---
title: "The Flag of Greg"
date: 2021-09-20T22:55:41Z
tags: []
topics: ["philosophy", "politics"]
draft: false
---

I never used to think much of manifestos. Marx made them notorious, and subsequent generations of university students have rendered them more and more purile and self-serving, in my mind. 

But I'm beginning to change my mind on the topic. I think there is utility in commiting to a cause or a set of values that give shape an direction to one's life. I just think that one ought to refrain from doing so, until one is fully prepared to explain oneself. I'm pretty close to being able to do that, now.

In preparation for subsequent pronouncements on the way the world "ought to be", I think a good start would be to produce an emblem or coat of arms or flag that symbolizes the core principles and ethos of that manifesto. Here's my first draft:

{{< fluid_imgs "flag-of-greg|/img/flag-of-greg.png|The Flag of Greg" >}} 

The Red-White-Blue overlapping diamond pattern is meant to harken back to the American flag, but the colors have new meanings, made explicit in the flag's central standard. The best life, and a stable society is only possible where truth is sought. The pursuit of truth is possible only where virtue is cultivated. The cultivation of virtue is only possible where liberty is guaranteed. And liberty is only guaranteed where the pursuit of truth is possible. Underlying all of this, is the bedrock source of all truth, virtue, and liberty: the supreme goodness, truth, and beauty of God. 

I'll have much more to say about all of this in the coming months. But this is good enough for now.
