Citizens Prerogative Podcast Closed Caption Transcript
S3 E61 Freedom to Pursue Happiness

11:21:20 In times like these. Being a citizen is a big job.
11:21:24 Thank you for joining us to celebrate the virtues of self rule and debate the state of our Republic.
11:21:30 Welcome to the citizens prerogative. podcast This is the voice of your nerdy host, Michael Biscatelli, and we are inspired by a co-host whose passion for our Republic proceeds him everywhere.
11:21:42 He goes. Raymond Wong, Jr. Thank you.
11:21:45 Thank you, I think we're all filling very very happy in comparison to Prime Minister.
11:21:51 Trust you can even she get to set she's in the history books.
11:21:58 She set a record good for her. Not all of us get that opportunity.
11:22:03 I hope she enjoys it. This is episode number 61 where you're still in season.
11:22:09 3. The title of this episode is going to give You a clue about what we're talking about today.
11:22:14 The freedom to pursue happiness. I hope Liz is happy.
11:22:24 It has been a while since we discussed the ideas of freedom in the United States, and this time around we're gonna marry it up with the pursuit of happiness.
11:22:34 We're also going to focus Maybe on some stoic teachings coming from ancient philosophy.
11:22:43 Ancient wisdom to help us guide Our discussion after all the ancients were locked in their heads just like us, and whether it's Rome or the United States.
11:22:59 Their internal mental struggles were all the same thankfully we have access to some of their writings, and in particular some people's, journals, So we're intimately familiar with the thoughts that they were experiencing in their
11:23:11 ridiculously rye with the thoughts we tend to have these days.
11:23:16 Although I don't think thousands of years of history shouldn't surprise how little we've changed, how we think about things or the human condition, you know that's at the end of the day the human condition is the struggle we all experience in
11:23:34 our minds back to freedom. Hmm freedom is the ability to use one's own agency to affect change in their life.
11:23:46 We were talking in the last episode a little bit about reason, and the fact that what we have control over also come know to borrow from stoicism.
11:23:55 The dichotomy of control says: We only have control over what we think, how we act. things like that.
11:24:01 Everything else is nextternality. Everything else is something that happens to us, and all we can do is choose our understanding of it and our response of it.
11:24:13 So using our own agency to effect change in our lives is really the only way to address certain things, whether it be to change one's class, whether it's changed their profession to change their companions or my most importantly, your own
11:24:32 mind. we are all on a journey. Every human is on a journey to achieve some level of self-awareness.
11:24:41 I hope, and through that, underneath your own mind and the onboard observer. that is your consciousness right?
11:24:48 Your brain is a tool mechanism, software hardware combination.
11:24:54 But you are not your thoughts. you are not your emotions.
11:24:57 You are the consciousness that is in the driver's seat that is in the captain's chair of your body, which ends up being a spaceship
11:25:11 Now we're gonna pivot to government because in the system we have set up the ability to exercise one's own agency, and freedom really comes from rule of law.
11:25:26 It the idea that we should all have equal rights and justice under a set of laws, regardless of what another human feels they should dictate for us.
11:25:41 Government acts as the civilian interface between individuals and groups.
11:25:47 It mediates the boundaries where our lives intersect.
11:25:53 The law is there to bring any conflicts to a conclusion not necessary, and necessarily amicably or fair, but to bring it to an end, and it's through the laws that have to evolve in ways, if fairness, is our
11:26:11 concern as a society, to find new and better ways to get that into law
11:26:27 Together with the government and law. they help enable freedom and that's in effect, keeping others from treading too heavily on our own pursuit of happiness, and keeping us from trespassing on others pursuit of happiness so when I was talking
11:26:47 about conflict, the conflict, the root of all of it, is when any one of us, or a group of us press, passes right on the pursuit of happiness of another, and we should all have you know equal rights.
11:27:06 We use that term just to indicate that the idea is egalitarian that we all have.
11:27:14 We should all have this access, that my liberty is not more valuable or more important than your liberty, and then we have to find out where these things intersect and mediate those differences best.
11:27:25 We can, and it's never very clean or easy which is how we end up with everything that we have today.
11:27:37 You know, thinking about this old religious thing of the it's not it's It's basically with the Bible.
11:27:46 I believe that the meek shall inherit the earth.
11:27:49 This idea that you are supposed to accept something lesser than what is so so meek.
11:28:00 I haven't seen that in the constitution you know there. There is no description that says that's your existence.
