Emergence of Human Rights in America

American Democracy And The Judeo-Christian Bible Series

Human rights have been advanced by both the Judeo-Christian Theology and secular thought right up to modern times with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.  When speaking of human rights, we are referring to those freedoms, immunities, and benefits, collectively known as fundamental human rights, enjoyed by all members of free and democratic societies. In order to uphold human rights the focus is on the individual and nation-state to execute responsibilities in the form of duties.  With this in mind let us explore the origin of human rights and the consideration the American Forefathers had for human rights.  There are extensive historical accounts of the events and commentary surrounding the emergence of the US Bill of Rights and other rights presumed by the ForeFathers.  This posting attempted to get to the point quickly. Therefore, much of the background and history have been dispensed as the body of works on this topic is overwhelming.

Human Rights

Human rights history has a foundation in Biblical law.  Early law began with Hammurabi’s Code circa 1750 BC. This law was a collection that consisted of 44 columns of cuneiform writings having 282 laws. The tagline associated with Hammurabi's code comes from Exodus 21:24; “Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  However, this law did not deal with theological principles as penalties varied based of social class and immense value was placed on material effects. Hammurabi's Code was of worldly origins being of humans. 

Figure 1: Ten Commandments

Circa 1325 BC, Moses architected the judicial system centering the rule of law and the Ten Commandments, Figure 1. The Ten Commandments begin at Exodus 20 having the first 4 commandments as God's rights while the last 6 protect the rights of the community.  The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are written in a negative connotation. When the Commandments are viewed in terms of a modern language equivalents and written in a positive connotation then they become more easily understood in terms of rights.  Theological scholars and the Forefathers viewed the Ten Commandments as the World’s first ‘Bill of Rights’. However, unlike modern bill of rights that secure rights for an individual, the Decalogue protects the rights of others. 

The Ten Commandments

The red text is the modern language equivalent followed by the King James Version of the related Commandment. 

1. God’s right to exclusive alliance. You shall have no other gods before me; Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7.
2. God’s right to self definition. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments;  Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 5:8-10.
3. God’s right to proper representation by his people. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain; Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11. (This is not referring to vulgar language. Instead, ‘taking the Lord’s name in vain’ biblically means not doing what you are commanded or supposed to do.)
4. God’s right to his people’s time. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus 20:11 A households right to human treatment Deut 5:8-10
5. My parents right to respect. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you; Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16.
6. The right to life. Thou shall not kill Exodus; 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17.
7. The right to a secure marriage. You shall not commit adultery;  Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18.
8. The right to property. Thou Shall Not Steal; Exodus 20:15, Deuteronomy 5:19.
9. The right to an honest hearing. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20.
10. The right to secure existence. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's; Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21

List Source: Block, D. (2003). Holman illustrated bible dictionary: ten commandments. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville. pp 1570-1572.

Jewish and Christians consider the Commandments to be divinely inspired dealing in absolutes and meaning no human has authority to change them. Originating from Rabbinical thought these Commandments are known to be natural rights that stem from Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6 where mankind is created in the image of God. That image within man demands dignity which is given proper levity beginning with the Ten Commandments (Eidsmoe, 1987, p. 367). In general, the Ten Commandments express the man's rights to a secure life, property, home, and fair treatment.  In the Christian view, humans were stewards of the image and the Ten Commandments are the 'rules' to care for the image in others as well as themselves.  The American Forefathers used the Ten Commandments as the purpose for civil government to secure natural rights and not create rights or entitlements. 

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." - James Madison (Federer, 1996, p. 411).

The Emergence of the United States Bill of Rights

Figure 2: US Bill of Rights

The foundations for the Bill Of Rights, Figure 2, were derived directly from the Ten Commandments and was ratified by Congress in 1791 but not without a hot debate by the Forefathers.  The Forefathers put into practice philosophical works on natural rights from a host of Christian philosophers to include Montesquieu, Blackstone, Locke, Vattel, etc...  The concept of natural rights was championed by John Locke (1632-1704) who had a powerful influence on the Forefathers being written into the founding documents. 

"Father of the Bill of Rights" is George Mason, an Episcopalian, who strongly influenced the Bill of Rights amendments. Mason was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a lawyer, judge, political philosopher, a planter, and the richest man in Virginia. He was the author of the Virginia Constitution and the Virginia Bill of Rights (Federer, 1996, p. 422).  

"The laws of nature are the laws of God, whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth." - George Mason (Federer, 1996, p. 423).

The United States Bill of Rights

The 1791 ratified Bill of Rights numbered 10 amendments and were designed to uphold the Ten Commandments. Cited below are the ten amendments followed by a brief discussion of the Original Intent.  There is no preferential order to the amendments and some are fiercely debated, even during modern times. The intent of this posting is to discuss the Forefathers intent referring to their own works, sources, and quotes.

All the Forefathers regardless of political posture as Federalist or Anti-Federalists held that God had given all humans certain rights. That the Laws of Nature and Nature's God required respect for those rights.  Human rights are found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Article 1, Section 9 in addition to the Bill of Rights (Eidsmoe, 1987, pp. 365-366).

Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This amendment has several components. The "Establishment Clause" involves this portion of the amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  The view of the Forefathers when enacting this clause was to prevent a legal union between the state and a specific church that enjoyed special privileges from the state given its relationship. The state is prohibited from enacting laws favoring one church over another.  i.e. state run church such as the Anglican Church of England.  

James Madison remarked, "There is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion" (Levy, 1999  p. 81). 

Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist in January 1802 confirming that the intent was not to establish a state run religion, "Believing with you that religion is a matter that lies solely between a man and his God, that he owes no account to none other for faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American People which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, ' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State" (Federer, 1996, pp. 324-325).

"The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind" Thomas Jefferson on March 23, 1801 (Federer, 1996, p. 324).

Thomas Jefferson declared, "[Religion] deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet by our experience to be the best support" (Federer, 1996, p 334).

These seemingly conflicting statements by Jefferson are actually complimentary. Jefferson espouse a rejection of state operated religion but found that Christianity was the kindest religion towards civil government.  The Forefathers fashioned the government after religious institutions for religious people but rejected any one of the churches as favored.  

Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandments in the establishment clause are God's right to his people's time, exclusive alliance, and proper representation by his people. The government cannot interfere or compete with God. 

Alexis de Tocqueville confirmed the indirect influence of religion in government and wrote, "One cannot say that in the United States religion exerts an influence on the laws or on the details of political opinions, but it directs mores, and it is in regulating the family that it works to regulate the state" (Tocqueville, 2000, p. 278). In short, theological beliefs shape the people who serve in the government  and consequently shape the government. However,  the government is prohibited from shaping the people under original intent.  Coincidentally, shaping the battlespace, market, or people is an operative information warfare tactic.

However, the Forefathers were clear that America was a Christian nation. Patrick Henry orated, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here " (Federer, 1996, p, 289). 

The second component of the First Amendment is the Free Press/Speech Clause.  The original effort  in  the Constitutional Convention during 1787 supported only a few rights and omitted many leaving open the possibilities for abuses. This was a massive mistake and heated debates ensued.  The Forefathers esteemed the public sphere and felt that free speech and a free press were critical to the conduct of the public sphere. However, they debated fiercely the extent of the right and if the right even was necessary. 

Jefferson wrote a letter in December 1787 to James Madison urging the Bill of Rights to expressly guarantee the freedom of religion and the press, protections against standing armies and monopolies, as well as fair legal treatment (Mayer, 1994, p 155). 

Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandments in the free Press / Speech clause are God's right to his people's time, God's right to self-defintion,  God's right to proper representation, and the right to an honest hearing. God has the right to his people and for them to assemble in his name. People have the right to discuss their belief and publish their views in the public sphere.  If anything interfere's with this right then the people have the right to address the grievance in a civil manner. 

Amendment II: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandments are the right to life and the right to a secure existence. Coupled with the right to life is the obvious defense of life when life and a secure existence is threatened by apparent belligerence. The concept of Biblical warfare applies here as well and is an extensive complex subject that is often difficult for many people, especially those not educated in Biblical matters or having a strong foundation in Biblical thought.  The bottom line is that most people will understand is the right to self-defense, including the defense of a state against tyranny even of the national government that is found in some state Constitutions (Levy, 1999, p. 134).  The Forefathers also saw the need for the minutemen in order to establish a secure plant afoot in America or in the modern context a reserve force.  

There are numerous incorrect views of the amendment to include the collective rights theory which incorrectly uses the preamble to assert restrictions on the individual rights to bear arms (Levy, 1999, p. 134). The Forefathers saw the right to bear arms as an individual's natural right. Jefferson praised arms, "Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks" (Levy, 1999, p. 141).  Tench Coxe, a partisan Federalist, wrote in a leading Philadelphia newspaper that "the power of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry America, ourselves, to prevent the establishment of  standing army, the bane of liberty" (Levy, 1999, pp. 146-147). 

Amendment III: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

The Forefathers observed the quartering of the King's armies in private home during their time. Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandment is the right to property and a secure existence which also extends to a secure home and family.  Private ownership of property is a key concept among the ForeFathers. Through private ownership of property levity is given to the image in humans as there is purpose to improve the land and develop wealth improving the quality of life.  Hostile and belligerent taking of property is counter to this commandment. Therefore, the Forefathers insisted on asserting that people have the protection against invasive actions by the Government or foreign actors that may occupy and conduct belligerent actions against the citizenry. In fact, this was a grievance in the Declaration of Independence. 

"IX.  He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures."

"XIV.  For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us."

Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandments are the right to a secure existence, secure home, secure marriage, property, and life. The Forefathers understood the right to privacy in terms of the image in humans and had observed harassment by the King of England's agents and agencies. In fact, this was a grievance in the Declaration of Independence.

"X. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance."

Amendment V: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII: In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendments V to XI are outcomes of grievances in the Declaration of Independence.

IIX. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

IX. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

IIXX. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.

IXX. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses.

Of the Ten Commandments, the operative commandment is the right to a honest hearing as well as the right to a secure existence.  The justice cannot be used to detain people unjustly nor exact unjust penalties.

Many of the Forefathers were attorneys or had legal training. John Adams believed strongly in the right to a fair trial and in the Boston Massacre successfully defended the British commander, LTCol Preston. Two soldiers were branded for manslaughter.  The calm that came out of the trial was due to the fair treatment of evidence and a tribute to the emerging American system of justice.

Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

This is the cornerstone of limited government and stems from the Philosophy of John Locke. Locke modeled the Social Compact Theory after the Calvanist idea of covenant.  The compact is a covenant between humans and government in order to secure rights. The government is given powers by either God and/or the people in order to secure all the natural rights. The concept is found also in the Declaration of Independence.  Once again God's Law is natural law.  Locke was scripturally based,

"Human laws are measures in respect of Men whose actions they must direct, albeit such measures they are as have also their higher rules to be measured by, which rules are two, the Law of God, and the Law of Nature; so that Laws Human must be made according to the general Laws of Nature, and without contradiction to any positive Law of Scripture, otherwise they are ill made." John Locke (Eidsmoe, 1999, p. 62).

The operative Commandment underpinning the tenth amendment is God's right to self-defintion and exclusive alliance. The logic follows that if God is supreme then no other law can rise above his law. Thus, governments are instutited to preserve natural law. 

Conclusion

Human rights, as the Forefathers perceived them, are a derivative from the Bible and Ten Commandments.  God created nature and the architecture of humans begins with a natural embodiment into which the image is given, into which a soul is breathed, and into which the Holy Spirit indwells when invited.  Natural Rights, also known as Human Rights, assert proper stewardship of the image imparting dignity and purpose to humans.  Governments have limited powers, to the extent of assuring that natural rights are secure.  

References:

Berry, L. . (1969). The geneva bible. (1560 E.D.). Hendrickson Publishers Inc: MA.

Eidsmoe, J. (1987). Christianity and the constitution: the faith of our founding fathers. Baker Book House Company: Grand Rapids.

Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. William J Federer, Fame Publishing, ISBN: 1-880563-05-3

Federer, W. (2003). The ten commandments and their influence on american law. Amerisearch Inc: St. Louis. 

