Freedom to Choose Good OR Evil

We Chose Agency

Everyone who is reading this post has fought for agency--the freedom to choose.

In the pre-mortal life we progressed to the point where we needed to come to Earth and receive a body to progress further. We would have to be righteous & keep God's law to return to him.

Heavenly Father created a plan where we would be able to come to Earth and choose good or evil. This agency would be made possible only through an Atonement because we would all undoubtedly fail.

Lucifer had, what he thought to be, a better plan. He wanted to take away the agency of man and force them to do/choose good so that none would be lost and all would return to HF's presence. But this plan goes against the eternal principle of agency. And, of course, Lucifer wanted the glory for executing the plan.

Everyone here on Earth sided with Heavenly Father's plan and choose agency. We and Heavenly Father knew that we would lose some of our brothers and sisters who choose to do evil, but agency was worth the reward and is the only way we can become like Heavenly Father. We must choose for ourselves.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and call things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil." - 2 Nephi 2:27

The Constitution Guarantees Agency & Liberty

Many of the founders of our country (especially of the Jefferson/Madison crowd) believe that as God is eternally free and we are created in his likeness & image, we too, are eternally free. We are guaranteed life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness in the Constitution.

We have the freedom to choose good and the freedom to choose evil insomuch as that evil does not infringe on the rights of others.

Many are Choosing Satan's Plan

Since the time of the constitution we as a nation made up of the natural man have moved into the tyrannical state of forcing others to do what we think/believe/know to be right and good.

This is happening on the Left and the Right. It is a Democrat problem and it is a Republican problem.

For example:

The Left wants the freedom to put whatever they want in their lungs, but they don't think someone should have the freedom to do what they wish with their money.

The Right wants freedom to do with their money whatever they wish, but they want to force you to not put drugs into your body.

My libertarian argument is that we don't force other to do what we know to be right or correct. Let's not confuse the role of society and churches with the role of government. Society should urge each other to do good and be righteous. Government should guarantee our freedoms.

The Modern Little Red Hen Shrugged

A friend of mine loaned me some CDs which are a collection of Ronald Reagan radio addresses during the late 1970s before his campaign for the presidency.

It has been a great joy to listen to his words in his own voice. In one address Reagan shared the Modern Little Red Hen story which I believe very simply illustrates some main issues with redistribution of wealth.

Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat.

She called her neighbors and said, "If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?"

"Not I," said the cow.
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen, and she did.

The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. "Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.
"Out of my classification," said the pig.
"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.
"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen, and she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.
"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.
"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.
"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share.

But the little red hen said, "No, I can eat the five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow.
"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck.
"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose.
And the pig just grunted.

And they painted "unfair" picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said the agent. "That is the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide their product with the idle."

And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful. I am grateful."

But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.

This story is very similar to the strike of the productive workers in Ayn Rand's fable "Atlas Shrugged."

What happened to this guy?!

I am blown away by this. I love what Bush says here. I just can't believe how he did the exact opposite.

(oh the sound is kinda weird... if you are listening with earbuds, you'll want to have them both in)

Rock chip repair and health care.

Have you ever seen the booths on the side of the road offering "Free rock chip repair?" Too good to be true? It is true, you pay nothing out of your pocket.

How is it so? Many of you already know the answer, the chip repair companies don't charge you because they charge your car insurance company. Hey, you're paying for insurance so, sweet, take advantage of what you can.

What the guy at the booth isn't telling you is the amount they are charging the insurance company. He doesn't need to, right? It's free for you, and that is all that matters. Well, it does matter, he is easily charging the insurance company 2x or 3x what he would charge you if you paid in cash. But again, you don't care about the price b/c it is free to you.

What happens if a lot of people start taking advantage of this amazing deal? The insurance companies would see an increase in their costs. Do you think they would just say, "oh, well it looks like we aren't going to make as much money this year b/c of this whole rock chip repair thing... oh well?" Not at all. They will raise their premiums.

Let's say that before this whole scheme started, one could have a chip repaired for $15, but since they are now charging the insurance companies they charge them $45 (remember to those insured customers it is "free"). What about those few whose car insurance doesn't cover rock chip repair want the service? Will the rock chip guy want to fix theirs for $15 cash when they could just find some guy with insurance and charge $45? No, they will raise their prices because a $15 job is a waste of their time.

Now draw the comparison with health care:

Medicare and Medicaid are two programs where the beneficiaries pay nothing and the tax-payers foot the bill. Now, do these patients care about the price their doctor is charging the gov't? Not in the least... to them it is free, so what do you think the doctors will do? Right, raise prices.

Now, not all of the blame goes to these two gov't programs. No, it is you and me, the insured, who are participating in almost the same practice. I the 70s the gov't gave companies a tax incentive to offer health insurance for their employees. It is now the practice of most firms to have some type of benefits.

For those of you that are insured, how much does it cost you to go see the doctor? Do you know the bill? What does the doctor charge? Your likely answer is, "I don't know, I just pay a $20 copay." Ah, so we insured also don't care what the cost is, do we. Do we choose doctors on a tradeoff of price and skill? No, we don't care about the price.

Again, what happens to those who are uninsured? They pay the higher prices that result from the price insensitivity in the market.

My proposal: Treat health insurance like term life. Insurance would cover catastrophic events (e.g. cancer, heart-attack, etc) but not the normal doctor visits or even a broken bone. Doctors would be in competition for their patients and would be again competing with price, and as a result, costs would go down.

Competition brings low prices and good service, see below.