11:28:08 That's what you receive the meek shall Inherit the earth is what the old age gave us the new Scripture.
11:28:17 The new word, in a sense of of that that cascades across all citizens of this nation is that we have a right to happiness.
11:28:29 This is not about religion. I think happiness religion are are 2 separate things, but I I believe that religion was meant to keep you content with your lot in life.
11:28:47 It's highly designed to only make you believe you have a right to so much experience, and that you're supposed to defer happiness.
11:29:01 Well, those 2 things are at odds the constitution that you're given when you're born in this nation, and an old indoctrination that still exists to this day, and people still apply to you whether you believe in that
11:29:15 book or not, we we see it happening right? the rights are separate.
11:29:22 Happiness is not achieved through scholarly means.
11:29:28 Be it a Bible or Academia, there is, there is a human experience and a dignity that each of us have a right to define individually and attain
11:29:44 Here here. well put It's a good transition into this other comment Here, now.
11:29:55 Hmm! How best to choose a life for one self? How shall we make ourselves accountable for pursuing happiness?
11:30:09 Making that our goal and being cautious about the means we use to achieve that happiness.
11:30:17 There is nothing in school. there is nothing in church that truly prepares one to live.
11:30:28 A fulfilling purpose driven life that one is on us.
11:30:33 It is left to each of us to look inside and understand ourselves.
11:30:38 What is our motivation? What is it when what are we doing when we lose track of time?
11:30:42 What are the hopes and dreams that we have? But beyond that, W.
11:30:49 What actually makes us happy. Those things really come from inside. These are extensions of the human condition, and it's a unique thing for each and every one of us.
11:31:01 This is why it's so critical core to go through the process of self-examination and reflection that achieve a greater understanding of who you?
11:31:14 Who is that on board? observer, who is that consciousness in the captain's chair?
11:31:21 Right you are. You were the captain of a spaceship.
11:31:26 That is inhabited by many organisms, who also all wanna live.
11:31:32 We all. Every organism on your ship has a vested interest in the survival and happiness of that experience in that existence, because that is, that is where good feelings come from.
11:31:46 This is where joy lives and make no mistake. You know those signals, those sensations, those feelings, their real signals, their signals from our old school friend or fruit.
11:32:02 Excuse me, friend or foe like threat detection system you know who's gonna be a friend who's who's not?
11:32:09 Who's gonna attack us things of that nature you know it's all kind of wrapped up in some of that subprogramming.
11:32:15 It's not necessarily something we're good at conscientiously understanding in the moment, because taking time to understand things in the moment used to mean possible death in in wild we're not in the wild anymore.
11:32:28 But sometimes it does seem that way. not going to talk about guns.
11:32:36 But this idea of having a purpose driven life one, where your actions, your thoughts, your words, are informed by an innate understanding, a core awareness of who you are as a human being, and what your values are not what you've
11:32:53 been told values are not what you've observed other people's values of being, who is in the captain seat of your spaceship, who is running the show upstairs, who's receiving all the information, getting all the visual input
11:33:11 they audio, input the emotional input and all the other signals that come as metadata applied to our existence of reality through a mechanism we call the brain Self-examination is required to really tease out some
11:33:27 of that purpose, and it's through that purpose and through following and hoping to attain that purpose.
11:33:35 Maybe never actually achieving it. but it's through the acts of trying to achieve that purpose that happiness emerges that inner joy of just doing the right thing.
11:33:50 Because we can only live in a moment we don't live in the business.
11:33:53 We don't live in the future we only live in right now, and if we want to express joy right now, then we need to be acting in aance with our purpose
11:34:08 Thankfully. We have a system under laws that gives us a framework so that we can choose the behaviors that you know, work the best for us.
11:34:15 I mean that's kind of the core idea under liberty the liberties is really around having that freedom of choice to figure out what your purpose is.
11:34:24 What makes you happy, and and then to be able to pursue it, and no core joy, no core happiness comes from murdering others, no core joy, no core happiness, comes from tearing others down destroying things.
11:34:39 We've built together. that is not the nature of the human The human nature is to collaborate and build things together.
11:34:49 Tribalism comes with us you know but it's a choice it's, hey?
11:34:54 Comes with us, but it's a choice just like love enjoy hunting, Hunting is a choice.
11:35:01 It was a matter of survival right and and i'm sure we ate a lot of things not just large game and deer.
11:35:08 I'm sure we everything that came across our path so you know We're not even hunting like we would have a good grub.
11:35:15 I'm sure it would have been tasty if cooked just right.
