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The FIG Vision

Copyright (C) 1998 FIG 

The creator offers you this gift and wants it to remain free.
See http://www.2b1.de/FIG/freedom.html for more information.

If you have any questions or comments about this work, you should first
make sure you have the latest official version (which can be found at
[iho: sorry, it one time could be found at]
http://www.fig.org/fig.texi), 
then send e-mail to
fig-vision@fig.org.
This work is copylefted; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
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This work is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
General Public License, for more details.

Foundation

If you love your own freedom with all your heart, then that love makes you want to help other beings to choose freedom.

The FIG Project is lowering the barriers to freedom by encouraging you to be conscious of issues of freedom as they relate to yourself and to others. This document is the FIG Vision: it focuses our minds on becoming bringers of freedom to our communities, and to the world as a whole.

Members of the FIG Project promote freedom in two ways:

  1. We seek to maximize personal freedom of choice and action for all beings, including ourselves.
  2. We also seek to maximize moral responsibility so that all beings can be free from fear and abuse.

Our lives are a dynamic interplay between these two opposites. We recognize that when one of these principles is taken in isolation, the result is death. Without morality, personal freedom degenerates into chaos. Without personal freedom, morality is devoid of diversity and beauty.

The FIG Project is built on this foundation: two legs that support one body.

The Gentle Way

We enslave others if we force them to share our beliefs, no matter how "right" our beliefs are. So, the FIG Project does not force others to share our belief in freedom. On the other hand, we do not allow those who reject freedom to unify with us. This prevents dilution of our Vision.

If you share our vision of total freedom, and you follow the Gentle Way, then you have the right to call yourself a FIG. Both individuals and organizations can be FIGs. FIGs can be real or imaginary, human or nonhuman, in the present, past, or future.

All FIGs share freedom as our cornerstone. However, other beliefs are necessary in order translate the idea of freedom into action. The meaning of freedom is a mystery, and diversity is the key to exploring its depths.

For that reason, every FIG must respect all other beings as teachers. Even beings who are not FIGs have something to teach us about freedom.

The Gentle Way is a conscious choice to preserve and encourage diversity, as long as it benefits the promotion of freedom. FIGs must fight those who attempt to enslave others, but love and encourage all those who are revealing new truths, regardless of whether we like or agree with them.

This means that FIGs must learn to suspend all beliefs, except for their belief in freedom. If any other belief is fixed and rigid, then it is we will find ourselves in a situation where that belief causes us to compromise our freedom, or the freedom of others.

Our rational mind is designed to form habits, so that we do not need to spend all our time making decisions. The difficult part is in determining when a habit is in opposition to freedom. We must continually examine our beliefs and our habits, and be prepared to change them in order to further our pursuit of freedom. This is an ongoing process, and must be constantly renewed as long as we possess a rational mind.

We recognize that our conscience or intuition is a critical part of this process. We must constantly walk the balance between thinking about freedom and feeling about freedom: neither one is sufficient.

This is the Gentle Way of aligning FIGs towards freedom and cooperation without compromise.

Affirmation

Every FIG affirms that they hold the following core values:

  1. We seek to maximize personal freedom of action and inaction among all beings.
  2. We seek to maximize corporate freedom from fear and abuse among all beings.
  3. We seek to maximize the recognition of basic rights and responsibilities.
  4. We adhere to the Gentle Way of respect and lovingkindness for all beings.
  5. We understand that we are wholly responsible for our own actions. If we love our freedom with all our hearts, then there is no way that anybody can force us to compromise that love. If we fail, then it is our own failure, and nobody else's.
  6. We refuse to claim power or responsibility over others, because we recognize that it interferes with their own understanding of freedom.
  7. We seek to listen so that others will help us understand the ways in which we can better attain our goals.
  8. We seek to communicate our thoughts and feelings honestly and openly, to help others learn about what freedom means to us.

Conclusion

This FIG Vision is the only place in which all FIGs are one. There are no FIG leaders and there are no FIG prophets. Only the words of this document reflect the total FIG Vision. All other words are commentary.

What this means is that you must find your own way to live. Carefully judge the advice of those who tell you what to do, because they do not follow the Gentle Way. Seek the advice of those who share your Vision, but judge them carefully, also.

FIG.org (http://www.fig.org/) is a place where FIGs can meet one another, discuss ideas, and encourage one another in specific ways of promoting freedom. We invite you to join us, but not to serve us.

Serve only freedom, and you will be free.

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