Excerpt
Foreign aid can be described as money stolen by government from poor people in rich countries and given to rich people in poor countries. We have given this aid to countless thugs and tyrants around the world. The money simply props these tyrants up. Almost none makes it to the intended people. Imagine if your family was a victim of the Shah of Iran, and you knew the Shah was in power because of the United States. Would you be more or less likely to become a terrorist?
In countries like Africa they have more mineral wealth, manpower and everything necessary for production than most other countries. What they don’t have is the freedom for those with ability to create the wealth. Instead of sucking up to the thugs of these countries and giving them money, they should turn their efforts into the removal of these tyrants and restoring the freedoms necessary for wealth creation.
Now let’s return to the importance of reasoning. The focusing of one’s mind in a quest for reason is not so much about problem solving 24-7 as it is knowing what the mind is doing at all times.
It is that factor which will allow one to be in control, not the one being controlled. It is that factor that has major implications in self esteem and it’s that sense of self worth and confidence in the ability to use his thought processes that will keep him from the harm life is capable of throwing at you. It will allow you to immediately identify those who would use you as a means to their ends whether it is a politician or a religious cleric calling for your sacrifice.
In seeking the truth which is the recognition of the facts of reality you must use thought and reason. In so doing you need to apply Aristotle’s laws of non-contradiction which state that “one cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time.” Plato is recognized for the determination of the same concept.
Although thinking is an option for man, action is a necessary part of mans existence. The actions he takes come as a response to his reasoning. If he is lazy or sloppy epistemologically the actions he takes will reflect the same. Often he will act contrary to his nature.
We know that values are objects of an action. Ludwig Von Mises in his excellent book Human Action makes a point that man is always moving in his actions toward what he defined as an epicurean rapala or a state of perfect happiness. He said that in so doing man goes into a state of uneasiness and apprehension before he takes action. That uneasiness and apprehension will dissipate as his confidence in his thinking process increase. Confidence in his thinking process will come with successful use.
Why???
We’ve explored the conceptuality of man and why thinking is said to be man’s highest virtue. We’ve also learned that thinking drives reason, that reasons drive actions and value is the object of an action.
We also know that man is a volitional entity. His existence depends on actions.
Now, let’s look at a word that should be in everyone’s vocabulary. It’s a word that will determine the success of your actions. I would call it my power word. It’s a word that fortunately I have been comfortable with most of my life. I have used it extensively overtly and internally. I would describe it as the guard dog of my epistemology. It’s a word that allows you to remain in control. It’s a word that every person seeking rationality needs to use often. The word I am talking about is “why?”
The value of the word why lies in the fact that “why?” sets up a threshold over which no man’s ideas or beliefs can pass without your permission. It’s a word that tyrant’s and oppressor’s fear more than any weapon.
With truth being the recognition of the facts of reality, then truth can only be identified through thought and reason. “Why?” becomes an invaluable tool in accessing the truth. Identifying A as A is critical. We will find out just how important that is as we continue.
Because terrorists are made not born, what I’m going to be writing about now will take some of you on an emotional roller-coaster ride. We will be going into the minds of those who create terrorists and we will look at the techniques and mind games they use. You may find that some of these same techniques have been used on you. For some, because I will be treading close to the nerves at the core of your existence, the anxiety levels may become more than you can handle. Some of you will close the book and return it to the shelf; others will trash it. To those people I would like to thank them for buying the book. For the others, lace up your shoes, suck in your gut, take a deep breath, remember the power word “why?” and let’s start.
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