11:35:19 Hopefully. you had cooking by that time I think that happiness and liberty, and this is a common theme, you know there's a capacity that's given to the American people when with their given things like health care right when you
11:35:35 obtain health care. It probably was life changing for you, and you experience freedom to to, you know, take greater risk to.
11:35:43 Probably you probably do things understand that you have healthcare and you can go on trips, or you maybe can bungee jump and do these things because maybe there's just an extra protection in case you're injured this this freedom
11:35:57 that we experience as citizens when we get it from the corporations or we attain it for ourselves by self-funding these liberties and such it's.
11:36:09 They're kind of described they're they're hidden as something that's limited and held back and really more and more.
11:36:16 If we are capitalists, and that's been an argument since the beginning, right is that if we are a capitalist society, then freedom, liberty in these components must the definition and root must be tied.
11:36:28 To having these capitalistic mechanisms, which we know make a successful citizen right any.
11:36:35 Everything that exists in our capitalist society today is to make you the best citizen you can be, and and most profitable citizen you can be.
11:36:43 It does nothing but enable that we're just saying that everyone should have the the baseline version of it.
11:36:50 I love that because you can't have capitalism without collaboration and cooperation, capitalism doesn't work this doesn't mean there isn't mistrust and greed built into it and you know we need to
11:37:02 mitigate those parts, but agree to mistrust her choice it doesn't exist everywhere.
11:37:12 Right. what's a contract, or what what causes you besides the threat of litigation and the trust that the little the litigation will go through a judicial system that's trustworthy right it's all it's
11:37:22 the whole system is frankly You and I agree that dollar is worth the same value, and we pull it off across an entire nation with people we've never met right. It's we we have the capacity for collaboration and that's
11:37:37 the basic one, just money. And the fact that one means one and 2 means 2 in mathematics. Right?
11:37:44 We do have to agree to that and it's agreed across the entire across the entire entire earth in a sense.
11:37:54 Yes, and it's the only source of building anything greater humans can't survive alone, much less build anything of greatness or worth.
11:38:07 If we're not working together. So if you can at least just take that fundamental seed away, and understand that is the core of who we are as animals.
11:38:16 And it began in our collective survival together out in the wild and now it's evolved into skyscrapers
11:38:33 Is just collaboration. Imagine, if you had nothing else to do, Your society had reached a new peak, a new pinnacle of agrarian evolution. right?
11:38:41 You have all this food and everyone is time to sit around and ponder.
11:38:46 There's great things that come out of collaboration. of our people, and we're at that moment again, we're at an inflection point where technology can either better our lives.
11:38:56 We can just sit back and let it take over and happiness is not going to come from letting technology decide what makes us happy.
11:39:03 That's the trend right now by the way technologies feeding us.
11:39:07 What makes us it feeds us our emotion it's not even happiness.
11:39:11 That's for another episode. i'm gonna try not to stoke my anxiety on that one.
11:39:18 Now it'll help taking a quick break time for a message from our sponsor.
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11:40:58 Page. Thanks for your support. I know we were just recently talking about reason, and I think one of the things I try to ask myself more and more is, you know, if I if I was to pass today.
11:41:15 If I was to end my life, not personally but like I I do it myself, but I mean it just the the time has come where it's the end of life.
11:41:25 Am. I gonna be satisfied with what i've done thus far, and I think that's a hard question to ask yourself or cause I think a lot of us focus on how much time we have left.
11:41:35 But what if it stopped today? Have you put in the amount of thought?
11:41:41 Did you do that? One thing that you wanted to do? Read that one book.
11:41:46 Did you take that trip? Did you focus the energy to pursue happiness?
11:41:52 Because to me happiness is a race against death, right to accomplish the things that you care about.
11:41:59 Most the things that were part of you when you were young, and that you carried into your your adulthood as core to your existence.
11:42:07 The reason you do it. If you're trying to reach retirement, I think happiness is being able to experience micro doses of what that will be.
11:42:20 In the meantime right in the meantime you sometimes it's a journey; but but in the meantime did you at least get a taste of what you wanted
11:42:34 Very pointed. then also borrows on some ancient philosophy around the idea that we should contemplate and meditate on loss whether it's the loss of our own lives in the next hour, because of an
11:42:48 aneurysm, or the loss of an object in our life that we feel is precious, or the loss of our home or shelter, because these things, at the end of the day, actually have nothing to do with our happiness it all
11:43:05 comes from inside, and it can be there right now. We only live in the moment.
