How do we know what is “right”?  For an action to be right, it must be the correct way to achieve the desired end result.  An end result is never right or wrong, it is only good or bad.  The actions that achieve the ends are never good or bad, they are only right or wrong.  They can be the correct way to achieve a good end, but the action in itself is not “good”, it is only “good for” something.  An action is right for a result if it achieves the desired result.  Whether that action is a good thing or not depends on the result that it achieves.  An action is not good or bad but rather correct or incorrect.  If an action has results that are bad, we may say that it was an incorrect action, because it did not achieve our goals of a good result.  Sometimes an action may achieve a good primary result, and we declare it to be a good action that should be commended, and but then it may lead to bad secondary results that outweigh the original good result.  In this case, to decide whether the action is truly correct or incorrect, we must decide what our ultimate goals are, to have a positive primary result or to have a positive overall result.

Let’s say we have an algebraic math problem, and our goal is to find the values that make the equation true.  If you use a particular method to find the value of a variable and it makes your equation true, then your method was correct, and we can say that it was the right way to do it, given that your goal was to find the value of the variable that works for that equation.  If your goal is to find a method that gives the value of a variable for any equation, you cannot guarantee that that method was the right one, only the right one for that particular equation.  To verify whether it is right for another equation, you must try it to see if it achieves the goal of the value of the variable that makes the equation true in every situation that it is tested in.  You don’t necessarily even have to work it all the way out; sometimes you can merely look and see that the actions that were taken in the first method could in no way apply to another equation, for example, dividing to get the answer will not help in a problem that only involves addition.  Therefore, to determine whether an action is truly right, we must carefully define the goals we are attempting to achieve through these actions. 

For another example, let’s consider two doctors, Doctor A and Doctor B, who both have cancer, and for the purposes of the example, are identical in every way.  Doctor A chooses to treat his patient with chemotherapy, and Doctor B chooses to treat her patient with radiation.  Now surely both of these doctors have the goal of curing their patient, so we can reasonably believe that each of the treatment forms have comparable probabilities of successfully treating the patient, so there must be other factors that lead to each doctor making their choices in that manner.  There could be differences in the amount of time it takes to treat the patient with each method, the costs, and perhaps even the accessibility of each method to the doctor.  If Doctor A chose chemotherapy because it was cheaper, it shows that in addition to having the goal of curing his patient, he wishes to do so at least cost to the patient.  Say Doctor B chose radiation because all radiation treatments done in that hospital go towards a large scientific study on cancer treatments, therefore, she wishes to use this case as a learning opportunity.  The underlying reasons for each of these choices are from the doctor’s individual values.  All other things being equal, Doctor A valued the cost to the patient more than the research benefits, and Doctor B values those two differently.  Because Doctor A was interested in the cost to the patient, he set his goals as curing the patient, and doing it as cheaply as possible, and chemotherapy was the correct way to achieve these goals.  Doctor B’s goals were to cure the patient and to contribute to the body of research on the subject, and therefore, radiation treatments were the correct way for her to achieve those goals.  People on the outside looking in might be tempted to say which was more right, but that can really only be objectively achieved by measuring which completed their goals to the fullest.  The only other way to judge the two against each other is to incorporate one’s own values.  Another doctor who is very interested in the scholarly research aspect may say that Doctor B’s actions were more right because this doctor more highly values the research aspect than the cost.  Yet other doctors and bystanders may disagree.  However, each of these judgments is made on the basis of each individual’s values and how well each doctor’s actions achieved the judger’s personal goals.  Most can agree, though, that the goal of curing the patient is a common goal and is overall a good result.  The judgment that it is a good result comes from the idea that each human that has a life values it and wishes to preserve life.