Levy, L. (1999). Origins of the bill of rights. Yale University Press:  Harrisburg.

Mayer, D. (1994). Constitution thoughts of thomas jefferson. University of Virginia Press: USA.

Schmidt, J. (2006). Making man in reason's image: the enlightenment and the birth of modern humanity. Barnes and Noble. ISBN-13: 9780641967221

Tocqueville, A. (2000). Democracy in america: translated, edited, and with and introduction. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.

Vattel, E. (1758). Law of nations or the principles of natural law in four books. (Electronic E.d.). Lonang Institute.

Information Theory Overview

Comment: Some time ago, I became interested in information theory partly due to my career and mostly because I began seeing elements of the theory popping up everywhere in movies, theological commentaries, war fighting etc... I studied the theory off and on purchasing books, watching movies, reading essays, and in general where ever I caught a wisp of the theory.  The interesting thing about truth is that it is self-evident and reveals itself in nature. So I did not have to look far. Although, a curious thing about information is noise or that which is distracting, like a red herring and there is plenty of noise out there. Anyhow, the point in this post is an information theory overview.  I would like to share basic information theory and relate it to the world around us. I will be coming back to this post updating and refining with more citations.

Information Theory

Information theory is relatively new and is part of probability theory. Like the core disciplines of mathematics and the sciences, information theory has a physical origin with broad spectrum applications. The theory has captured the attention of researchers spawning hundreds of research papers since its inception during the late 1940's. This new discovery has generated interest in deeper research that involves biological systems, the genome, warfare, and many other topical arenas. Claude E. Shannon PhD is the father of generalized information theory as developed during 1948 and theorized:

If the receiver is influenced by information from the transmitter then reproducing the influencing information at the receiver is limited to a probabilistic outcome based on entropy. 

Figure 1: Mathematical Formulation of Entropy (H) in a system

There are several terms in the thesis statement that may be difficult to grasp and the mathematical formulation, Figure 1,  may be overwhelming to some people who wonder how is entropy and information linked.  Entropy is an operative concept behind diminishing returns or the rate at which a system dies, decays, or falls apart. Entropy operates under order as formulated in figure 1. Thus, the phenomena is not random.  Within the context of information theory, entropy is the minimum size of a message before a meaning or value is lost. The notion of a probabilistic outcomes involves multiple possible results in which each result has a degree of uncertainty or a possibility that the result may not occur. For example, a rolling of the dice is limited to only six possible outcomes or results. The probability of any one outcome occurring is 1 in 6. The uncertainty in rolling the dice is high being 5 to 6 that any specific outcome will not occur.  As for the mathematical formulation, I will just leave that for general knowledge of what it looks like.

The thesis is pointing towards a 'lossy' system and promotes a simplistic communication model, Figure 2.

Figure 2: Simple Information Theory Model

From the thesis, formula, and model more complex related theories and models spawn coupling information theory to biology, quantum physics, electronic communications, crowds, and many other topical subject matter.  All fall back on entropy or the smallest message before it looses its meaning. The big question is so what? We will explore the 'so what' in the next section.

Information Theory Around Us

Most people fail to realize that information theory impacts us on an everyday basis. Aspects of the theory appear in movies, underpin all biological sensory capabilities, and appear in information networks in many ways. Many people philosophize that human and natural existence is purely information based. Let us explore information theory as it is exposed to many people. Most people have some familiarity with the sciences at some level, movies,  and religion.  Let us begin with a survey the sciences.

Atom smashing experiments during the 1970's lead to the discovery that the universe has boundary limits. According to physicist such as Richard Feynman, the father of quantum computing, matter ceases to exist at 10^-32 meters. When matter ceases to exist so does space-time. Matter has dimensions and time's arrow spans dimensionality. When matter no longer exists neither does dimensionality and time is mutually inclusive. What remains are non-local waveforms or electromagnetic waves which are illustrated as strings that vibrate. The region where this occurs is the Planckian realm which is where matter is quantized or discrete having the qualities of a bit of information. Matter and energy are interchangeable based on the Theory of Relativity, Figure 3, and the wave-particle theory of light. Those vibrating waveforms in the Planckian realm slam together in a process of compactness that is not fully understood forming a particle having discrete size, weight, and possesses a positive (+),  neutral (0), or negative (-)  charge.   These particles then begin to assemble in a computational algorithmic manner based on the charge and tri-state logic into more complex particles from the sub-atomic into the physical realm. In the physical realm, complex molecules form such as DNA from which biological life emerges. 

Figure 3:  Theory of Relativity Formula
Energy = Mass x  (Speed of Light)²

The DNA is somewhat unique according to Microbiologist Dr. Matt Ridley. This is because not only did an computational information process arrive at the DNA molecule but injected into the DNA molecule are 4 bits of information ( G, C, A, and T ) which is used by nanites to endow biological life. Nanites are intelligent molecular machines that perform work and made out of amino acids and proteins. These molecular machines have claws, impellers, and other instruments. They communicate, travel, and perform work based on DNA informational instructions. The information process continues as even more information is applied against the DNA strand such as variation of timing, sequencing, and duration under which a gene fires. By varying the timing, sequencing, and duration of a firing gene  then specific features are managed on the life form under gestation.  Dr. Ridley quips the genome is not a blueprint for life but instead a pattern makers template having some sort of Genome Operating Device, a G.O.D (Ridley, 2003). The point here is that there is some sort of intelligent communication ongoing during the endowment of life and development of the natural universe. All of which are the outcome of computational processes and information.

During the 1960's extensive research was conducted into the operation of human biological sensory processes in relation to information theory.  The conclusion of this research determined that the sense of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste undergoes an electro-chemical process in which information is encoded using Fourier Transforms into electrical waveforms. The base Fourier equations are somewhat ominous, Figure 4.