11:43:14 Again. The past is gone, and tomorrow is never guaranteed.
11:43:18 The next hour is never guaranteed. Consider that.
11:43:24 Would you be happy right now do you have the capacity to experience joy, and gratitude for what you've already learned, gained, and taught other people that has to come from within? us?
11:43:40 It's the only place that truly exists especially if you want it.
11:43:45 There's only one place to get it it's inside of you We have a limited time here on Earth.
11:43:53 Try not to spend too much of it. angry, try not to spend too much of it fearful, and try not to spend too much of it, wanting.
11:44:01 Look for any reason to be grateful. Focus your energy on what is in your control and not outside of it.
11:44:09 And remember to keep growing you know the pursuit aspect of this we haven't focus too much on but ultimately at the end of the day.
11:44:20 That's really what it's all about we say happiness and joy.
11:44:24 Those are an ends, but the means is the pursuit and the quality of the pursuit is everything.
11:44:29 If you're going to have joy in this moment if you focus on the things you don't have that you deserve.
11:44:37 You're inviting. envy If you focus on the things you have achieved the things you do, have the disadvantages you don't face, Do you have all of your limbs, all of your eyes, can you hear everything can you
11:44:48 see everything. Can you feel everything There are people who can't feel love out there.
11:44:55 We should have some empathy, I suppose, for that, but more to the point.
11:45:01 B. having gratitude for being able to experience and share those sensations among and with one another.
11:45:14 We would also challenge you to learn more about fulfilling your purpose.
11:45:16 So something that you feel compelled to create which is all a part of the pursuit of happiness to be able to explore what you're compelled to create.
11:45:32 Where you hope you see in the world to be the change you wish existed when you were a child or an adult or right now.
11:45:43 Okay, explore what it is that motivates you and brings you happiness.
11:45:47 Grow it, share it with others for community sake this idea of collaboration.
11:45:54 Isn't just about building things outside of ourselves it's about building connection between and among one another.
11:46:04 Why? Because we're all a captain in a chair in our heads trying to get through this one life that really doesn't make any sense.
11:46:14 But We're here and we're doing it and we all are sharing the experience, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.
11:46:25 It's left up to each of us to find our path in life and seek fulfillment through growth and through community building.
11:46:34 We are not building community as we move through our careers and lives.
11:46:38 If our purpose seems aimless, you know we need to have a sense of where, where it is that we experience that joy.
11:46:51 And this idea that one just different, i'm program different different type of person, right, you know, when when an experiment has been done so many times over, has been refined, you know we kind of talk about the insects about how
11:47:05 they're so evolved and they're so excited but we are evolved for collaboration.
11:47:10 We are weak in physical structure, and e we don't have an exoskeleton, right?
11:47:18 But what we we did evolve with, how we survived on this earth, and became the dominant species.
11:47:25 If you will in some ways is through that core collaborative art, and it's not a science.
11:47:33 This is not something that's perfect no one has a corner on collaboration, or the happiness or fear that comes out of it.
11:47:43 Collaboration Is the human experience actually
11:47:52 Powerful one of the other, maybe final calls to action. We have here is to learn more about the history of the United States, and really philosophy in general to get grounded in something closer to fact.
11:48:12 Then fiction, philosophy. we have a very special reverence for this ancient wisdom that asks us to question things and to question ourselves, and to better understand our place and time, and how it is that we could bring benefit how we can grow
11:48:37 to benefit others, to think well and develop, and ever growing awareness of things in general.
11:48:46 Hey? It reminds me of a recent entry I was reading in the book of the Daily Laws, by Robert Green, and one of the entries was about accepting others as facts, except other people, as facts, pretend
11:49:04 you're an astronomer and you're observing a planet for the first time.
11:49:08 There's no value in judging that planet because it's the wrong color, shape, size, or it spins in the wrong way.
11:49:14 No, an astronomer is going to be fascinated and excited and extra curious.
11:49:19 Why this thing is so different from all the rest Why is it so new unique.
11:49:23 It's it's a similar vein and anthropology, because most people really, for some reason I can't associate themselves with the idea of which is a bad idea like a cave man right?
11:49:40 It's a judgment to say that our ancestors were cavement.
11:49:44 Our ancestors were various forms of species that are related to us.
11:49:47 We came from them, and as an anthropologist you have to be able to look back at these bones, and you have to look back at these artifacts and and see them for what they are and minimize or eliminate
11:50:01 any judgment you're bringing to it because of your own bias or perspective, or really emotional response.
