Humanities Paper
NINE AND A HALF
Humanities Paper
1
When I arrived the next day Ishmael was silent as he waited for me to see the text book
that awaited me at my chair. I looked closer and saw that it was opened to a section on the
Declaration of Independence.
“What is this for?” I questioned.
“Take this and come back to me once you‘ve acquired the necessary knowledge.” I left
puzzled and in no mood to deal with Ishmael’s games.
2
On my way home I was wondering to myself what the Declaration of Independence had
to do with the Takers considering it had been written a significant amount of time after the
Takers originated. What would the Declaration of Independence have to do with the Law of
Competition? Maybe he wanted me to find an example of how the Takers create their own Peace
Keeping Law. Eager to get to the bottom of it, I began my research as soon as I got home. When
looking up the Declaration of Independence, I found the information that was most significant to
what I thought I was looking for,
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Humanities Paper
This went along with our discussion about the Takers separating themselves from the Leavers
and the rest of nature under the gods’ rule. I hurried back to Ishmael to report my findings.
3
“That was fast.” Ishmael said to me as I returned the next day, “Are you sure you‘ve
found what you‘re looking for?”
“I think so.”
“Begin.”
“The main idea of the Declaration of Independence was to give the people their
Independence and rights. These rights were given to separate right from wrong which could in
turn be interpreted as good from evil. A way that the Takers are able to separate themselves from
any other species is the fact that they consciously decipher between right and wrong and are able
to have laws. But in this sense the Takers are deciding upon their own fate. They refer to the
powers as separate and equal when in fact they are separate and not equal.”
“Go on.”
“Takers have separated themselves from all other forms of nature in order to become not
equal. They have found ways to become better and a distinctively greater species. In this sense
the Takers are doing what they do best. Instead of applying the Law of Competition and the
Peace Keeping law to themselves they create their own laws to set themselves apart.”
“This is all very good, but have you found another law that this could tie into?”
“Would it be the Law of Human Rights? Or, rather, the Law of Rights?”
Humanities Paper
“Close, but I think you‘re missing the point. Maybe I can help you recognize the meaning
through a different description.”
4
“Aristotle had once spoken of human virtue. He said, ‘virtue is not brought upon by an
outside force, but blossoms from within.’ Takers feel drawn to ideas of their own rights and
equality. Takers consciously know what is right and wrong. This awareness of right from wrong
was later labeled a law. This law is the conclusion of what makes the Takers rational. This inner
consciousness recognizes the dignity of human rights and values. It is not a single person's
possession, but shared among the Takers. It is their justification of what they think is fair. One
can think of it as a natural human law. Jefferson was greatly influenced by the philosopher John
Locke from times before the Declaration of Independence was even written. Locke spoke of
acting dishonorably as a direct correlation with acting against nature. What would acting
dishonorably be in this case?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Think.”
“Would it be that acting as a Taker would be dishonorable and going against nature?”
“Close, but for the fact Locke was a Taker himself. But it sends the correct message. By
going against nature the Takers are acting dishonorable and in Locke’s case, sometimes not even
being aware of it.”
“Like most of society.”
“Exactly. Now what is it that we said separates the Takers and the Leavers?”
Humanities Paper
“The Takers are those who know good and evil, and the Leavers are those who live in the
hands of the gods.”
“The law we are looking for is what steers Takers toward the common good. Personal
ethics are the virtue of being human. It is human nature to have a concern and care for others.
While the Leavers saw the law as not necessarily and obligation, but they didn’t know any other
option, Takers saw it from the other point-of-view by calling these obligations human rights.
Takers decided to create a universal idea of treating other humans with equal fairness.”
“But this left out the rest of nature.”
“Correct. People have certain rights, and we have a duty to respect them, but what about
the rights of the animals or plants on this earth? The laws the Takers have created don’t include
all life forms, they’re just concentrated on themselves.”
“True.”
5
“I had wanted you to go and research more in depth the works of Thomas Jefferson, but I
suppose we can discuss them now. Go to the book shelf and find Light and Liberty: Reflections
on the Pursuit of Happiness. ” The book was marked on page 46 so I opened to it to find a
highlighted section. It read:
Nature has written her moral laws on the head and heart of every rational and honest
man, where man may read them for himself. If ever you are about to say anything amiss,
or to do anything wrong, consider beforehand you will feel something within you which
Humanities Paper
will tell you it is wrong, and ought not to be said or done. This is your conscience, and be
sure and obey it.
“So this means that everyone was hardwired with the ability of becoming a Leaver. Man
is also given the understanding of good and evil along the lines of the Takers. What it comes
down to is what path we follow. As humans, with the ability the gods have given us, we are able
to choose. By creating humans to be so much like them, the gods have created their own
Frankenstein.”
“Yes, humans have the ability to decide their own fate. By nature humans have the
ability to become either Takers or Leavers.”
“So is it the Law of Nature‘s Rights?”
“We’ll call it Nature‘s Law.”
Humanities Paper
Works Cited
Light and liberty: reflections on the pursuit of happiness By Thomas Jefferson, Eric S. Petersen
http://books.google.com/books?id=nEsG9K08npsC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=thomas+
jefferson+Nature+has+written+her+moral+laws+on+the+head+and+heart+of+every+rati
onal+and+honest+man,+where+man+may+read+them+for+himself.+If+ever+you+are+a
bout+to+say+anything+amiss,+or+to+do+anything+wrong,+consider+beforehand+you+
will+feel+something+within+you+which+will+tell+you+it+is+wrong,+and+ought+not+t
o+be+said+or+done.+This+is+your+conscience,+and+be+sure+and+obey+it...+Conscien
ce+is+the+only+sure+clue+which+will+eternally+guide+a+man+clear+of+all+his+doub
ts+and+inconsistencies.&source=bl&ots=xm578Bjb3m&sig=CRR8CSi9vKcelKb2A2pN
EyxOhnA&hl=en&ei=ExP8S7nvK464NsmB7cYB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&r
esnum=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Greek Philosophy: Aristotle
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/ARIST.HTM
The Philosophy of John Locke
http://www.radicalacademy.com/phillocke.htm
The Declaration of Independence
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/