This Project and website proposed seven virtues of a New Democracy to which a citizen would need to commit in order for the United States to begin the process of reforming the era we are in and once again be a democracy.  In the last post we talked about the dangers of normalizing the current autocracy and the necessity of consciously deciding to fight for our national tradition.  Democracy’s success relies on our personal decisions to counter certain natural tendencies and live committed to community rather than pure self-interest.  Democracy requires a ‘yes’ to a seemingly impractical set of virtues.  So lets’ talk  about the essential virtues of a proposed Next Democracy starting with “Speaking Truth”.  (To see the seven virtues go to thegooddecision.org (Discernment III; Your Sense of Democracy).

The founders of this country may have introduced the concept of ‘freedom of speech’ but it was a term that probably didn’t anticipate an era of speech in which to lie and mislead would become a skill more admired than condemned. They could not have anticipated AI, or the internet, or a time when the misuse of information (abuse of truth) would become a formal commercial aspiration and an integral part of social culture. They could not anticipate a President preening for a jet plane, or referring to due process as an unnecessary inconvenience to administrative goals. They must have meant Speaking Truth.

Truth is a big word.  Truth means facts matter in context.  The “in context” entails using facts in a pattern that reflects the truth of science, the discipline of math, the physical reality of context  and intent of the speaker.  The Next Democracy will insist on truth and consequently when you read the virtues you will see Speaking Truth as the first virtue.  Lies, insults, bullying, threatening have nothing to do with Speaking Truth or the first intent of Free Speech. For the next generations of brave committed youth entering politics this project proposes that truth is a worthy virtue and the first focus for reform.  Good is realizing that even writing something like this posting causes one to pause to consider the risks and retribution for promoting honesty.  The subtle fear of promoting truth cannot become normalized in a country dedicated to the freedoms left over after the consequences of truth have been accounted.