I was recently accused of hiding behind my principles. The implication was that I was making a poor decision pragmatically speaking in order to adhere to some lofty and impractical principle. But principles are pragmatic. At least they ought to be. Otherwise what good are they? If your goals are noble, what better way to determine principles than based on whether they help you achieve your goals?
We often confuse expediency with pragmatism. You can make a choice that provides immediate return and seems the pragmatic choice only to pay a higher price later. A person who commits a crime is getting some immediate reward but has an ever-increasing risk of being caught each time. He’s gambling. He’s also shitting where he eats by destroying the sense of trust in his community. Lying is similar. When you get caught in a lie, which is likely just a matter of time depending on how often you attempt it, you seriously undermine your reputation. Worse yet, if you lie now expecting some immediate gain from it, even if you correct yourself in the future, anything you say thereafter will be circumspect. Even when you get away with it, every lie you tell for some immediate benefit undermines your veracity because you know you’re a liar. Conversely, knowing in your heart that you are consistently honest and sincere shows through in the power of your convictions. It’s a rare talent to be able to lie convincingly.
Thanks to Brian Anderson at the Keene Equinox (Keene State College’s campus newspaper) for this story:
At 4:19 p.m. a one minute contdown excites a crowd in Central Square at Keene. A man in a shirt reading “4:20 everyday at 4:20” paraphrases Thomas Jefferson and yells, “I hope for the day when people don’t fear their government, but the government fears it’s people.”
As 4:20 p.m. arrives, cars passing by honk and yell out their support.
This has been the typical scene at Central Square for the last two weeks, as protestors have shown up in large numbers to protest the country’s drug laws by smoking marijuana in public.
Keene residents Noah Wood and Rich Paul started the movement after the TEA party in Central Square two weeks ago.
“We thought, what better way to protest drug laws then to smoke pot,” Wood said. “Then we thought, why not come back tomorrow? Then it kind of evolved from there.” (more…)
Agents from the city of Keene were standing by all day long at Keene’s ward 4 voting location, lurking in wait for people registered to vote at the UPS Store at 39 Central Square. Whenever a voter would attempt to vote with a registration at that address, the voting bureaucrat would issue a challenge to the individual’s voting registration, claiming that address was not a “valid domicile”. The challenge meant that a “domicile affadavit” was brought out and the person in question was required to swear an oath that his domicile was indeed at the address they were claiming. We know this intimidation tactic irritated one potential voter so much he turned around and left. This is pure intimidation, as all they really need is an affidavit swearing domicile in a particular ward, however they always claim they need an exact address, which is nonsense, as homeless people can register to vote. I filled out my domicile address as homeless (more…)
Thanks to Brian Anderson at the Keene Equinox (Keene State College’s campus newspaper) for 
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