Set the Standard High; D. Peterson

It is a time-proven fact that one tends to get out of organizations and individuals what he expects of them. Mr. Peterson Is a freelance writer in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, anxious to share some of the lessons he's learned concerning the freedom philosophy. We even see this principle at work in ourselves with what has been called self-fulfilling prophecy. We have a need, both as a nation and as individuals, to set our stan dards high. This includes our expec tations for our governments and their officials, our educational insti tutions and their teachers, and our religious organizations and their leaders. But it is even more impor tant that we set high standards for ourselves as individuals. Too often we are guilty of expect ing more from others than we dare demand of ourselves. The individual is the foundation of society, and "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3) On the other hand, if each individual 243 244 THE FREEMAN April keeps his own standards high, the other elements of society will take care of themselves.

How can this be accomplished? First, we can demand honesty and integrity of ourselves in business and personal life. We can pledge our selves to maintain personal morals and professional ethics that are above reproach. We can temper all of our actions by the consistent ap plication of the Golden Rule: "There fore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12) Second, we can discipline our selves to continue our own self improvement and self-education. Will Rogers, that august philoso pher and conveyor of common sense, put it so clearly when he said, "Everybody is ignorant, only on dif ferent subjects." Successful men, in all callings, never stop acquiring special ized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession. -Napoleon Hill In his book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill wrote, "Successful men, in all callings, never stop ac quiring specialized know ledge re lated to their major purpose, busi ness, or profession." One who is not continually learning is doomed to failure. On the other hand, there is no limit to the successes that can be achieved by the one who will con tinue learning.

Third, those of us who have fami lies of our own can pass our high standards on to our children. Con tinual education by itself is insuffi cient. "The improvement of the un derstanding is for two ends," wrote John Locke, "first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others." Why shouldn't we start with those closest to us, our families? The improvement of the under standing is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to de liver that knowledge to others. -John Locke We can teach our children to re spect the Iives, rights, and proper ties of others; to appreciate and de fend their own freedoms; to faithfully fulfill their personal duties and re sponsibilities; and to work hard, giv ing a day's work for a day's pay. We can teach them, by word and ex ample, a positive attitude toward the life of freedom. We can encourage them to produce to their maximum potential, which may require some seemingly impossible expectations, but, as John Stuart Mill wrote, "A pupil from whom nothing is ever de1985 SET THE STANDARD HIGH 245 manded which he cannot do never does all he can."

Finally, we can look to the future with the view of perpetuating and improving upon the "American dream." As individuals are success ful in setting and achieving their own increasingly idealistic goals, the nation as a whole will benefit and will become more successful in ful filling and perpetuating that dream. By raising our standards as individ uals, high standards can be effected in government, education, religion, and the rest of society around us. As Samuel Smiles wrote, "Every man's first duty is to improve, to educate, and to elevate himself, helping for ward his brethren at the same time by all reasonable methods. The man who improves himself improves the world." Every man's first duty is to im prove, to educate and to ele vate himself, helping forward his brethren at the same time by all reasonable methods. The man who improves himself im proves the world. -Samuel Smiles High personal standards will pro duce high political standards. A free political system tends to produce leaders who are representative of the people who elect them. If those who vote have low expectations of those they elect, the elected tend to exhibit low ethical standards with impun ity. And as Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in The Canterbury Tales, "If gold doth rust, what shall iron do?"

On the other hand, if we, as a na tion of individuals, set high stan dards for government in the areas of leadership, justice, and freedom, unethical and disreputable office holders find it more difficult to "do their own thing." They tend to rec ognize their responsibilities to the electorate. They promote the inter ests of freedom and steer govern ment toward the fulfillment of its only legitimate function, Le., the protection of life, liberty, and property. A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he can not do never does all he can. -John Stuart Mill At the same time, however, we must be alert to the presence of evil forces at work that would lead our society into ever-degenerating so cialism and serfdom. John Philpot Curran sounded this warning in a speech in 1790: "The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."

246 THE FREEMAN We as individuals can also set high standards for our educational sys tems, both public and private. We can insist on freedom of choice, non interference from government in the marketplace of education, and high quality in curricula and achieve ment. We can work to insure that all private educational institutions whether operated for financial, re ligious, or philosophical motives remain free to offer their services to the consumers and to provide a broad spectrum of viewpoints. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condi tion if he break, servitude is· at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt. -John Philpot Curran When people are free politically and economically, freedom of reli gion will also be evident. In the free market one religion need not fear any other religion. There is complete openness and liberty. Government acts only as a peacekeeper, protect ing the free exercise of each religion while refraining from establishing any single one as the sole, approved religion. This is guaranteed in the First Amendment of our Constitu tion: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof .... "

The opposite of religious freedom is a state religion forced upon all re gardless of conviction or personal preference. History clearly records the results of such a condition, whether it be a Roman Catholic In quisition in Europe, an atheistic hu manism in Communist nations, a Puritan witch-hunt in New Eng land, or an Islamicjihad in the Mid dle East. Religious dictatorship is never compatible with personal or economic freedom. Living as we do in a nation which purports to defend freedom of reli gion, we can expect our religious leaders to guide us into the spiritual truths which best bring about indi vidual and societal stability, free dom, and prosperity. We can medi tate upon and practice our beliefs without fear of persecution. And if at any time we believe another religion or sect provides for our needs better than the one to which we currently subscribe, we can reject the old and embrace the new.

Yes, we need to set the standard high in our nation. But, as in all as pects of a free society, the burden of responsibility lies on the shoulders ofthe individual. That's you and me. Let's not expect the government to do it for us. Let's not wait for some one else to take the lead. Let's seize the initiative and do our part. @ Information in the Market Joe Cobb DURING the "energy crisis" of the 197Os there were many false rumors about major oil companies hoarding petroleum to keep prices high. When the U.S. Department of Energy was created in 1977, one of its main branches was the Energy Informa tion Administration. This agency has an annual budget of about $60 million to compile statistics on the energy resources and energy pro duction in the United States. Few people oppose collecting this kind of information. Even oil and gas producers thought it might be a good thing to dispel hostile rumors. Yet, there is a theory behind this pro gram that is basically flawed. The Energy Information Administration was created to provide a reliable cen tral data base for the National EnJoe Cobb is an economist with the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.