What if we all just recited our own pledge of allegiance? What would yours be?

there is no way to make justice (as in 'what is just') objective.

I think this is one of the reasons why there is so much injustice in this country -- nobody can agree on what is just. This should change -- if not in this country, then as a species. Or, maybe that's just the main reason why the human species simply deserves to go extinct or replaced by a better organism -- we can't agree on something as important as what is just.

all those pledges would be different and conflicting

Not all of them. Some of us would wind up sharing some values. The venn diagram of those values would help us pinpoint those values we shared as a group of individuals. The point would be to have people express which of their values were so important that commitment to those values could be pledged publicly.

Perhaps you think I am trying to have a different discussion:

Should values be important at all to an individual? Yes, I think that they should. But that's just my opinion.

What about to the people of a country? Yes, I think that they should -- shared values are important for a group of individuals to cooperate and work together.

What about to a species of sentient organisms? Without some core principles, which are objectively adhered to voluntarily, I think any such species would probably be doomed to extinction, ultimately. Perhaps that is what we are seeing on this planet now -- an inability for this species to coalesce around values from a shared ethos.

what one pledges freedom of property and another maximum equality?

I don't know? Maybe those emphasizing the value of personal property over equality would be outnumbered? Just a hunch. Anyway, it's just a statement of personal commitment. It isn't a legislation. It's a simple statement of values made by an individual. I was interested in hearing what people in this sub were willing to state publicly as a commitment to values held as important as far as an individual was concerned.

/r/atheism Thread Parent