I was talking with one of the teachers I work with after school yesterday, and he asked me what I think of the idea that God is an extra-terrestrial.
I told him that i don't really see any other possibility. Any useful concept of God that I am aware of presupposes a being beyond the confines of this planet, both physically and temporally.
But I'm afraid that wasn't the question he was really asking.
Most of the theories that God was an extraterrestrial tend to involve making "a god" something less than God, because we tend to think of extraterrestrials in the frame of the fantasy literature on the subject of highly advanced, but still limited beings, perhaps mortal.
God is not just highly advanced, and He isn't limited in any sense, definitely not mortal.
So I think I need to explain my thoughts a little further to him:
God dwells in the eternal, immortal realm.
This earth, and the universe of its existence, is just one small part of that realm. We, in our mortal state, can't make much sense trying to talk about the nature of eternity, but we can understand that the influence of God fills this universe of our existence.
Hmm. In that respect, God is very much not extra-terrestrial. He may be watching us from a distance, but he is also watching us right up close.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Note to the Members of the PTA English Class [Updated]
For the time being, I will post the PTA English Class posts on my Random Eikaiwa blog. (But it's not ready yet.)
The first post is up. I'll try to annotate it later.
Thanks, in advance, for your understanding.
The first post is up. I'll try to annotate it later.
Thanks, in advance, for your understanding.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Things I Like about the Book of Mormon -モルモン書の気に入ったところ
Sometimes people ask me whether I believe the Book of Mormon to be what it claims to be. (I do.)
時には、モルモン書について、その中に書いてあるとおり、本物だと思っているかどうかを聞かれる場合があります。（そうです。本物と思っています。）
Sometimes they ask me why.
時にはどうしてそう思っているかを聞かれるのです。
There is no single reason. Hey, even my characteristically long blog posts are too short. :) But I can list a few things here that I like about the book.
一つだけの理由を言いあげることが出来ません。それどころか、ボクのブログ投稿が大抵長いにもかかわらず、短すぎるのです。（笑）とにかく、ここでその書物の好きなところの幾つかを取り上げることができます。
** First, if you want a good summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon provides one. For instance, you can find a good definition in 3rd Nephi, chapter 27, particularly starting around verse 13.
＊まずは、イエスキリスト様の福音を簡潔にまとめた成句の幾つか、モルモン書の中に見つかります。その内の一つは、第三ニーファイ書２７章、特に１３節から相応しい定義があります。
Reading this, you can see the even shorter summary Joseph Smith wrote in the Articles of Faith, that we believe
この中に、ジョセフ・スミスが信仰個条にもっと短くまとめた定義が見えてきます。詰まり、
私たちは信じています。
** Second, most of the book of 3rd Nephi is devoted to the record of Savior's personal visit to a group of his disciples in the Americas, shortly after His resurrection. The visit starts in chapter 11 and essentially continues almost through the end.
＊その二、第三ニーファイ書の大半が救い主ご自分が、復活間もなくアメリカ大陸に住んでいた弟子たちの仲間に訪れたことの記録に充てられています。１１章から大体最後までがその記録が続きます。
If you wonder why Jesus would have visited the Americas, you might recall what He said about "other sheep, not of this fold" in John 10. And if you wonder what made the Americas so special, you will be interested in verse 1 of 3rd Nephi chapter 16.
もし、イエス様がどうしてアメリカ大陸を訪れるのかを不思議に思われるなら、イエス様がヨハネ１０章に「この囲いにいない他の羊」について何を語られたかを思い出して下さい。また、どうしてアメリカ大陸がそんなに特別なのかを疑問に思われているなら、第三ニーファイ１６章一節は気になるでしょう。
** Third, I am a firm believer in the freedom of the soul, and the Book of Mormon confirms this pretty strongly. See, for example, 2nd Nephi chapter 2, where the necessity of law, opposition, and choice is explained, and the relationship between redemption, freedom, and joy is shown.
＊その三、私は人の自由を硬く信じています。モルモン書はその自由をよく説いています。例えば、立法、対立、及び選択の必要性を説いて、贖いと自由と喜びの関係を見せる第二ニーファイ２章をご参考下さい。
These are just a few of my favorite passages from the book, and I think they are worth recommending to pretty much everyone.
