Terms of Service

"The terms, the terms, he doth accept the terms. He looks not smart..."

When essentially every motion of modern life involves a corporation, corporate "Terms of Service" (TOS) become the governing principle that overrides the Bill of Rights. This TOS Override has far reaching implications in the 21st century. If Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can say, "We're private. You can't say that on our private platform," while functioning as a public utility, then where does it end? If this precept is valid and consistently applied, then internet service providers can deny you web access and telecoms can deny you phone service for the very same reason. Indeed, every bank, insurance company, and health care provider can deny you service on the same basis as well.

We have all clicked the "Agree" button on the "Terms of Service" from numerous corporations without reading them, as the default initiation ritual for gaining access to some application, software, or service. This practice has catechized us on the principle that, "reading the fine print is unimportant, all that matters is meeting our immediate, short-term need." But we are beginning to see seeing the first, tangible, harvest of fine print negligence ripening before our eyes. Given that God controls the weather, let us pray for a crop failure. Moreover, let's take steps to plow the field under by eliminating our entanglements with corporations who use TOS to oppose the principles of constitutional liberty.

The picture for this blog post comes from The Court Jester - a film that my family and I have enjoyed for many years. I have often described it as a "perfect movie." It is a delightful, family-friendly respite from current events.

Social Media - I Shall Consider It

"I shall consider it."

I have two recommendations for Christian disciples as they interact with information in the fractured information maelstrom that surrounds us:

1. Assess information from a variety of alternative sources with different perspectives. A sober assessment of their claim and the underlying source material will be helpful in making well-reasoned inferences, allowing one to approach the truth of some current event. We should afford one another the liberty to share what we find with others, to discuss it, and to consider one another's opinions, alongside what scripture has to say on the matter (Proverbs 11:14). By this we may, "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good." (I Thessalonians 5:21). Approaching the truth may take some time given the sheer volume of information that surrounds us and the inconsistent or unreliable nature of many sources. 

2. Resist the zealous urge to quickly declare some new information"good." To credibly endorse something as "good" requires a measure of due diligence on our part to ensure we're not putting our stamp of approval on milk that's well past its expiration date or, worse still, offering it to others for a hearty swig. I've seen people reverse Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians by insisting, "Here's something GOOD!" long before they've proven any such thing. When encountering some idea on social media we should mimic Spock's measured response to Kirk in Mirror, Mirror: "I shall consider it."

"Coronavirus" is Well-Named

By Elder David Pyles

Considering Coronavirus Alongside Other World Statistics

According to statistics at www.worldometers.com, 1.264 million people in the world have died of coronavirus as of this writing (11/9/2020). To put this number into perspective, consider some other world statistics published at the same site. Thus far this year: