The Ten Virtues of American Individualism

The purpose of this list is not to prevent you from living but rather to make you more aware of your life and the world around you. These are not order in any particular importance in an objective manner. However, I have organized this list in the manner that it is important to me. These virtues are interlinking to one another and all have their roots in one another. This list should be a guide not a control mechanism.

1.
Independence- The first virtue is independence. It was the founders desire to become independent from the government of their motherland, so it must be our desire as well. However, for us it is our desire to be independent from government. In other words the desire is to have self-sufficiency and to have as little reliance upon government as possible. Resourcefulness is part of the virtue of independence, largely because it takes the ability to be resourceful to find what you are looking for and to apply what you have around you so that you might be able to live accordingly. The individual most do as much as the individual can do to maintain as much self-sufficiency as possible.

2.
Critical Thinking- Clearly the idea of classical liberalism was backed up by some of the most rational scholars around. Because so much reasoning went into the ideology of liberalism to manifest in our society it is apparent that each individual must value the critical thinking ability and literacy of their own mind. One should learn the basics of reasoning as well as understand the errors or fallacies associated with the reasoning mind. So as to avoid falling to erroneous actions that is not in alignment with reality. The value closely associated with critical thinking is that of a degree of balance between being skeptical and open-minded, this is done so as to not deny possibilities but rather welcome them. Last but certainly not least, the virtue of critical think must be backed up with the value of truth, the goal of all individuals should be to avoid the temptation or the blurring of the line between a constant searching for the truth and simply justifying your side of the argument. This will be applied by way of maintaining a light grip on any discoveries and understandings made. Clearly the purpose of this virtuous path is to go onward in constant search for the truth and a clearer picture on reality, if it is true synthesize it with something you know is true.

3.
Introspection- The ability to look within the inner world of self is indeed a powerful ally in cultivating the individual self. All great members of our species are well aware of this virtue and some make specific references to the act of introspection. Thus the act of confession need not be towards another person in our environment but rather to ourselves, of course this act of confession needs to be a reflection on actions done during the day and objectively as possible ask yourself why you did what you did and objectively seek to answer these questions. Another art of the Introspective virtue is the desire to know yourself for who you truly are and not just accept yourself for what you or society thinks you to be. The act of knowing yourself is one where you put yourself in a difficult situation or find yourself in one and overcome it, much of our present society seeks to live a life of comfort and seeks to run away from problems but I say that you know yourself and stop trying to strive for comfort and familiarity all the time. Finally like the value of truth in the virtue of critical thinking, the value upon understanding is paramount to the virtue of introspection. The goal is to be able to build up a "mental map" of who you are and your thought processes as well as motivations from this you will have the understanding to make real change in your life.

4.
Honesty- Of the most importance to an individual and likewise complimenting part to the virtue of introspection comes with it the virtue of honesty. Now one must first be honest with oneself in the most objective fashion as possible. Honesty with oneself allows one to be truly honest with others, if you lie and deceive yourself than every act you do will only be filled with deception. If one seeks to live honestly than one must not put too much value in rationalizing away ones faults, but rather seek to simply understand ones faults and judge oneself accordingly. Apply honesty liberally to all circumstances and as the first response to any problem you may encounter regardless of how trivial or profound, whether it is of your inner dialog with self or with the dialogue of those around you.

5.
Wisdom- Our country was founded as a Republic, so that all might have power in their own lives, so build and prosper within your own inner republic so that you might further understand the power a republic has. Of course, wisdom is the child of experience so seek new experiences so that you might grow in wisdom. Seek wisdom of those from the past, become the true meaning of the word "philosopher" which means lover of wisdom. Embrace her and understand her, she was meant for you. Do not run for worldly wisdom which only seeks to pervert the true wisdom that was designed to uplift you and empower you with a personal sense of power over yourself rather than over others. That is the truth, the person who has power over themselves and knows themselves accordingly will be more powerful than someone who is insecure of themselves and thus seeks to have power over others because they lack power over themselves. Your life is yours so empower yourself by having power over yourself rather than having power over others.

6.
De-Conditioning- Some may wonder why I put in this virtue as part of the larger list of virtues. The answer is rather simple, if you are to live freely than one must not be attached to norms and conventions. The one who de-conditions themselves properly has these virtues as well as all other virtues and values work for their own improvement instead of being a slave to the virtues themselves. The one who de-conditions themselves successfully can see how things truly are. Truly the de-conditioned person is no longer dogmatic and demanding. Seek to de-condition yourself from your pre-conceived conceptions of whom you are and where you are going so that you might be the master of your life instead of the slave of everything around you. De-conditioning is part of the virtue of honesty which is part of the virtue of introspection, how well do you think you know yourself if all you do is identify with things outside of yourself? The only thing who should not decondition from your mind is upholding the highest value upon the principles of Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness.

7.
Novelty- This virtue will prove useful to our nation. This is not to say that you need to believe in and follow new ideas so much as but rather accept new ideas. Our nation was based on the idea of it being an open society, not a closed society. There will be new ideas and discoveries, so accept them or embrace them as part of the fruits of open and free society. Give new things a chance and do not be afraid of exploring and experimenting with ideas. You are meant to raise your awareness of life and the world around you. Embrace all that comes your way and celebrate these things as fruits of your liberty. Novelty brings life to a dull and uniformed world. If you wish to do a social experiment than one need simply do it in a grassroots format, for in truth that is where the results of your reality really is shown, in the grassroots, the localities, that which is right in front of you.

8.
Compassion- Here lays an important virtue, compassion or mercy is an act of the individual. Only the individual can be compassionate and direct their own compassionate behavior to those around them. If we seek to end the systems of government that have one group rely upon another group or have each of us enslaved to each other than we must be willing to be compassionate toward one another so that way we can find ways to protect our liberties and our own lives from the state who will act to counter-balance the behavior of the governed. Part of the virtue of compassion is rooted in the virtue of knowing yourself which means honesty must be cultivated. The compassionate person does what they do in love however, NOT necessarily in fear of losing something. A compassionate individual is fearless, so fear nothing but rather seek to understand and use common sense, for that which makes merciful action possible without "exploitation" is a discerning mind.

9.
Moderation- Although balance and moderation would sound the same I seek to apply them in a different light. If one were to look closely at our present society it is based on the desire for extravagance and love of the extremes. Our present society is a society obsessed with quantity. This thinking must end, moderation would cultivate the awareness of and the gratitude for things you do less often rather than pervert them. Moderation is the best way to prevent abuse. The one who moderates on any form of consumption whether it is in some intellectual, physical or spiritual pursuit will almost certainly have value for quality. I do not wish to prevent you from enjoying that which makes you happy but rather through moderation one will understand how happy something makes you. There is only one thing I say that you should do in excess (within good reason) and that is to defend your right to a life of liberty and happiness.

10.
Balance- Last but certainly not least one should seek to live a life of balance. Live a life of balance by being united in and encompassing both "the left and the right" try and breakdown division both in self and the world around you. See what the conflicting sides have in common. Find balance between work and personal time, to reduce unhealthy lifestyles. Seek balance between logic and intuition, so as to encompass the fullness of being a human. Seek balance between rich and poor, so that you might know the value of your work while not being enslaved to it all the time. Seek balance between extremes for our emotional nature is based in extremes but good reason shows us what we truly want as well as need to see. The balanced individual is able to understand the virtue of moderation intimately because the two are nearly the same. Rather than becoming one-sided, seek to understand, this is where the virtue of deconditioning comes in.