ボクの大好きな聖句のなかからのわずかなものです。大体の人に大きな価値があると思います。
時には、モルモン書について、その中に書いてあるとおり、本物だと思っているかどうかを聞かれる場合があります。（そうです。本物と思っています。）
Sometimes they ask me why.
時にはどうしてそう思っているかを聞かれるのです。
There is no single reason. Hey, even my characteristically long blog posts are too short. :) But I can list a few things here that I like about the book.
一つだけの理由を言いあげることが出来ません。それどころか、ボクのブログ投稿が大抵長いにもかかわらず、短すぎるのです。（笑）とにかく、ここでその書物の好きなところの幾つかを取り上げることができます。
** First, if you want a good summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon provides one. For instance, you can find a good definition in 3rd Nephi, chapter 27, particularly starting around verse 13.
＊まずは、イエスキリスト様の福音を簡潔にまとめた成句の幾つか、モルモン書の中に見つかります。その内の一つは、第三ニーファイ書２７章、特に１３節から相応しい定義があります。
Reading this, you can see the even shorter summary Joseph Smith wrote in the Articles of Faith, that we believe
- in Jesus Christ,
- in repentance -- turning our hearts and lives towards God,
- in the covenant of baptism,
- and in the gift of God's Holy Spirit.
この中に、ジョセフ・スミスが信仰個条にもっと短くまとめた定義が見えてきます。詰まり、
- イエスキリストを
- 心をも人生をも神様へ傾ける悔い改めを
- バプテスマの聖約を
- そして、神様の聖なる御霊の賜物を
私たちは信じています。
** Second, most of the book of 3rd Nephi is devoted to the record of Savior's personal visit to a group of his disciples in the Americas, shortly after His resurrection. The visit starts in chapter 11 and essentially continues almost through the end.
＊その二、第三ニーファイ書の大半が救い主ご自分が、復活間もなくアメリカ大陸に住んでいた弟子たちの仲間に訪れたことの記録に充てられています。１１章から大体最後までがその記録が続きます。
If you wonder why Jesus would have visited the Americas, you might recall what He said about "other sheep, not of this fold" in John 10. And if you wonder what made the Americas so special, you will be interested in verse 1 of 3rd Nephi chapter 16.
もし、イエス様がどうしてアメリカ大陸を訪れるのかを不思議に思われるなら、イエス様がヨハネ１０章に「この囲いにいない他の羊」について何を語られたかを思い出して下さい。また、どうしてアメリカ大陸がそんなに特別なのかを疑問に思われているなら、第三ニーファイ１６章一節は気になるでしょう。
** Third, I am a firm believer in the freedom of the soul, and the Book of Mormon confirms this pretty strongly. See, for example, 2nd Nephi chapter 2, where the necessity of law, opposition, and choice is explained, and the relationship between redemption, freedom, and joy is shown.
＊その三、私は人の自由を硬く信じています。モルモン書はその自由をよく説いています。例えば、立法、対立、及び選択の必要性を説いて、贖いと自由と喜びの関係を見せる第二ニーファイ２章をご参考下さい。
These are just a few of my favorite passages from the book, and I think they are worth recommending to pretty much everyone.
ボクの大好きな聖句のなかからのわずかなものです。大体の人に大きな価値があると思います。
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Facebook or Basshook?
My wife was interested in a promotion of some sort recently. The promotion requires either facebook or one other social network login to register for.
(What? I have to share my social login stuff with them to join their promo? NO THANKS!)
But I did click the Facebook link.
Did I type in my address? I don't think so. That means the promo must have shared the address I typed in with facebook, without my permission.
So I got a "Just click here to complete your registration." mail.
I did not click.
This is not an "I don't think so." When me wife understood that the promo required facebook or something equally noxious, she said she'd do without the promo.
So, now I suddenly get hundreds of "so-and-so accepted your friend request" and such. I checked the headers and the raw source. These are not spoofs, these are from the facebook servers.
Not sure what to do about it. Even complaining to Facebook requires giving them more information than I gave LinkedIn when I signed up there.
Facebook is poison.
(What? I have to share my social login stuff with them to join their promo? NO THANKS!)