Figure 4: Fourier Transforms Equations

The equations are shown to see what they look like. Extensive mathematic philosophy and practical understanding of how these equation perform is necessary to appreciate these equations. In lay jargon, Fourier transforms encode and extract information embedded in a waveform.  These waveforms are constructed from the biological sensory devices; eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Once the information is encoded into a waveform the human brain stores information holographically.  Consider the operation of the eyes attached as part of the brain. The reason for two eyes is that they act symbiotically. One eye is a data source while the other eye acts as a reference source.  When the waveforms from these two sources collide then information is encoded in the constructive and destructive patterns that result. These patterns are then imprinted into the brain material to be recalled on demand as human's think in terms of images and not attributes. The human brain is capable of storing up to 6 terabytes of information. The eye has a curious tie to the quantum realm detecting a photon of light coincidental with the smallest instance of time, Planck's Time, which is of the order of 10^-43 second.  This leads to the concept of quantum reality or that human perception is limited to the boundaries of the natural universe.

The human experience is said to be a digital simulation and the universe is computationally organized.  This lends credence to the creative license of writers and authors who imagine story lines such as The Matrix, Timeline, The Lawn Mower Man and countless others. But the concept of information in the human experience goes even further into theologies.

Information Theory and The Theological Argument 

Theologies are belief systems and inclusive of godless belief systems such as atheism and agnosticism to mono-theistic and polytheistic systems. Theologies are also inclusive of belief systems that deify idols and objects such as Pantheism which deifies the mother Earth. Cosmologies and philosophies are generally treated as a theology as well since the adherent's behavior is the same as any theological adherent. Religion is the practice of theological doctrines.  All theologies and related religions are information based. That is all theologies possess defining information effecting actions among the believers and/or reactions among non-believers. Some theologies are well organized and others are left to individual expression but all are based on some sort of information or lack of information. Adherents of any specific theology or religion gather, learn, and discuss the merits of their theological doctrines by communicating in order to increase membership or believers. 

Under information theory the Judeo-Christian Bible demonstrates many interesting qualities. The Judeo-Christian Theology advances one of the most comprehensive of all the theologies detailing a narrative from before-the-foundations-of-time to the end-of-time. The narrative begins not with the creation of the universe but a war between good and evil. Michael, the ArchAngel, defeats the rebelling forces lead by Satan. In the meantime, the Judeo-Christian God was busy creating the natural universe and gathered the defeated rebels casting them into the universe like a bolt of lightning effectively trapping evil in the universe or world.  The Judeo-Christian God then turned his attention to the souls, the believers, whom he knew before the creation of time and breathed their souls into human embodiments on Earth. Those human embodiments were architected with an image as well. The purpose of this was to test their loyalty through trials and tribulations having had the war break out in heaven. Evil, trapped in the world, causes the fall of humans into rebellion and the Judeo-Christian God declares war on evil as an outcome. Christ shows the believers the way by communicating the narrow path home. This epic war between good and evil in the world is actually an information war. 

Information warfare, IW, is a broad field of warfare that leverages ambiguity, deceit, innuendo, doubt, and truth in order to dominate the battle space or more correctly space-time.  IW tactics often involve hostile jamming,  man-in-the-middle attacks, psychological operations, in order to diminish, deter, deflect, or degrade the will of the opposition to fight. 

Satan is labeled the great deceiver. The Judeo-Christian God is truth or virtue. Satan placed doubt in Eve's mind about what God really said causing her to rebel against God and bring Adam into her fallen condition. God declared war on evil; Gen 3:15.  The Bible was then inspired by the Holy Spirit and scribed by humans as a 'message' to humans prescribing the way back home.  In the Bible, humans were given a mission, The Great Commission, to spread knowledge and information about the message of Christ.  In the meantime, other theologies either already operative in the world or spawning were designed to confuse the Biblical message or to conduct hostile jamming of the Biblical message.  For example, the Koranic Surah 9:5 is counter to Matt 26:52. The Koranic Surah 112 is direct denial of John 3:16.  These conflicting messages between theologies are commonly referred to as noise in information theory and in IW this is called hostile jamming due to intent. 

In response to noise, the Bible has been designed to pre-empt hostile jamming by delivering the messages multiple ways and times. Thus, by having a high signal-to-noise ratio jamming attempts can be defeated. The more important the message the more ways and times the message is repeated.  The Bible tactically uses parables to encrypt messages that humans who have the Holy Spirit, the decryption key, in them can understand. The Bible also tactically makes use of language being written originally in Greek and Hebrew. Greek is very concise and cannot have mistaken translations. Hebrew makes use of the highest language compression ratio communicating messages both phonetically and pictographically.  Hence, the use of many ways and means of getting the message through is an IW tactic. 

Under the auspices of information warfare, the war can be fought and won solely on the basis of information without committing conventional ground forces to battle. However, the final epic battle in Christian Eschatology is fought and personally won by Christ who is the victor over all evil.  This becomes necessary because those human hearts are hardened and many humans become demonically possessed such that their ears do not hear and eyes do not see. Thus, all communications have failed.

Additional support for the information perspective is the Judeo-Christian God spoke the universe into existence or communicated information; Gen 1:3. This act of speaking a universe into existence was built perhaps in the informational manner discovered by science and is ongoing today. Perhaps the Genome Operating Device varying the information of timing, sequencing, and duration of firing genes is the Judeo-Christian God's hand in the universe.  What ever the theology, the underlying premise is informational. Humans then decide to act based on the information they have or understand.

In conclusion, information theory affects us everyday in our world views, sciences, and personal beliefs leading to actions. Information theory hovers around the notion of a lossy system in which meaning is lost due to noise, interference, natural decay, and provocative measures.  Creative works have leveraged information theory to advance ideological movements.  Even the human life form may very well be the result of pure information causing humans to rethink  theologies and established beliefs in a new light. 

References:

Knuth, D. (2001). Things a computer scientist rarely talks about. CSLI Publications: Stanford.

Moser, S. and Chen, P. (2012). A student's guide to coding and information theory. Cambridge University Press: United Kingdom.

Reza, F. (1994). Introduction to information theory. Dover Books: New York.

Ridley, M. (2003). Nature via Nurture. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

American Democracy And Christianity Series

American Democracy And Christianity Series

Figure 1: Declaration of
Independence

America declared her independence July 4, 1776! Then America fought wars to stay  independent and today is struggling with her identity.  This is a series on American Democracy.  I explore the emergence and establishment of the American Experiment as closely I could get to the Forefathers mindset.

