Would you sign a Declaration of Peaceful Intent?

[UnityEarth]

For the safety of billions of lives, to eliminate the threat of war, we, the free thinking peoples of the world, shall consider all people worthy of life, and all who are different from us, to be worthy of a peaceful existence.


1. Harm None - For the preservation of all that we place value in, it is only reasonable to respect and preserve that which is of value to others. Our only safeguard from the manipulations of tyrants, or the misdeeds of the unrighteous, is to agree that all violence, all damage, all Harm, is a crime.

2. Preserve the Peace - It is our duty, as free thinking people, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. In the event that a tyrant comes into power, those who value peace above all things must defend the rights of the defenseless. The only time at which military action should be tolerated or allowed, is when the innocent and unprotected are exploited or victimized by forces beyond their control. At the farthest limits of attempted diplomacy, the only time which Harm might be acceptable, is when it averts even greater Harm - this is the right of self defense, and the responsibility of protecting the weak and innocent.

3. Respect for Individuality - No man or woman on this Earth can claim to hold all of the keys to happiness, for all individuals of our species. Thus it stands to reason that no one of us has the right to tell anyone else how to experience their life. Within the realms of self determination, and consensual relations, it is up to the individual to find their own truth in this world, and it can only bring Harm for another individual to exert their will over anyone whose intent is peaceful.

4. Liberty and Freedom - Every person on this planet has the right to find their own happiness, this is the foundation of liberty. Depriving one of their capacity to pursue their own happiness, or infringing on one's capacity to experience peace and self-fulfillment, encompasses all Harm that one might visit upon another.

5. Respectful Restraint - When our own impulses tell us that a Harmful act may bring pleasure, it is our personal responsibility to contain those impulses. One cannot claim their own pleasure as an excuse or justification for causing Harm, for to do so is to accept that you enjoy causing Harm. Obviously an accident, or negligence causing Harm would not be a crime, but to purposefully and deliberately cause Harm, is criminally insane. It is natural to have emotional responses which urge one towards Harmful acts, but within our Humanity we possess the ability to use our reason and willpower to avert such terrible mistakes, and it is our responsibility to do so.

6. Defend Nature - This world is an incredibly tiny place, within a vast and astounding wasteland of lifelessness. It is our greatest responsibility to preserve the vitality of this world, and whenever possible, enhance that vitality. Needless Harm to the natural ecosystems and habitats of this world causes untold Harm to generations of people to come, and thus should be considered an abhorrent and despicable act. This world belongs to each and every one of us, and therefore to Harm this world, is to Harm every other being upon the planet, and every unborn child who might witness or suffer from that damage done.

7. Strive and Grow - Society as a whole, has a responsibility to the individual, to always seek to find better ways. As individuals, we have the solemn responsibility to better ourselves so that today, and tomorrow, may always be better than yesterday. We must grow and adapt, and never remain too attached to the ways of the past, that we cannot safely make it into the future. If we can never be perfect, that means we can always be better, so we must continually work to improve our world, as stewards of this very tiny, and very fragile Earth.

Signed,
Damon Schmitt


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I have a lot to say about the world. It is my feeling that our political and economic systems which were developed before the widespread use of computers and global media, are woefully ineffective for a modern world such as this.

I intend to mobilize and organize the citizens of this world to enact bold, positive change in the world, to create an atmosphere in which we may all prosper, and feel safe.

These messages are largely being disseminated in a video format (my camera is terrible, bear with me until I get a new one), and the entire collection (a work in progress, obviously) can be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/UnityEarthProject?feature=mhee

 

[UnityEarth]

Wooo, 3 so far.

I can feel the wars ending already.

 

[Pandora]

For the safety of billions of lives, to eliminate the threat of war, we, the free thinking peoples of the world, shall consider all people worthy of life, and all who are different from us, to be worthy of a peaceful existence.

All people? If this would stop abortion, I like it!

. Harm None - For the preservation of all that we place value in, it is only reasonable to respect and preserve that which is of value to others. Our only safeguard from the manipulations of tyrants, or the misdeeds of the unrighteous, is to agree that all violence, all damage, all Harm, is a crime.

I have a problem with this one. Harm none? Even the guy trying to rape your daughter? And self defense would be a crime? You understand there are some who will never agree to a life like this so there will always be some violence. I am not comfortable with the idea of no self defense or defense of your family, in your scenario it would be considered a crime too.