But I did click the Facebook link.
Did I type in my address? I don't think so. That means the promo must have shared the address I typed in with facebook, without my permission.
So I got a "Just click here to complete your registration." mail.
I did not click.
This is not an "I don't think so." When me wife understood that the promo required facebook or something equally noxious, she said she'd do without the promo.
So, now I suddenly get hundreds of "so-and-so accepted your friend request" and such. I checked the headers and the raw source. These are not spoofs, these are from the facebook servers.
Not sure what to do about it. Even complaining to Facebook requires giving them more information than I gave LinkedIn when I signed up there.
Facebook is poison.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Love and Hate -- 愛と憎み
(This sort of deserves starting another blog, but if I keep doing that, I'm going to have to become a paying customer at Google. Freeloading has limits, and so does my wallet, so I'll keep it here.)
（こんな話題はまた新しいブログを作ってもいい位なんですが、またそうすると、グーグルの正確な顧客にならないといけません。居候は限界があるし、ボクの財布も限界にきているので、このブログに投稿します。）
When I was a student in the primary grades, sometimes the teachers at school and church would talk about how difficult it is to define love. I thought about it at the time and I came up with the following definition of love:
小中学生や高校生の頃、学校や教会の先生方は愛を解説する難しさを偶に取り上げたりしました。先生の話にのってよく考えたら、以下のように愛を定義できると思いました。
But it's a useful basic definition. At least, it has been useful to me.
しかし利用性のある解説です。とにかく、ボクには便利な定義です。
Incidentally, when one considers that building sometimes requires tearing things down a bit, it becomes clear why love and hate don't seem to exist separately.
ところで、ものを建てるには、ものを潰す必要性が偶に出てくることについて深く考えたら、愛と憎みはどうして、まったく別々の存在にはなれないことが見えます。
（こんな話題はまた新しいブログを作ってもいい位なんですが、またそうすると、グーグルの正確な顧客にならないといけません。居候は限界があるし、ボクの財布も限界にきているので、このブログに投稿します。）
When I was a student in the primary grades, sometimes the teachers at school and church would talk about how difficult it is to define love. I thought about it at the time and I came up with the following definition of love:
小中学生や高校生の頃、学校や教会の先生方は愛を解説する難しさを偶に取り上げたりしました。先生の話にのってよく考えたら、以下のように愛を定義できると思いました。
- Love is constructive activities, relationships, and emotions. 愛は、建設的な活動や関係や感情です。
By extension, hate falls out pretty easily:
延長として、憎みの解説は単純に現れてきます。
延長として、憎みの解説は単純に現れてきます。
- Hate is destructive activities, relationships, and emotions. 憎みは、破滅的、破壊的活動や関係や感情になるでしょう。
Of course, that's an over-simplification, kind of like Newton's 2nd law of dynamics:
これは、やはり、力学のニュートンの２番目の法則のように、簡単すぎな解説です。
これは、やはり、力学のニュートンの２番目の法則のように、簡単すぎな解説です。
F = mA (Force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration.) （作用する力は質量と加速度の積に等しいです。）
But it's a useful basic definition. At least, it has been useful to me.
しかし利用性のある解説です。とにかく、ボクには便利な定義です。
Incidentally, when one considers that building sometimes requires tearing things down a bit, it becomes clear why love and hate don't seem to exist separately.
ところで、ものを建てるには、ものを潰す必要性が偶に出てくることについて深く考えたら、愛と憎みはどうして、まったく別々の存在にはなれないことが見えます。
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
theory of evolution -- 進化論
A friend asked me about the Church's position on evolution.
友人が教会の進化論に対しての立場について伺っています。
Actually, he asked me about shin-ka ron, 進化論、 which could be "The Theory of Evolution" or just "evolution theory". And I don't think he was any more specific than the Japanese expression.
もうちょっと詳しく言えば、「進化論」と言う言葉だけで聞かれると、科学理論の有名ものの一つである「進化論」のことか、それとも一般的に、進化することについての考え方か、どちらかがわからないのです。本人も特にどちらを考えていたかは多分自分でもはっきりしていなかったと思います。
There is an article in the Deseret News, here, from 2006, that asserts "No definitive LDS stance on evolution". It references a "BYU Evolution Packet", apparently, this. The headline isn't quite correct, but that's normal for headlines.
