Our Shared Values

Shared values don’t mean we can’t have different priorities, they mean we agree not to harm or accept harm to others while acting on our priorities.

It’s not wrong to be worried about different issues that affect our country, or to consider some issues more important than others because of how they affect our lives, but we must be aware of how any approach to solving those problems impacts real people and its likelihood to cause harm. It is our responsibility to learn about complicated issues, consider different solutions and not let our haste to fix a problem cause harm or create new problems.

It’s not automatically wrong to not know everything about a topic or issue but it is wrong to be unwilling to learn and listen so that we can collectively arrive at plans and solutions that actually address the problem and reduce harm.

Our Constitutional rights—everything from free speech to due process—apply to everyone present in the United States, not just those who hold citizenship or are in preferred, protected in groups.

This universality is critical to those rights being actual rights. If there are out groups from whom rights can be denied, then it’s only a matter of the government assigning that status to any person they seek to punish in order to remove that person’s rights. Such a system puts the rights of all people at risk.

Equal defense of any person’s rights under our Constitution is critical to the protection of all people’s rights.

Opinions are not automatically the equivalent of conclusions based on facts.

An opinion is a judgement, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive.

A fact is a thing known to be real, true or confirmed on the basis of evidence, observation and proof.

An opinion may or may not be based on facts and the origin of an opinion is not immediately knowable without explanation.

An opinion with no facts to support it does not merit the same level of weight and consideration as a conclusion based on facts.

When pursuing collective solutions, conclusions based on the best available facts outweigh strongly held opinions until those opinions are sufficiently supported by facts.

The freedom of speech means that we all have the freedom to speak without punishment from our government. This right is a key civic tool and is what differentiates us from autocratic and despotic tyranny. However, freedom of speech is not freedom of consequences from our peers, nor is it an entitlement to the platform of one’s choice or an audience for that speech. We are each free to say whatever we choose. Everyone else is free to come to their own conclusions about us, based on what we say. No one is required to trust us, like us, think well of us, or associate with us despite what we each say.

Having a right to an opinion is not the right to be liked, trusted or vested with power despite what that opinion may be.

Our system of law is one of incremental adjustment to what is not allowed as we observe outcomes and impact. It is impossible to make a comprehensive list of what acts are allowed, thus, we make lists of things that are not allowed as we discover and understand the impact of actions.

Such permissions must be based on fact rather than opinion in order to pursue equitable access to freedom, agency and autonomy.

An action is appropriately deemed illegal when it causes demonstrable harm.

An action would be inappropriately deemed illegal if it’s deemed illegal only when a certain class of persons does it because of a subjective opinion of that class or subjective opinion of what harm is possible to or because of that class.

When we consider laws and regulations, the basis for those laws and regulations should be grounded in facts and evidence and informed by historical learning and expert opinion.