. Preserve the Peace - It is our duty, as free thinking people, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. In the event that a tyrant comes into power, those who value peace above all things must defend the rights of the defenseless. The only time at which military action should be tolerated or allowed, is when the innocent and unprotected are exploited or victimized by forces beyond their control. At the farthest limits of attempted diplomacy, the only time which Harm might be acceptable, is when it averts even greater Harm - this is the right of self defense, and the responsibility of protecting the weak and innocent

This one might cover the last one about a daughter being raped though I don't see anything in here about self defense. And should we wait till a tyrant comes to power? Usually by then its pretty bad, seems to me you stop the tyrant from coming to power and in this case do you think violence is ok or should it be more like Gandhi?

. Respect for Individuality - No man or woman on this Earth can claim to hold all of the keys to happiness, for all individuals of our species. Thus it stands to reason that no one of us has the right to tell anyone else how to experience their life. Within the realms of self determination, and consensual relations, it is up to the individual to find their own truth in this world, and it can only bring Harm for another individual to exert their will over anyone whose intent is peaceful.

Does this one cover abortion? If so, I can live with this

. Liberty and Freedom - Every person on this planet has the right to find their own happiness, this is the foundation of liberty. Depriving one of their capacity to pursue their own happiness, or infringing on one's capacity to experience peace and self-fulfillment, encompasses all Harm that one might visit upon another.

What if you find your happiness by having another person pay your way?

. Respectful Restraint - When our own impulses tell us that a Harmful act may bring pleasure, it is our personal responsibility to contain those impulses. One cannot claim their own pleasure as an excuse or justification for causing Harm, for to do so is to accept that you enjoy causing Harm. Obviously an accident, or negligence causing Harm would not be a crime, but to purposefully and deliberately cause Harm, is criminally insane. It is natural to have emotional responses which urge one towards Harmful acts, but within our Humanity we possess the ability to use our reason and willpower to avert such terrible mistakes, and it is our responsibility to do so.

This sounds good too except for those people who for what ever reason get off on strange sex games, if they are both willing I don't want to get in their way.

. Defend Nature - This world is an incredibly tiny place, within a vast and astounding wasteland of lifelessness. It is our greatest responsibility to preserve the vitality of this world, and whenever possible, enhance that vitality. Needless Harm to the natural ecosystems and habitats of this world causes untold Harm to generations of people to come, and thus should be considered an abhorrent and despicable act. This world belongs to each and every one of us, and therefore to Harm this world, is to Harm every other being upon the planet, and every unborn child who might witness or suffer from that damage done.

Well, if you mean don't litter and don't leave your campfire till its all the way out and stuff like then it's a great idea. If you mean don't cut a tree to make a house or don't kill an Elk for food or don't drive a car or do raise the taxes and ban SUV's then it stinks

. Strive and Grow - Society as a whole, has a responsibility to the individual, to always seek to find better ways. As individuals, we have the solemn responsibility to better ourselves so that today, and tomorrow, may always be better than yesterday. We must grow and adapt, and never remain too attached to the ways of the past, that we cannot safely make it into the future. If we can never be perfect, that means we can always be better, so we must continually work to improve our world, as stewards of this very tiny, and very fragile Earth.

So what exactly do you mean by don't remain to attached to the ways of the past? Forget your family religion? Forget your ethnic heritage? What type of past are you talking about?


All and all it sounds really beautiful till you think about it. Once you look closely... Its all too vague.

Honestly these statements remind me of obama's speeches while campaigning for president. He was never really clear what the hope and change was... and once we found out... well .... it was too late

I can't vote till I understand better... sorry

 

[pocketfullofshells]

sorry got people to kill....

 

[Pandora]

sorry got people to kill....

Yeah right

Seriously though..

Do you think the questions sound lovely? I do!

But its all surface, what do they really mean? They can mean many things to many people. The questions need to be defined better if I am going to take them seriously.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Yeah right

Seriously though..

Do you think the questions sound lovely? I do!

But its all surface, what do they really mean? They can mean many things to many people. The questions need to be defined better if I am going to take them seriously.

I am not into the peace love hippie stuff...I live in the real world and don't worry about some magic land where everything is perfect and everyone is nice..sometimes some people are going to be very bad, and someone is going to have to double tap them.

 

[Pandora]

I am not into the peace love hippie stuff...I live in the real world and don't worry about some magic land where everything is perfect and everyone is nice..sometimes some people are going to be very bad, and someone is going to have to double tap them.

You sound like a republican


sooo cute!!!!!