2006年から「末日聖徒は進化論に対して立場を特定しない」と主張する新聞記事が「デゼレトニュース」という新聞のここに掲載された。この記事は「BYU進化論知恵袋」を参照しています。おそらくこれです。ヘッドラインはちょっとハズレですが、ヘッドラインはそんなものでしょう。ちょっと外れるのは普通です。
As I type this, wikipedia has a good article, here. The trouble with wikipedia is that it changes regularly. What may be clear, succinct, and accurate today is sometimes not so clear, accurate, or succinct tomorrow.
打ち込んでいる現在の時点ではウィキペディアにはまあまあいい記事があります。ここです。ウィキペディアの短所ですが、コロコロ変わるのです。今日、明解簡潔で確実な記事は今日あっても、明日には約束がないのです。
Also, FARMS has a review of a book, here, by the two men who prepared the BYU packet, William E. Evenson and Duane E. Jeffery. (The book itself does not appear to be on-line.) And searching through Google, etc., for "BYU evolution packet" produces more interesting links, some of not much value.
またもう一つですが、 FARMS には、BYU進化論知恵袋を編集した二人のウィリアムＥエヴェンソン氏とドエインＥジェフリー氏が著作した本の評論文をここに掲載されている。（書物そのものは残念ながらネット上に公開していなさそう。）また、グーグルなどで「BYU evolution packet」を検索すると他の面白いリンクが出てきます。あまり価値のないのもありますけど。
The debate is interesting, and may be instructional if you avoid getting caught up in the arguments of either side.
その討論が面白くて、それぞれの議論に夢中にならなければ勉強になるかも知りません。
I need to focus on the job hunt, so I don't have time to post more than this. Even translating it is a stretch of my time. So I should summarize.
就職活動がに専念しないといけないのでこれ以上投稿できません。訳すだけでやり過ぎかも知れません。まとめておきます。
The best summary I can give is that the prophet says none of the sides in the debate has all the truth.
最も正確にまとめようと、預言者の言っていることは討論のどちら側も誰もすべての真実を占めているわけにはいけません。
And the prophets and the apostles keep telling us, let's quit arguing and keep learning truth from wherever God teaches it to us, whether through science or scripture study or friends with different opinions from ourselves. Or direct inspiration. Let's all keep learning.
その上、預言者たちも使徒たちも教えてくれているのは、論争を止めて、真理を、神様がどんなところで教えてくださるにしても、神様から学びましょう。理化学経由にしても、成分研究にしても、自分と違う意見を持つ友達によってもそうです。直接の霊感でも。学び続けましょう。
And, most importantly to this topic, whatever methods of creation were used, man is created in the image of God. We are literally God's children.
そして、この課題に一番大切なのは、どういう創造法に由るのだったとしても、人間は神様に象って作られているモノです。文字通りの神の子で在ります。
And we can repent, learn from our mistakes, turn ourselves towards God's ways, and become much better people than we have been -- We can personally evolve, so to speak.
そして、我々は悔い改めて、間違いから学んで、神の道へ向けて、以前よりはマシな人間になれるでしょう。言えば、個人的に進化できるのです。
友人が教会の進化論に対しての立場について伺っています。
Actually, he asked me about shin-ka ron, 進化論、 which could be "The Theory of Evolution" or just "evolution theory". And I don't think he was any more specific than the Japanese expression.
もうちょっと詳しく言えば、「進化論」と言う言葉だけで聞かれると、科学理論の有名ものの一つである「進化論」のことか、それとも一般的に、進化することについての考え方か、どちらかがわからないのです。本人も特にどちらを考えていたかは多分自分でもはっきりしていなかったと思います。
There is an article in the Deseret News, here, from 2006, that asserts "No definitive LDS stance on evolution". It references a "BYU Evolution Packet", apparently, this. The headline isn't quite correct, but that's normal for headlines.
2006年から「末日聖徒は進化論に対して立場を特定しない」と主張する新聞記事が「デゼレトニュース」という新聞のここに掲載された。この記事は「BYU進化論知恵袋」を参照しています。おそらくこれです。ヘッドラインはちょっとハズレですが、ヘッドラインはそんなものでしょう。ちょっと外れるのは普通です。
As I type this, wikipedia has a good article, here. The trouble with wikipedia is that it changes regularly. What may be clear, succinct, and accurate today is sometimes not so clear, accurate, or succinct tomorrow.
打ち込んでいる現在の時点ではウィキペディアにはまあまあいい記事があります。ここです。ウィキペディアの短所ですが、コロコロ変わるのです。今日、明解簡潔で確実な記事は今日あっても、明日には約束がないのです。
Also, FARMS has a review of a book, here, by the two men who prepared the BYU packet, William E. Evenson and Duane E. Jeffery. (The book itself does not appear to be on-line.) And searching through Google, etc., for "BYU evolution packet" produces more interesting links, some of not much value.
またもう一つですが、 FARMS には、BYU進化論知恵袋を編集した二人のウィリアムＥエヴェンソン氏とドエインＥジェフリー氏が著作した本の評論文をここに掲載されている。（書物そのものは残念ながらネット上に公開していなさそう。）また、グーグルなどで「BYU evolution packet」を検索すると他の面白いリンクが出てきます。あまり価値のないのもありますけど。
The debate is interesting, and may be instructional if you avoid getting caught up in the arguments of either side.
その討論が面白くて、それぞれの議論に夢中にならなければ勉強になるかも知りません。
I need to focus on the job hunt, so I don't have time to post more than this. Even translating it is a stretch of my time. So I should summarize.
就職活動がに専念しないといけないのでこれ以上投稿できません。訳すだけでやり過ぎかも知れません。まとめておきます。
The best summary I can give is that the prophet says none of the sides in the debate has all the truth.
最も正確にまとめようと、預言者の言っていることは討論のどちら側も誰もすべての真実を占めているわけにはいけません。
And the prophets and the apostles keep telling us, let's quit arguing and keep learning truth from wherever God teaches it to us, whether through science or scripture study or friends with different opinions from ourselves. Or direct inspiration. Let's all keep learning.
その上、預言者たちも使徒たちも教えてくれているのは、論争を止めて、真理を、神様がどんなところで教えてくださるにしても、神様から学びましょう。理化学経由にしても、成分研究にしても、自分と違う意見を持つ友達によってもそうです。直接の霊感でも。学び続けましょう。
And, most importantly to this topic, whatever methods of creation were used, man is created in the image of God. We are literally God's children.
そして、この課題に一番大切なのは、どういう創造法に由るのだったとしても、人間は神様に象って作られているモノです。文字通りの神の子で在ります。
And we can repent, learn from our mistakes, turn ourselves towards God's ways, and become much better people than we have been -- We can personally evolve, so to speak.
そして、我々は悔い改めて、間違いから学んで、神の道へ向けて、以前よりはマシな人間になれるでしょう。言えば、個人的に進化できるのです。
Monday, September 9, 2013
What should we do about the NSA?
More revelations about the NSA, Bruce Schneier talks about them here.
Someone asked about it on the debian mailing list, and my knee-jerk reaction was a quote from someone at one of the British counterparts to the US intellegence agencies:
The best security is to not have anything worth attacking.
Technology can only go so far. It's always a war of attrition, which is the gaping hole in the NSA's logic in going from theory to practice, en-masse. So we can only keep them at bay for a little bit longer at any particular point in time. If you can't keep up, you're exposed.
That's the reason for going "religious".
War is always a game of going one better against the other guy until someone runs out of the will to do it again, or until someone runs out of resources. It doesn't end until somebody gives in. (That's actually one of the underlying messages of the Book of Mormon, by the way.)
New technology only adds new ways of going one better.
People who want you to pay them for making new technological weapons will argue that their technology can "beat the bad guys".
Funding development of new technology is usually a win-win, but this particular reason is all wrong, for all sorts of reasons.
In the first place, we have met the enemy and (Hi, Pogo) discovered we were looking in the mirror.
There are no bad guys, no good guys. (There's only you and I and a bunch of other people and sometimes we just disagree about something. Hi, Jim, Hi, Dave.)
Beating the bad guy is always a bad reason.