I began this effort following the events of September 11th, 2001 serving on active duty often on late night watches. During this time, I began reading the Declaration of Independence; figure 1, the US Constitution, and the US Bill of Rights.   My initial interest was in understanding what I was defending.  After all, I was in the United States military. This lead me into a much deeper investigation due to the Forefathers deep connection with Christianity.

As I delved deeper into my studies there was no end to the rabbit hole. I swallowed the red pill and braced for the harsh reality. It took me into war fighting doctrines, moral systems, even into information theory and the sciences. As time progressed, I found myself deploying to Iraq and the fertile crescent where the Biblical narrative occurs in part. I was being exposed to a competitive belief system and it was important to understand who we were, what we were bringing to these people in a strange land. I needed a baseline from which to act properly. After all, the Global War on Terrorism was an asymmetric war underpinned by ideological beliefs counter to the American founding. This war was not a simple megalomaniac reaching out for a power grab, although many people tried to advance that understanding. GWOT is a war of conscience, more so than other wars, that strikes at the mind of every American citizen. GWOT has the potential to affect America's identity and introduces America to a much more dangerous kind of threat.

What I discovered was America is no longer the land that our forefathers intended. I wonder what we will become and have speculated some through my own research.  The bottom line up front is that while Democracy and Capitalism were primary instruments directly from the Bible that contributed to making America great, America was great for the most part because of the population's reliance on the Judeo-Christian God. This is the Original Intent as best as I could understand it.  Originally, I scripted a book for publishing but scrapped the idea and decided to adapt sections for blog postings.  I will slowly make additional posting as I adapt the works for the blog. This is where we came from, the way we were...

Introduction to American Democracy and Christianity

Odyssey to America

The Emergence of Human Rights in America

The Grievances and Cause for Revolution

The Biblical Foundations for Freedom

Principles written into the Founding Documents

Biblical Treatment of Slavery and Servitude

Morality of Capitalism, Part 1

Morality of Capitalism, Part 2

Supporting Posts

Farewell Letter of Pastor John Robinson

Information Theory Overview

Of Rebels and Radicals

Speculative Futures

Reflecting on the Character of Business and the Economy

Odyssey to America

American Democracy And The Judeo-Christian Bible Series

This is a series of posts of adapted excepts from a book I began writing several years ago. The intent was to retrace the thinking of the American Forefathers in forming the founding documents and framing the government. The goal was to use common language and retraceable logic based on the Christian doctrine of the Forefathers. This second post discusses many of the principles found in the American Governmental underpinnings. 

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissolvable bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity” - John Quincy Adams (Federer, 1996, p. 18 ).

"Religion is the basis and foundation of government" - James Madison (Federer, 1996, p. 410 ).

The Odyssey To America 

Figure 1: The Geneva Bible

The American Forefathers used a version of the Bible called the Geneva Bible, Figure 1. Johannes Gutenberg of the invention of moveable type print resulted in the printing of this Bible in the sixteenth century, 1560 AD in the case of the Geneva Bible.

The Geneva Bible was born out of persecution as translating the Bible into English to put in the hands of common people challenged the political establishment of royalty and the power base of Catholic as well as Anglican clerics during the Sixteenth century.  The translators derived the Geneva Bible directly from Hebrew and Greek manuscripts using the most recent textual studies of the times. All scholarly investigation into the Geneva Bible indicated that the translators were quite accurate. The uniqueness of the Geneva Bible is the sidebar notes that clarified the verses and made references to other sections, maps, and numbering of the verses. This was also an affront to the authorities and church powers (Berry, 1969, pp. 1-11).

The Geneva Bible was very popular and printed up to 1618. Eventually, the Geneva Bible was supplanted by the 1611 version of the King James Bible. Nonetheless, the American settlers, Pilgrims, favored The Geneva Bible which most likely arrived in America in 1607 at the Jamestown Colony.  Thirteen years later the Pilgrims brought the Geneva Bible on the Mayflower as the sole source of inspiration.

Early American Life

The period between the first settlers and the American Revolution circa 1607 to 1750 was Early America. Colonies such as JamesTown, established 1607, and Plymouth, established 1620, were the earliest settlements. These were particularly difficult times for Jamestown as warfare between the settlers as well as the settlers and indians persisted. Many settlers died of disease and starvation.  Captain John Smith became the leader of Jamestown in 1608 and instituted a no-work-no-eat policy which was a socialized form of governance. Jamestown was under British rule and after increased numbers of settlers arrived the leadership transitioned to a Governor and advisors placing Jamestown under martial law for a time.

The Pilgrims before arriving at Plymouth, Massachusetts in November 1620 were near mutiny. The men sat down  on the Mayflower including the indentured servants and chartered the Mayflower Compact, Figure 2. This document was directly influenced by a farewell letter written by Pastor John Robinson that he sent with them detailing how to set up a democracy.  In the compact they established equal justice for all and would choose their leaders. This was the first document of the emerging American Republic in which they created a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. This document was the Constitution of the Plymouth Colony for 70 years.

Mayflower Compact In Modern Language

Figure 2:
Mayflower Compact

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

The Emergence of American Democracy

The formative years from 1620 through to 1750 were during the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. Common  people studied and debated topics of nobility in the public sphere both in America and Europe.  In America competitive systems of governance matured between the King of England's tyranny and the model emerging from  the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Following 1750 the Biblical model was well understood as demonstrated by John Adams diary entry:

"Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God... What a Eutopia, what a paradise would this region be." - John Adams on February 22, 1756.

The notion of a new form of governance was firmly in the mind of men and the nagging tyranny of the King was on the backs of men. A new form of nation and government was about to boil over. 

The Biblical Concept of Nations and Governments

The Biblical nation is not like modern geopolitical nations. Biblical nations are often over large regions and tend to center on religious and ethnic heritage. God's chosen nation, the one from which Christ was to originate, is Israel. All other nations are Gentile nations. The Christian community is composed of individuals both Jewish and Gentiles.  Likewise, a Holy nation is composed of both Jewish and Christians; 1Peter 1:2-9. God consciously uses all nations for his purposes: Isa 10:5-7. Israel was scattered among the nations for disobedience; Palms 9, 59,137.  Meanwhile, nations that abused Israel were punished; Joel 3:12-16. In the end, all nations will gather before the Judeo/Christian God; Matt 25:31-32. 

The Biblical concept of Government centers on maintaining good order of society where ultimate authority resides in God. The Biblical definition of government centers on two notions. The first notion is officials that have sovereign authority over a body of people. The second notion defines government as institutions that include the customs, mores, laws, and organizations of a collective body of people or 'body politica' as written during early America. 

The Bible does discuss secular leadership in government. In 1Samuel 8 the nation of Israel prayed for a secular leader and God granted Saul then David. In this arrangement, God retained authority over morality. Thus, there is no separation of church and state according to the Bible. These governments are always subordinate to the framework of God’s will; Judges 8:23. As long as leaders carry out God’s will then those nations will prosper; Duet 16:18-20. Citizens must submit to the authorities or government; Romans 13:1-7. The common understanding of the Forefathers was that the church and state work together as long as God's framework was followed.  Humans are to choose God's law over human law.

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams (Federer, 1998, pp. 10-11).

If we look to the Declaration of Independence, the Forefathers cited their grievances with other forms of government. In all, there are 27 grievances cited. Taxation was number 17 on the list indicating there were greater concerns. The greater complaints were centered on the inability to self-govern, conduct commerce, and the tyranny and harassment by the King's agencies and agents. 

References:

Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. William J Federer, Fame Publishing, ISBN: 1-880563-05-3

Berry, L. . (1969). The geneva bible. (1560 E.D.). Hendrickson Publishers Inc: MA.

Schmidt, J. (2006). Making man in reason's image: the enlightenment and the birth of modern humanity. Barnes and Noble. ISBN-13: 9780641967221

Vattel, E. (1758). Law of nations or the principles of natural law in four books. (Electronic E.d.). Lonang Institute.

Warren, B., England, A. (2003). Holman illustrated bible dictionary: bible formation and canon. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville.

Whyte, J. (2004).  Crimes against logic, McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0-07-144643-5.

Farewell Letter of Pastor John Robinson

American Democracy And The Judeo-Christian Bible Series

The Pilgrims were given this letter by their Pastor John Robinson upon the outset of their journey to the New World.   The Mayflower set sail September 6, 1620 and arrived in the New World November 11, 1620.  This letter influenced them to establish the Mayflower Compact and begin deriving their Government, democracy, from the Geneva Bible.  The main focus on governance is the next to last paragraph.  

Loving and Christian Friends,

I do heartily and in the Lord salute you all as being they with whom I am present in my best affection, and most earnest longings after you. Though I be constrained for a while to be bodily absent from you. I say constrained, God knowing how willingly and much rather than otherwise, I would have borne my part with you in this first brunt, where I not by strong necessity held back for the present. Make account of me in the meanwhile as of a man divided in myself with great pain, and as (natural bonds set aside) having my better part with you. And though I doubt not but in your godly wisdoms you both foresee and resolve upon that which concerneth your present state and condition, both severally and jointly, yet have I thought it but my duty to add some further spur of provocation unto them who run already; if not because you need it, yet because I owe it in love and duty. And first, as we are daily to renew our repentance with our God, especially for our sins known, and generally for our unknown trespasses; so doth the Lord call us in a singular manner upon occasions of such difficulty and danger sa lieth upon you, to a both more narrow search and careful reformation of your ways in His sight; let He, calling to remembrance our sins forgotten by us or unrepented of, take advantage against us, and in judgment leave us for the same to be swallowed up in one danger or other. Whereas, on the contrary, sin being taken away by earnest repentance and the pardon thereof from the Lord, sealed up unto a man's conscience by His Spirit, great shall be his security and peace in all dangers, sweet his comforts in all distresses, with happy deliverance from all evil, whether in live or in death.

Now, next after this heavenly peace with God and our own consciences, we are carefully to provide for peace with all men what in us lieth, especially with our associates. And for that, watchfulness must be had that we neither at all in ourselves do give, no, nor easily take offense being given by others. Woe be unto the world for offenses, for though it be necessary (considering the malice of Satan and man's corruption) that offenses come, yet woe unto the man, or woman either, by whom the offense cometh, saith Christ, Matthew 18:7. And if offenses in the unseasonable use of things, in themselves indifferent, be more to the feared than death itself (as the Apostle teacheth, 1 Corinthians 9:15) how much more in things simply evil, in which neither honor of God nor love of man is thought worthy to be regarded. Neither yet is it sufficient that we keep ourselves by the grace of God from giving offense, except withal we be armed against the taking of them when they be given by others. For how unperfect and lame is the work of grace in that person who wants charity to cover a multitude of offenses, as the Scriptures speak!

Neither are you to be exhorted to this grace only upon the common grounds of Christianity, which are, that persons ready to take offense either want charity to cover offenses, or wisdom duly to weigh human frailty; or lastly, are gross, though close hypocrites as Christ our Lord teacheth (Matthew 7:1,2,3), as indeed in my own experience few or none have been found which sooner give offense than such as easily take it. Neither have they ever proved sound and profitable members in societies, which have nourished this touchy humor.

But besides these, there are divers motives provoking you above others to great care and conscience this way: As first, you are many of you strangers, as to the persons so to the infirmities one of another, and so stand in need of more watchfulness this way, lest when such things fall out in men and women as you suspected not, you be inordinately affected with them; which doth require at your hands much wisdom and charity for the covering and preventing of incident offenses that way. And, lastly, your intended course of civil community will minister continual occasion of offense, and will be as fuel for that fire, except you diligently quench it with brotherly forbearance. And if taking of offense causelessly or easily at men's doings be so carefully to be avoided, how much more heed is to be taken that we take not offense at God Himself, which yet we certainly do so oft as we do murmur at His providence in our crosses, or bear impatiently such afflictions as wherewith He pleaseth to visit us. Store up, therefore, patience against that evil day, without which we take offense at the Lord Himself in His holy and just works.

A fourth thing there is carefully to be provided for, to wit, that with your common employments you join common affections truly bent upon the general good, avoiding deadly plague of your both common and special comfort all retiredness of mind for proper advantage, and all singularly affected any manner of way. Let ever man repress in himself and the whole body in each person, as so many rebels against the common good, all private respects of men's selves, not sorting with the general conveniency. And as men are careful not to have a new house shaken with any violence before it be well settled and the parts firmly knit, so be you, I beseech you, brethren, much more careful that the house of God, which you are and are to be, be not shaken with unnecessary novelties or other oppositions at the first settling thereof.

Lastly, whereas you are become a body politic, using amongst yourselves civil government, and are not furnished with any persons of special eminency above the rest, to be chosen by you into office of government; let your wisdom and godliness appear, not only in choosing such persons as do entirely love and will promote the common good, but also in yielding unto them all due honor and obedience in their lawful administrations, not beholding in them the ordinariness of their persons, but God's ordinance for your good; not being like the foolish multitude who more honor the gay coat than either the virtuous mind of the man, or glorious ordinance of the Lord. But you know better things, and that the image of the Lord's power and authority which the magistrate beareth, is honorable, in how means persons soever. And this duty you both may the more willingly and ought the more conscionably to perform, because you are at least for the present to have only them for your ordinary governors, which yourselves shall make choice of for that work.

Sundry other things of importance I could put you in mind of, and of those before mentioned in more words, but I will not so far wrong your godly minds as to think you heedless of these things, there being also divers among you so well able to admonish both themselves and others of what concerneth them. These few things therefore, and the same in few words I do earnestly commend unto your care and conscience, joining therewith my daily incessant prayers unto the Lord, that He who hath made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all rivers of water, and whose providence is over all His works, espeically over all His dear children for good, would so guide and guard you in your ways, as inwardly by His Spirit, so outwardly by the hand of His power, as that both you and we also, for and with you, may have after matter of praising His name all the days of your and our lives. Fare you well in Him in whom you trust, and in whom I rest.

An unfeigned wellwiller of your happy success in this hopeful voyage,
John Robinson

Reference:

Johnson, C.  (2013) Mayflowerhistory.com. Resourced January 4, 2014 from http://mayflowerhistory.com.

Introduction to American Democracy and Christianity

American Democracy And The Judeo-Christian Bible Series

This is a series of posts of updated and adapted excepts from a book I began writing several years ago. The intent was to retrace the thinking of the American Forefathers in forming the founding documents and framing the government. The goal was to use common language and retraceable logic based on the Christian doctrine of the forefathers. This  post sets the background and stage for the future postings.

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity”, John Quincy Adams on July 4, 1821 (Federer, 1996, p. 18).

Jefferson declared that religion, "... deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support" (Federer, 1996, p. 334).

Beginnings

Figure 1: Earth and Moon

Humans live on an insignificant planet, in an insignificant solar system, on the edge of an insignificant galaxy amongst billions of galaxies in the vastness of space. The only sentient (having feelings and emotions) and intelligent (having reasoning ability) life known to exist is located in this insignificant place in the middle of nowhere, Figure 1, planet Earth. An oddity among creatures, human life is self-aware and given variety of revelations from plethora of deities who make claims that are self-truths. Humans must somehow vet these revelations and determine which ones possess self-evident truths or nature's truth. The general logic is that all gods are sovereign over the natural and the natural must therefore produce evidence consistent with the claims made by a deity. The American Forefathers assessed that Christianity was the most compelling revelation after having studied many moral and ethical systems of government. 

"The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind" Thomas Jefferson on March 23, 1801 (Federer, 1996, p. 324).

The Forefathers even assessed Islam among others and rejected the tenets of those belief systems.

James Kent, Chief Justice US Supreme Court in New York, wrote an opinion in an 1811 case The People vs Ruggles, "We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon other doctrines or worship of those impostors [other religions]" (Federer, 1996, p. 348).  By impostors, Kent is referring to a Judeo-Christian view that other religions are designed or intended to deceive humans from accurate discernment of the Creator and Lord over human life. This notion is discussed in the Information Theory Overview.

The Judeo-Christian Bible is a revelation revealed to humankind which is one of the most discussed but not so accurately understood theologies today. The period following 1900 is known as Post-Modernism which is characterized by relativistic truths and a high degree of confidence in an unsupported personal belief that is somehow to be esteemed by others. In short, the right to an opinion. No such right is possible as having an opinion violates another's right to their opinion. No disagreements can be solved with the right to an opinion and no solutions are possible without violating the right to an opinion (Whyte, 2004, pp. 3-6. ).

This is opposite of the periods prior to 1900. During the Enlightenment, circa 1630 to 1804, there was a strong focus on the matters of Biblical knowledge and many debated the finer points in coffee houses through out Europe.   The Enlightenment gained the tag name the ‘Age of Reason’ due to the rationale or line of logic given in support of the arguments. An outcome of the Enlightenment was the influence the period had on the framers of the American Government and founding documents (Schmidt, 2006).

These coffee house debates refined the understanding of the Christian Doctrine and were unsettling to the leadership in Europe leading the large protestant populations coming to America to pursue their faith. As an outcome, most of Western civilizations has been formed based on the teachings, values, and principles found within the Bible. Christian doctrine professes the Bible to be the original source for the most basic tenants of war fighting doctrine, the rule of law, representative democracy or the republic, and human rights in addition to a host of other subjects.

The next post will begin to discuss early America and the emergence of a new form of government. 

References:

Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. William J Federer, Fame Publishing, ISBN: 1-880563-05-3

God. (2007). The geneva bible. (1560 E.D.). Hendrickson Publishers Inc: MA.

Schmidt, J. (2006). Making man in reason's image: the enlightenment and the birth of modern humanity. Barnes and Noble. ISBN-13: 9780641967221

Vattel, E. (1758). Law of nations or the principles of natural law in four books. (Electronic E.d.). Lonang Institute.

Warren, B., England, A. (2003). Holman illustrated bible dictionary: bible formation and canon. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville.

Whyte, J. (2004).  Crimes against logic, McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0-07-144643-5.

Leadership: Plan for Updates

Comment: This is the eigthth post of the Leadership Process series. I began this series because I saw a lack of rigor and discipline to leadership. The purpose of these posts is to look at a process model used by leaders. 

Plan for Updates

Many leaders tend to shoot from the hip. They assess, in their minds, what needs to get done and just do it. They are in charge and direct people to perform the necessary steps. That is the way things got done in the days of the movie star John Wayne.  Today, complexity frustratrates the process with nonlinear relationships and uncertainty or risk. Leaders need to be more diligent and deliberate in their actions and decisions. Thus, the need to plan updates to the vision and strategy.

The updates are generally known and were an outcome of assessing results. They typically would originate from the EBO process. specifically, measures of effectiveness and triggers would indicate the adjustments necessary to correct the efforts tracking.  The intent is to make the necessary adjustments to refocus the effort and achieve the planned results. Once the updates are prepared and infused in to the strategy they re-enter the cycle for another go around. 

If necessary, the constituency is informed and adjusted as necessary. Then the organizational design is reconsidered to ensure it meets the new demands. Finally, the PM recieves the adjustments and mobilizes the resources in order to compensate for the updates and move closer to the strategic goals and objectives. Finally, the updates are assessed to determine if progress was made or additional updates are required.

In the end planning for updates requires small adjustments to the strategy and vision that trickle down through the EBO process seeking to affect the measures in favor of the desired outcomes or effects.

Leadership: Assessing Results

Comment: This is the seventh post of the Leadership Process series. I began this series because I saw a lack of rigor and discipline to leadership. The purpose of these posts is to look at a process model used by leaders. 

Assessing Results is to Monitoring and Controlling

Perhaps one of the most rigorous efforts in the leadership process is assessing results. This effort can involve volumes of data, numerical computations, qualitative reviews, and opinions. The mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis can be frustrating for some professionals as many people want cold hard facts to substantiate a view but most efforts do not lend well to meaningful analysis. Classic project management is concerned with Earned Value Management, EVM, a quantative measure that attempts to relate money spent to earned progress. This is a financial measure that should work well in the Mobilizing Resources phase of the process but is not supported well outside that phase.

The truth of the matter is that Assessing Results is mostly an art than a science. However, there are two methods that provide a strong solution for assessing results;  Effects Based Operations / Outcomes (EBO) and Measureable Orgnizational Value (MOV). I have illustrated in this blog posting, ITIL Affects MOV, one use of EBO and MOV. In that posting, I created a linkage between strategy and task using a variety of measures that are easily formulated and tracked in order to make decisions about money and efforts.

EBO: Effects Based Outcomes

Most often there are multiple objectives and effects sought by the leadership. The use of an Effects Based Operations, EBO, can provide a strong framework for measurement combining both qualitative and quantitative measures. EBO originated out of the need in military operations to identify and achieve meaningful outcomes. In short, EBO details the reason or purpose the military takes action and includes when to cease actions. The United States military defines EBO as a coordinated set of actions directed at shaping the human behavior of the battlespace during peace, crisis, and war (Smith, 2002, p. xiv). This may translate to the private sector as a coordinated set of deliberate efforts designed to achieve specfic outcomes in the marketplace. For example, an organization may have an intent of capturing market share, achieving control of market supply points, or reducing costs through economies of scale. There are associated set of actions with these outcomes. If framed correctly then the effort becomes focused and assessing results is simplified because we understand what to assess from the get go.

The general framework for EBO begins with some sort of intent then the establishment of a strategy and strategic objectives. Each objective should have two or three effects that can be measured or has Measures of Effectiveness, MOE. The use of triggers and indicators are associated with the MOE to spawn decisions. Overall, the framework is intended to provide options, agility, coordination, and information mobilization. Options tailor to a situation with observations increases the impact. Agility stems from the focus on networked assets and the ability to adapt to emergent conditions. Coordination enables complex actions and relationships to pull together understanding the intent and objectives. Information mobilization determines how well EBO brings to bear expertise and knowledge impacting flexibility and decisionmaking.

MOV

Ask any professional or MBA graduate student what is a way to measure a project or business opportunity? Nearly all will respond Return On Investment, ROI. However, ROI falls gravely short on measuring most business objectives. ROI is myoptic in that it is only focused on one dimension of performance, financial. Corporate Governance, good will, and social objectives of an operation are not capture well with ROI. Measureable Organizational Value, MOV, is usually a single measurement associated with a strategy or objective indicating the progress towards or the achievement of that strategy or objective.  MOV does not measure the perfomance of work by the organization's staff or how well they did their jobs. MOV does measure how what was accomplished serves the organizations goals and objectives.

MOV is always assigned to strategy and strategic objectives. When coupled to EBO,  measures, effects, and objectives should not only align with MOV but support it directly. In doing so, the combination of MOV and EBO become a tool for inplementing strategy-to-task.

Assessing Results

With MOV as the overall measure and EBO as the framework, leaders can assess the progress of the mobilized resources in the project and towards the overall effort. Of course, this system as with others must be determined early in the leadership process during Goaling Setting in order to know what to expect and if progress is being made towards the expectations. The idea is to narrow the gap between expectations and realizations. The use of performance triggers and indicators will provide decision points for redirecting resources either to the project or to other efforts.  Knowing the upper and lower limits of performance will indicate actions necessary to correct the project tracking. The use of MOV will indicate progress towards the strategy.

As triggers fire and decision points are reached, actions will be taken to adjust the effort and refocus the direction on the strategic objectives and outcomes. These decisions will then roll up into the next phase of Plan for Updates. If the effort has met the MOV and EBO measure's then the vision has achieved the endstate and the effort should be closed out. This is the goal, to closeout the project upon achievement of the strategic objectives and vision. 

References:

Smith, E. (2002). Effects based operations: applying network centric warfare in peace, crisis, and war. DoD Command and Control Research Program. ISBN 1-893723-08-9.