Declaration of Existence
With the United States relinquishing its role as leader of the free world to become another “peoples’” state valuing no individual human being, and with the whole world in moral decline such that the distinctions of right and wrong, good and bad for human life are being lost, it becomes necessary for those individuals seeking to live a life chosen by them as their purpose to moment-by-moment bring into existence, (which is theirs by right of being human to do), in order to enjoy the full honor, dignity, pride and the fruits of their labors (which they by right deserve), form a community committed to seeking, recognizing, practicing and supporting such choice and mode of living and the requirements for being able to do so.
Be it therefore declared into existence at this winter solstice of December 21, 2009, the day when the sun, buried at the bottom of the earth digs its way out to begin its rise to the height of its possibility, stirring human souls newly to life, the Order of the Heldhigh Torch™.
The torch to be held high if one is to flourish in his living and enjoy thoroughly the happiness possible for him as a human being is his purpose – a purpose selected consonant with life and with his life. The Heldhigh Torch™ is one’s purpose. The torch symbolizes a light to guide oneself in searching and inspecting existence (one’s purpose) and it is held high by one’s moral courage to hold it there. Heldhigh Torch’s purpose is to provide the technology and inspiration necessary for finding, securing and standing for one’s purpose in life. Heldhigh Torch is a community of souls who possess a lust for life and living and/or will work to possess such a lust. The comfort we seek among our fellows is not the banal comfort of acceptance that is so common among people. Rather it is the flourishing found among the able-to-be-inspired souls who embrace their lives fully, however they design them to be.
The primary meeting of the organization shall be during the midweek of the month – the Sunday that falls on or between the 12th and the 18th. The midweek was chosen as the point during the month when the torch is held highest. This organization is not about strong beginnings, dwindling thereafter. Rather it is about growing to its full flowering and symbolizes making the most of each month of our lives. The time of meeting shall be high noon.
The by-laws for this organization and its particular legal form have yet to be written. At this point there are two founding members: Daniel Barber and Steven Butterbaugh. People who want to be members must initiate action to do so and they must demonstrate that they are intellectually and ontologically (being) aligned with the purpose of the group as determined by the writings and the existing members.
Although we have general principles, including moral principles, in mind to practice, and will construct the community based on those principles, we do not come from that we “already know.” The principles are held as certain so long as they are induced from facts and there is no evidence against them, and that they serve to forward the purpose of this organization, however, we do not live in the fear that someone will find reason against them, but rather welcome the deeper inquiry into the nature of existence and the formulation of our principles and are always in search of a better statement of them.
We harbor no interest in faith or mysticism. Rather we trust our lives to objective fact, our power to discern and identify those facts, and our own moral authority to determine what is important for our lives, and we specifically hold that only on those grounds is it possible to erect a human life.
With this we, Daniel Barber and Steven Butterbaugh, as witnessed by all in attendance, declare the Order of the Heldhigh Torch™ into existence.
John Galt* said he would stop the motor of the world.
We are here to start it – - – - – one man at a time.
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*John Galt is the hero of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, 1957, Random House, NYC