And if you admit that you may be just as bad, beating the other guy becomes an even worse reason, unless you know how to stop before someone gets seriously hurt.
In the second place, weapons are not the only or even the best use of technology. Neither is war. It's the easy use, in many cases, but that's no excuse, because of the first reason and the third, the reason I have already mentioned: It ain't gonna end until someone gives up or gives in.
In the third place, it's usually the bigger guy who gives in first. You see, the bigger you are, the more you get accustomed to the idea that there is always someone bigger than you are. You beat one enemy, and there's always going to be another. In video games, there's always the final enemy, the big boss. But there's always another video game.
In real life, there's always another bigger guy to beat.
Abraham was shown this, thousands of years ago, if you believe the LDS scripture. It's just as true now.
That brings up the fourth reason and I'll stop with reasons here: God is greater than all of us.
The only way to achieve real security is to develop a good relationship with the Ultimate Entity, as I said above.
I have to acknowledge that humans invent a lot of false gods, because they can't seem to wangle the real God. I'll also acknowledge that there is an influence, a lying influence, that runs around swaggering and claiming to be God, but is not. These are two issues you have to get around before you can start developing a relationship with the real Ultimate Entity.
But if you can get around those (and around your own desire to manipulate reality), you find that God is actually your friend.
Once you can understand that God is your friend, once you can see that God is your ultimate friend, you are no longer vulnerable to the NSA or any other artifact of man's greed.
So, what should we do about the NSA?
First things first, get your own computer in order. Then get your own house, your own life in order.
Wipe Microsofts or Apple's stuff off of it and load a free-as-in-freedom OS.
If you insist on Microsoft or Apple's stuff, think about the free-as-in-beer 3rd-party stuff you've downloaded. Any of those is one too many.
If the source code is not available for you and/or a skilled friend to look at, and if the license doesn't say you and/or your friend can modify the code, it's free-as-in-beer, not free-as-in-freedom.
Understand the difference between free beer and freedom. Okay, that should be the first thing:
Understand the difference between free drugs and freedom.
Well, I can't tell you all the things about repentance you need to know. If you don't have a religion, or a guiding philosophy, find one. You have to start somewhere.
(I'd like to tell you about the so-called "Mormon" brand of Christianity, but you have to take your own course. You're welcome, of course, to check us out, but if that's not your first place to start, start at your own first place to start.)
Be willing to change your ideas about religion, because you are only human, and humans can get wrong ideas. (That goes for any religion or philosophy, including atheism and Mormonism and Shintoism and anything else. No magic incantations that make you suddenly "right".) We all have some wrong ideas now and then. But try to change your ideas for the better, not for the worse.
And don't assume that you have to suddenly throw it all away just because maybe you didn't understand a few things quite right before. A few steps at a time will get you further than one giant step you're too afraid to take.
Once you get connected (or reconnected) with your conscience, learn how to talk with God. Understand that there are deceiving spirits and try to avoid them, but learn how to commune with your conscience. It can tell you right and wrong.
And it can also help you know about strategic things, like whether it's really time to throw away your non-free OS and try debian or openbsd or one of the more popular ones, or one of the more freedom-oriented ones.
And it can motivate you to learn how to use passwords and user names properly. And other things about using the things you have wisely.
So, what to do about all the people who want to steal your privacy?
Don't get too excited.
Get in touch with your conscience first. Once you're in touch with your conscience, the rest comes along, a bit at a time.
Someone asked about it on the debian mailing list, and my knee-jerk reaction was a quote from someone at one of the British counterparts to the US intellegence agencies:
"Those that didn't know about it were gobsmacked."(Not sure I got that accurate.) To which I added
If any of that surprises you, you haven't been paying attention.
Technology, we can work on a few things to hold them at bay for a little longer.
But keep your nose clean. Don't be a target.
Anything that must be private, keep it off the internet.
Have as few things that have to be kept private as you can.
Develop a good relationship with God, by whatever name you call That
Ultimate Entity, because that's going to be your only help in the end.
The best security is to not have anything worth attacking.
Technology can only go so far. It's always a war of attrition, which is the gaping hole in the NSA's logic in going from theory to practice, en-masse. So we can only keep them at bay for a little bit longer at any particular point in time. If you can't keep up, you're exposed.