11:50:08 I mean that's where meditation comes in allows you to see the emotional response coming in from something.
11:50:14 Analyze it. Decide? Oh, I understand where this came from but I don't need to act on it.
11:50:19 I don't need to make a judgment on it I can just observe things and keep as they are, and when we observe ourselves it's important that we have the same perspective that we accept what's there and if we don't like
11:50:34 it. we have the power to change it and we should for good reason, not because someone else told us, but because when I feel this way and I act out on it, I get bad results consistently.
11:50:46 I don't want bad results. Let me stop acting on this thing.
11:50:50 Let me understand where it's coming from maybe it'll go away. If I stop feeding it and entertaining it, it's difficult.
11:50:57 It's a practice, and this is something that comes to us really from philosophy.
11:51:02 I I would say
11:51:07 Another point. Under this goes a line with, you know, learning Mathless philosophy for the purpose of helping you understand yourself a little bit better.
11:51:16 The history of the United States from understanding how the heck we got where we are right now, because it's the world you're living in as a Us.
11:51:23 Citizen learn something new and do it Often the truth is documented everything that was done before our time, or even the time of the Internet, or whatnot.
11:51:36 There. There is evidence of things out there, and then, if you want to be on the cutting edge, you want to understand a little bit better about the hardware operating your spaceship.
11:51:44 Learn about some science like pick up a book about breathing.
11:51:50 I mean you take it for granted every day but There's a lot of interesting insights and and capabilities and and tips and tricks to help operate your spaceship. the best way we know how with our collective
11:52:07 wisdom, our collaborative knowledge that we've been creating all of these, all of these ages, actually so it's not very long sciences.
11:52:16 It's not that old and we need to leverage it for the best of us.
11:52:21 So books, magazines, documentaries, podcasts, and and online course lectures are, are all means to an ends of understanding things a little bit better.
11:52:33 But it takes each of us to invest a little bit of time.
11:52:36 A lot of curiosity to understand ourselves a little better for our pursuit of happiness.
11:52:46 It really will help us talk about a little bit more than the weather, and make sure you support these organizations that have the right ideals and vision that that matters to you.
11:52:59 Everyone has their own truth, we're not here to tell you who to support.
11:53:03 But please support those, especially those individual or independent independent media sources. I think, are really important for just the the health of our overall democracy.
11:53:17 That's the beauty of at least the freedom of the press it does allow us to be out there and engage and holding people accountable at all different levels, and I'll just stress that we set it in a behind the scenes But pod
11:53:32 save America. I think that was called it. It is It just taught me that January sixth wasn't.
11:53:41 The first incident, where there was a major coup attempted that it's actually happened before it had outside influencers
11:53:49 And so it's a very interesting things you find out constantly, and I think it's important.
11:53:55 You know my happiness is to always be inspired, and learn through history.
11:53:59 Which which constantly happens because I try to be open to a lot of different ideas outside of my own excellent play on the history angle.
11:54:12 Thank you. i'm gonna do one more quick pivot before we finish this up about change.
11:54:21 And the fact that there's nothing we can do to change anyone else.
11:54:24 It's not our role in life so when we talk about observing others like a new artifact that's important.
11:54:31 It doesn't mean that we shouldn't be friends to others more importantly, we shouldn't get hung up in trying to control, manipulate, or change others.
11:54:40 All we can do is change ourselves. All we can do is be an exam of something better, of something different.
11:54:50 We can attract people towards change. we can inspire people towards change.
11:54:56 We cannot make anyone do anything, so it kind of comes back to that phrase of. If you really do need to see some change around you. In some people, all you can do is try to be that change act that change and hope they pick up
11:55:14 the signal, and they make the decision to change themselves. if it is truly something that's beneficial for them that's all we have.
11:55:23 That's all that's in our power we only have our thoughts in our actions, and we cannot and should not be hung up on the idea of trying to control anyone else.
11:55:34 Our lives are short, we need to pursue our happiness, and we can be an example to others.
11:55:46 With that I'll call it a Wrap. we have been your host.
11:55:51 Thank you to Mr. Raymond Wong, Jr.
11:55:53 And thank you, Mr. Piscatelli. We are truly 2 planetary bodies opposite in gravity, but close close enough to make a difference.
11:56:05 Oh, praise the universe! This has been something that's for sure, for information on this and other episodes head over to Citizen do good com and click on podcast while you're there hit up the contact us page and leave a
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