 

[ProudLefty]

I am not into the peace love hippie stuff...I live in the real world and don't worry about some magic land where everything is perfect and everyone is nice..sometimes some people are going to be very bad, and someone is going to have to double tap them.

Good grief. "double tap"... Is the solution to increase the killing? And wasting the extra bullet?

 

[UnityEarth]

All people? If this would stop abortion, I like it!

In minimizing the impact of government upon the people (and the financial costs associated with that impact), it is important to remember that there are many issues which we currently address at the Federal level that we should not. Pitting Religious Ideology against Scientific Observation is not the province of the Federal Government.

I have a problem with this one. Harm none? Even the guy trying to rape your daughter? And self defense would be a crime? You understand there are some who will never agree to a life like this so there will always be some violence. I am not comfortable with the idea of no self defense or defense of your family, in your scenario it would be considered a crime too.

Article 2 clearly states that Self Defense is -not- a crime. You have not only a personal responsibility to your own daughter to stop a rapist by any means necessary, but you have a societal obligation to apprehend the offender before they can commit atrocities upon other innocents.

This one might cover the last one about a daughter being raped though I don't see anything in here about self defense. And should we wait till a tyrant comes to power? Usually by then its pretty bad, seems to me you stop the tyrant from coming to power and in this case do you think violence is ok or should it be more like Gandhi?

If there is an assault of any kind, if one individual witnesses another individual violently breaching a third party's right to live in peace, it is their ethical obligation to society to do everything in their power to aid the victim. The point about tyrannical governments applies to the responsibility of the group (the nation) to assist those populations who find themselves being victimized by their own governments. On a policy level, I do not agree with invasions or occupations - but would in specificity say that our current best tactic is similar to our actions in Libya, where we aid the rebels in taking back their own country, and we surgically use remote weaponry to disarm the military might of the despot himself.

Does this one cover abortion? If so, I can live with this

I am not here to take sides in civil or religious issues. I feel that if both sides wish to live in a world free of strife that we must agree to maintain a purely secular governance. At the same time, we need to understand that no one 'likes' abortion, and it is merely symptomatic of other problems within society. Our efforts need to be directed towards the causes of our problems, not towards the symptoms of those problems.

What if you find your happiness by having another person pay your way?

If they consent to that, then it seems to imply that they derive satisfaction from caring for another person on that level. It is my feeling that there should be a universal welfare system that guarantees at least a modicum of shelter and sustenance regardless of an individual's mental state, or capacity to contribute to society. However I see no reason to make the apathetic and unwilling -comfortable- to any real degree. A bunk in a dorm where one can have a small locker to keep possessions, access to real running water and proper hygiene (hard to find work when you life under a bridge), and a supply of government cheese actually costs almost nothing 'per person'. It is not a life anyone would strive for, but it's a true safety net to help keep people from falling into utter despair and ruin. Even all that would largely be a stop-gap measure until we can figure out how better to insure employment for all who are willing and able to contribute to society.

This sounds good too except for those people who for what ever reason get off on strange sex games, if they are both willing I don't want to get in their way.

That's the tricky part for most people - as soon as they realize that some people enjoy life in ways that seem foreign or even obscene to them, they react strongly and often violently. Personal behavior is personal business, until they make it more public. Honestly, I think people should be more open about sex as a concept, but I have seen enough of this world to know that most people really should keep the details to themselves.

Well, if you mean don't litter and don't leave your campfire till its all the way out and stuff like then it's a great idea. If you mean don't cut a tree to make a house or don't kill an Elk for food or don't drive a car or do raise the taxes and ban SUV's then it stinks

I mean, don't cut down entire valleys worth of trees, when we have better sources of fiber. People should harvest Deer and Elk for food, if for no other reason than with the lack of large predator species, it falls on us now to cull the herd and keep numbers down (unfortunately most hunters go for the strongest and healthiest, rather than the old and weak, as nature does, to promote a -strong- population). I mean don't blow up entire ecosystems just to dig out some more cheap coal when we could invest into renewable energy sources that are safer for the planet. I mean don't open a factory and pump your waste into a river or lake just because it's cheaper than dealing with your own mess. We can only do what we are capable of right now, so people will drive gas-powered cars until we have a proper solution, since there aren't enough Rare Earth Metals on the planet to give everyone electric cars, we still need to find a better way - and that is the reasonable approach to the problem (I do believe low MPG vehicles should have an additional tax added, that would be used directly for research into energy and fuel science, but banning should always be avoided).