That's the reason for going "religious".
War is always a game of going one better against the other guy until someone runs out of the will to do it again, or until someone runs out of resources. It doesn't end until somebody gives in. (That's actually one of the underlying messages of the Book of Mormon, by the way.)
New technology only adds new ways of going one better.
People who want you to pay them for making new technological weapons will argue that their technology can "beat the bad guys".
Funding development of new technology is usually a win-win, but this particular reason is all wrong, for all sorts of reasons.
In the first place, we have met the enemy and (Hi, Pogo) discovered we were looking in the mirror.
There are no bad guys, no good guys. (There's only you and I and a bunch of other people and sometimes we just disagree about something. Hi, Jim, Hi, Dave.)
Beating the bad guy is always a bad reason.
And if you admit that you may be just as bad, beating the other guy becomes an even worse reason, unless you know how to stop before someone gets seriously hurt.
In the second place, weapons are not the only or even the best use of technology. Neither is war. It's the easy use, in many cases, but that's no excuse, because of the first reason and the third, the reason I have already mentioned: It ain't gonna end until someone gives up or gives in.
In the third place, it's usually the bigger guy who gives in first. You see, the bigger you are, the more you get accustomed to the idea that there is always someone bigger than you are. You beat one enemy, and there's always going to be another. In video games, there's always the final enemy, the big boss. But there's always another video game.
In real life, there's always another bigger guy to beat.
Abraham was shown this, thousands of years ago, if you believe the LDS scripture. It's just as true now.
That brings up the fourth reason and I'll stop with reasons here: God is greater than all of us.
The only way to achieve real security is to develop a good relationship with the Ultimate Entity, as I said above.
I have to acknowledge that humans invent a lot of false gods, because they can't seem to wangle the real God. I'll also acknowledge that there is an influence, a lying influence, that runs around swaggering and claiming to be God, but is not. These are two issues you have to get around before you can start developing a relationship with the real Ultimate Entity.
But if you can get around those (and around your own desire to manipulate reality), you find that God is actually your friend.
Once you can understand that God is your friend, once you can see that God is your ultimate friend, you are no longer vulnerable to the NSA or any other artifact of man's greed.
So, what should we do about the NSA?
First things first, get your own computer in order. Then get your own house, your own life in order.
Wipe Microsofts or Apple's stuff off of it and load a free-as-in-freedom OS.
If you insist on Microsoft or Apple's stuff, think about the free-as-in-beer 3rd-party stuff you've downloaded. Any of those is one too many.
If the source code is not available for you and/or a skilled friend to look at, and if the license doesn't say you and/or your friend can modify the code, it's free-as-in-beer, not free-as-in-freedom.
Understand the difference between free beer and freedom. Okay, that should be the first thing:
Understand the difference between free drugs and freedom.
Well, I can't tell you all the things about repentance you need to know. If you don't have a religion, or a guiding philosophy, find one. You have to start somewhere.
(I'd like to tell you about the so-called "Mormon" brand of Christianity, but you have to take your own course. You're welcome, of course, to check us out, but if that's not your first place to start, start at your own first place to start.)
Be willing to change your ideas about religion, because you are only human, and humans can get wrong ideas. (That goes for any religion or philosophy, including atheism and Mormonism and Shintoism and anything else. No magic incantations that make you suddenly "right".) We all have some wrong ideas now and then. But try to change your ideas for the better, not for the worse.
And don't assume that you have to suddenly throw it all away just because maybe you didn't understand a few things quite right before. A few steps at a time will get you further than one giant step you're too afraid to take.
Once you get connected (or reconnected) with your conscience, learn how to talk with God. Understand that there are deceiving spirits and try to avoid them, but learn how to commune with your conscience. It can tell you right and wrong.
And it can also help you know about strategic things, like whether it's really time to throw away your non-free OS and try debian or openbsd or one of the more popular ones, or one of the more freedom-oriented ones.
And it can motivate you to learn how to use passwords and user names properly. And other things about using the things you have wisely.
So, what to do about all the people who want to steal your privacy?
Don't get too excited.
Get in touch with your conscience first. Once you're in touch with your conscience, the rest comes along, a bit at a time.
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