What Makes for Your Values?

Most people don't recognize their own values, unless they are religious or are educated about this in their expertise. Americans, for the most part, take their values for granted and don't think about it, because we live in a free society. But, what makes for someone's values? Social conditioning, and personal interests are the basic foundations for values.

Social conditioning is how one has been raised within a specific context. What were the parental values, and how were they imparted to the child? What was the specific culture the child was raised and how did the family function? These are values that are not thought about, but are reflected in one's understanding about money, relationships, and "self". These are internalized values that make it difficult to "see" and sometime hinders communication because of the emotional association of these values. But, these "social values" are not the only driving force in a person's life.

Personal interests also form a person's values. These values are goals, desires and opinions about "greatest value". These are values that are more consciously held, because they drive a person's educational goals and job interests.

I recently watched a movie that I used in another post about a journalist who was pusuing a Pulitzer by revealing a CIA agent and it is pertinent here. The journalist's revelation exposed the President and his indecretions, as well as revealing information about this particular CIA agent. The journalist was holding government accountable by the expose'. But, the government saw it as an intrusion into their ability to function within international complexities. The journalist was held in contempt of court, because she would not reveal her source of information. When given the opportunity to be released from jail and save her marriage, she refused, because of her commitment and value of "Free Speech" and Freedom of the Press". This was a noble endeavor, but the CIA's life and purpose was NO LESS valuable.

The CIA agent seeks to prevent national security breaches. They seek to give information so that decisions can be made that will protect citizens, the military and other dignitaries. These are valued servants of the public's interests. And they should be applauded.

Everyone will have different priorities in a free and open society and these all must be protected, as without them, we will cease having a free society. Those that have internalized social values, must stop and think before they judge another's difference, as to whether those differences are undermining society at large, or are just different priorities of interests. Appreciate the differences, and move on. Don't make issues of things that support an open and free society because of your own internalized differences or personal interests.

Individual Interests, and Society's Welfare

Ludwig von Mises Institute‎"Man becomes a social being not in sacrificing his own concerns for the sake of a mythical Moloch, society, but in aiming at an improvement in his own welfare." Ludwig von Mises (1949), Human Action


Those that believe otherwise put society before the individual. Society is made up of individuals who act within a social network. Such societies are free societies that so not seek to circumvent the individual's desire to prosper in all areas of his life!

The Military Draft and Individual Interests

Ayn Rand


Of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy, the military draft is the worst. [...] It negates man’s fundamental right—the right to life—and establishes the fundamental principle of statism: that a man’s life belongs to the state [...] Once that principle is accepted, the rest is only a matter of time.
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,
 
We have a voluntary Army because those that want to support the State's agenda are those that join the military. This is a noble endeavor. But, what is a noble endeavor, if one desires to voluntarily join the purposes of the State, can become abuses of power.
 
States all have various interests, and not all of those interests will be those that everyone agrees with/to. Those in power that are our elected officials are to serve the public interests and when they don't it is the people's responsibility to hold these "servants" accountable. Those in government are also to be whistle blowers if they see something that is illegal, or unethical.
 
The "ideal" is always to allow liberty to the individual and when abuses of power happen, the individual must hold accountable those that have abused their position of leadership! Unfortunately, those, like the CIA agent whose career was ruined and they ended up leaving public service and Washginton, do happen. So, the best advice is to take care to associate with those that do not have agendas that you do not agree with, unless you have joined the military and have no choice!

The Military and American Unity

Today, on NPR, a Princeton professor said that ROTC was to be welcomed on the Ivy League campuses. The reason given was that our culture had suffered because the elite schools are sending their graduates in to  every avenue of service; business, law, government, international relations, and, yet, they are not impacting the military, nor is the military impacting them. I applaud this attempt to unify our diversity. Because it is when we all have a unified vision that doesn't negate our Constitutional Republic that we all "win".

Intellectual development does have its bias, because of coming to terms with the philosophical complexity of "the world". One seeks to commit to a certain area of knowledge and "give back" to society in that given area. But, the unfortunate implication of the military being banned from the Ivy League schools, is that those students that are our brightest are not prone to use their gifts in service to their country. And the ideological commitments that do not value our Constitutional Republic  has brought about the culture wars of today.

I applaud and I am very happy to hear that there is openness to serving our country during her greatest need of great minds.