So what exactly do you mean by don't remain to attached to the ways of the past? Forget your family religion? Forget your ethnic heritage? What type of past are you talking about?

I am referring here mostly to past modes of governance. You can hold dear to you anything that you -feel- is right, as an individual, Article 1 basically says "leave me to my own, and I will leave you to yours, and we can both be different but happy", but as a collective whole, we need to always be ready to adapt. America's format of government and economic model have both remained largely unchanged ~230 years which I believe is a record for longevity of both a brand new nation, and new method of administration. This is notable because other great nations/empires who did not change their methods of operation to follow the times, inevitably fell to economic collapse, or civil war, or they one day dissolved their union and went their separate ways. The world has changed more in the past 100 years than in the 200 before that, and in those 200 changed more than in the previous 1000. We must refine our methods of governance before waste and corruption rip our nation (and with it perhaps our world) to pieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4oHSgMgrIk - This video sums up my stance on religious differences in the world

All and all it sounds really beautiful till you think about it. Once you look closely... Its all too vague.

Honestly these statements remind me of obama's speeches while campaigning for president. He was never really clear what the hope and change was... and once we found out... well .... it was too late

I can't vote till I understand better... sorry

There is not enough space, there are not enough words to go into excruciating detail on every point. Each point can be looked at from a multitude of perspectives, and it is my goal here to leave the messages as brief, concise, and simple as possible so that they are easy to digest (for example, have you ever read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety? how many people do you know who have?), so that they are not weighed down with 'contemporary' terminology or topical points that may lose relevance, and so that they provoke thought within the individual reader. I am here to illustrate myself and my view of the world as clearly as possible, because when these words are viewed through this particular lens, there is no ethical gap between the words and their intent.

It is entirely understandable that you have lost faith in our political system, because there is an infuriating disconnect between statements and actions. We no longer have Stewards in our offices, we have Politicians, and they will use spin, fear, mistrust, and hyperbole as their weapons with only one goal - to secure political office.

When someone such as myself comes to tear away the veils of corruption and greed within our system, and makes a sincere promise to remain true to exactly their stated virtues and principles, it may seem terrifying - but let me assure you that I am only here to convince people to agree to get along, and to cooperate to shift our world's #1 industrial product from weaponry to energy infrastructure so that we all may live productive, comfortable lives.

<3

 

[UnityEarth]

I am not into the peace love hippie stuff...I live in the real world and don't worry about some magic land where everything is perfect and everyone is nice..sometimes some people are going to be very bad, and someone is going to have to double tap them.

Oddly, I don't think that everything is perfect, and everyone is nice. I am arguing the case that if everyone is -a bit nicer- that everything can start becoming -a bit better-, and drawing a clear line of causality between violent acts, mistrust, military spending, and the iniquity of (this nation and) the world.

Those who are willing to commit atrocities towards others must be dealt with one way or another. If someone is committing grievous acts of harm against others, and cannot in any way be reasoned with, then action must be taken. It's pretty clearly described, in the briefest terms possible, within Article 2. I am going to take it on faith, for the purpose of this discussion that you are implying that if you happened upon someone being 'very bad', that you would not cross the line from 'stopping the bad man' to 'taking the opportunity to commit your own atrocities against the bad man'. And yes, I acknowledge that 'stopping' can mean the use of deadly force, when necessary.

 

[Pandora]

In minimizing the impact of government upon the people (and the financial costs associated with that impact), it is important to remember that there are many issues which we currently address at the Federal level that we should not. Pitting Religious Ideology against Scientific Observation is not the province of the Federal Government.




Article 2 clearly states that Self Defense is -not- a crime. You have not only a personal responsibility to your own daughter to stop a rapist by any means necessary, but you have a societal obligation to apprehend the offender before they can commit atrocities upon other innocents.




If there is an assault of any kind, if one individual witnesses another individual violently breaching a third party's right to live in peace, it is their ethical obligation to society to do everything in their power to aid the victim. The point about tyrannical governments applies to the responsibility of the group (the nation) to assist those populations who find themselves being victimized by their own governments. On a policy level, I do not agree with invasions or occupations - but would in specificity say that our current best tactic is similar to our actions in Libya, where we aid the rebels in taking back their own country, and we surgically use remote weaponry to disarm the military might of the despot himself.




