is when society respects liberty (m) and rights (e).  (It is a political concept which deals with how society should be run, I.e with the utmost respect for rights (ethical concept) that are rooted in liberty(metaphysical concept)) Liberty is the ABILITY to think and to act.  It is a metaphysical concept because it applies to every being of volitional consciousness with a body to act that has ever existed universally.   Metaphysics is the field of philosophy which deals with universals. One individual’s liberty can be acted against by another individual or group of individuals.  That is true.  Liberty does not deal with what thoughts and actions an individual should take. That is for the field of Ethics. Ethics deals with many things most of which are evaluative in nature.  The concept of Rights is such an evaluative ethical concept.  It is built upon the metaphysical reality of Liberty.  Since humans can think and act on their individual thoughts and since this(thinking and acting on one’s thoughts)  is a human’s basic tool of survival, it is right for a human to do so. And since it is right for humans to think and act on their thoughts it is Wrong for any human or group of humans to initiate force against another human in order to make him act against his thoughts.    The ethical concept of rights holds that the only right to use force is in defense and only against the initiator of the force that is being defended against. For a society to respect those two concepts it must have a government (the entity in a given area with the legal monopoly on the use of force) which acts in support of rights by punishing infringements of liberty.  A totally free society in these terms is a far cry from anything that has ever existed in accepted history.    However to the degree that a society has come closer to this ideal it has been better off for every one of its members.   This can become a problem though as the benefits brought about by freedom can make people lose focus on the engine that brought the benefits to the table in the first place.  If a reverence and understanding of freedom is lost on a free society it will not be long before it ceases to be free.

Education- has become indoctrination and has moved from teaching how to think to teaching what to think. I would eventually like for ThatLifeRap function as a charity that pays people to educate their self on things that the mainstream has deterred them from or even misled them on. It could have videos and an essay or test at the end with money rewards for passing the test and bigger rewards for perfect scores. One of the main problems today is there is little incentive to learn about freedom, capitalism, peace or true history. That would be one of things I’d like to solve with ThatLifeRap.

Rights- as I defined above in the section on Freedom are the inherent, inalienable, self-assertive moral principles that it is right for each individual to use their liberty and wrong for any individual or group to infringe on the liberty of another. In a free society government’s only moral function is to protect rights by punishing the infringement of rights. And because government’s only tool is force, any use of the government that is not protecting rights is necessarily infringing on rights; thus making that government worse than the criminals it should be there to protect the people from. A society where government's sole function is to protect rights is a society dedicated to freedom.

Peace- is a sustained state of non-violence, toleration and cooperation. In times of peace creativity is unleashed and people are more productive. Peaceful tactics may not be as quick as violent ones but their effects are much longer lasting, wider reaching and substantially more positive for all parties involved.

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