I am not here to take sides in civil or religious issues. I feel that if both sides wish to live in a world free of strife that we must agree to maintain a purely secular governance. At the same time, we need to understand that no one 'likes' abortion, and it is merely symptomatic of other problems within society. Our efforts need to be directed towards the causes of our problems, not towards the symptoms of those problems.




If they consent to that, then it seems to imply that they derive satisfaction from caring for another person on that level. It is my feeling that there should be a universal welfare system that guarantees at least a modicum of shelter and sustenance regardless of an individual's mental state, or capacity to contribute to society. However I see no reason to make the apathetic and unwilling -comfortable- to any real degree. A bunk in a dorm where one can have a small locker to keep possessions, access to real running water and proper hygiene (hard to find work when you life under a bridge), and a supply of government cheese actually costs almost nothing 'per person'. It is not a life anyone would strive for, but it's a true safety net to help keep people from falling into utter despair and ruin. Even all that would largely be a stop-gap measure until we can figure out how better to insure employment for all who are willing and able to contribute to society.




That's the tricky part for most people - as soon as they realize that some people enjoy life in ways that seem foreign or even obscene to them, they react strongly and often violently. Personal behavior is personal business, until they make it more public. Honestly, I think people should be more open about sex as a concept, but I have seen enough of this world to know that most people really should keep the details to themselves.




I mean, don't cut down entire valleys worth of trees, when we have better sources of fiber. People should harvest Deer and Elk for food, if for no other reason than with the lack of large predator species, it falls on us now to cull the herd and keep numbers down (unfortunately most hunters go for the strongest and healthiest, rather than the old and weak, as nature does, to promote a -strong- population). I mean don't blow up entire ecosystems just to dig out some more cheap coal when we could invest into renewable energy sources that are safer for the planet. I mean don't open a factory and pump your waste into a river or lake just because it's cheaper than dealing with your own mess. We can only do what we are capable of right now, so people will drive gas-powered cars until we have a proper solution, since there aren't enough Rare Earth Metals on the planet to give everyone electric cars, we still need to find a better way - and that is the reasonable approach to the problem (I do believe low MPG vehicles should have an additional tax added, that would be used directly for research into energy and fuel science, but banning should always be avoided).




I am referring here mostly to past modes of governance. You can hold dear to you anything that you -feel- is right, as an individual, Article 1 basically says "leave me to my own, and I will leave you to yours, and we can both be different but happy", but as a collective whole, we need to always be ready to adapt. America's format of government and economic model have both remained largely unchanged ~230 years which I believe is a record for longevity of both a brand new nation, and new method of administration. This is notable because other great nations/empires who did not change their methods of operation to follow the times, inevitably fell to economic collapse, or civil war, or they one day dissolved their union and went their separate ways. The world has changed more in the past 100 years than in the 200 before that, and in those 200 changed more than in the previous 1000. We must refine our methods of governance before waste and corruption rip our nation (and with it perhaps our world) to pieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4oHSgMgrIk - This video sums up my stance on religious differences in the world




There is not enough space, there are not enough words to go into excruciating detail on every point. Each point can be looked at from a multitude of perspectives, and it is my goal here to leave the messages as brief, concise, and simple as possible so that they are easy to digest (for example, have you ever read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety? how many people do you know who have?), so that they are not weighed down with 'contemporary' terminology or topical points that may lose relevance, and so that they provoke thought within the individual reader. I am here to illustrate myself and my view of the world as clearly as possible, because when these words are viewed through this particular lens, there is no ethical gap between the words and their intent.

It is entirely understandable that you have lost faith in our political system, because there is an infuriating disconnect between statements and actions. We no longer have Stewards in our offices, we have Politicians, and they will use spin, fear, mistrust, and hyperbole as their weapons with only one goal - to secure political office.

When someone such as myself comes to tear away the veils of corruption and greed within our system, and makes a sincere promise to remain true to exactly their stated virtues and principles, it may seem terrifying - but let me assure you that I am only here to convince people to agree to get along, and to cooperate to shift our world's #1 industrial product from weaponry to energy infrastructure so that we all may live productive, comfortable lives.

<3

Thank you for the detailed reply. I still am not sure I would sign, but if put in that type of society I probably wouldn't fight tooth and nail against it.

I gather from you're reply that abortion goes on just as it is, that is sad. I didn't care for the letting go of "past modes of governance" At least to me it is the same as saying, let go of the constitution... I think we need to get back to the constitution... But I liked the "leave me to my own, and I will leave you to yours"

So, should I end up in your vision of society, I wont be fighting it "much" except for things like abortion