Therefore, to make a judgment about whether something is right or wrong, you can only judge in reference to your personal goals that you believe should be fulfilled.  When we are forced to choose between courses of actions that will affect many people, whose values are the most important?  Could we make a hospital rule that every doctor must choose the cheapest treatment plan?  If the hospital’s stated goal was to treat every patient in the most cost-effective way possible, it certainly seems like a valid decision; however Doctor B would disagree and say that that decision would damage the potential for contributing to research.  Is the hospital right for choosing the cheapest plan or wrong because it does not help with research?  This judgment is very controversial and would certainly elicit a variety of conflicting responses from medical experts and laypersons alike.  The point is, it is impossible to choose a side without having a distinct set of valued goals that you wish to see achieved, and while you believe that your goals are the most important ones that should be completed, each and every human being believes that their unique values and goals are just as important and deserve just as much attention as yours.  Since every person’s goals are based on hir personal experience, and every person has a unique experience, hirs goals are only valid for hirs personal experience, and would not make sense for another person’s experience.  And since every action is only right if it achieves its goals, every action can only be considered right for as long as it achieves that particular person’s goals.  If it does not achieve another person’s goals, then that action is wrong for hir, even if it is right for one or many different people.  Therefore, we must preserve everyone’s right to choose hirs own actions, and therefore make rules that preserve every person’s liberty to make hirs own decisions.  

I might have half of your genes, but there is no way for you to be able to see what is in my brain and to process the 20 years worth of inputs and processes that have formed it, just as I cannot understand the 44 years worth of inputs that have gone into yours. I can tell you this: I cannot change the fact that my brain responds positively to other girls, just as yall cannot change the fact that your brains respond positively to the opposite sex or to certain foods or to clothes that you like or tv shows that you like. It’s the same thing. Your brain takes in an input and judges whether you like it or don’t. That’s not gonna change.

The most that any parent can want for their child is to be happy. No more. You can hope that they are rich, or good at math, or a good cook, but you have no control over whether their brain and body are capable of making those come true, so to make those happen, you would have to force them into your own standard of what you think is good. Daddy, that “don’t tread on me” flag that you have represents so much more than saying that you don’t want the government to take your guns. The founding fathers created in this country a system in which personal liberty is secured above all else, because there is no way for a government to be run by the will of the people if the people are not allowed to exercise their will. We have laws that outlaw murder, rape, child molestation, fraud, etc, in order to protect people from being taken advantage of against their will. The first amendment protects the freedom of religion, which means that we are free to practice any religion that we like, but we are not allowed to impose our religious beliefs against someone else. That means that every law that we make must have some public reason behind it, we can’t just say that we need it because it’s what God wants. We can’t even say that to another person. All we know about God is what we read from a book that was put together by people from copies of stuff that was written and was translated by other people.

The sheer fact that there are hundreds of different denominations that have hundreds of interpretations proves that no matter how assuredly you believe something about some verse of the Bible, someone else probably disagrees with you. Except for one thing. God is love. Christianity may include hundreds of interpretations, but it would not exist if God hadn’t so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten son that WHOSOEVER believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And did Jesus, the man about whom every verse and word was written say himself that you should first of all love the lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might? And LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF? Because you have no idea what another person might be thinking. You have no clue where they came from or what they like or don’t like, but you know that you would like to be treated with kindness and respect and that YOU would like to be allowed to choose what career you want and that YOU would like to be allowed to find the mate that you want. Even yall think that it’s silly and repressive to be forced to marry someone that you don’t even know, yet they did it in the Bible all the time!

So before you go shouting Leviticus 18:22 and all those other things, just know that there are Christian scholars who have researched those verses very very hard, and might disagree with your interpretation. So until you yourself do enough research that you feel you can accurately predict the will of God in the situation of two adults that love each other and care for each other and want to spend their lives together, “forsaking all others, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health”, then the most that you can really be sure of is that you are supposed to love me in the same way that you want me to love you.

 I need you to trust me that I would never do anything to hurt our family’s well-being. I have worked so hard to make y’all proud. I have learned how to treat other people well and to work for other people and to dedicate myself to helping other people to make their lives better. I have pursued my education, not only to get a piece of paper to get me paid more, but because I genuinely want to learn more about the world that I never got to see in South Mississippi.

You know, one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard was in church when they warned of “liberal professors” and they said “don’t let them tell you anything wrong because you know what’s right”. Shoot, if I know what’s right, why am I goin to college? People need to realize that there is more information out in the world and there are different ideas that don’t agree with them, and that the entirety of a human life is spent taking in various pieces of information and deciding which ones are good and acceptable and which are not. Y’all have gotten the opportunity to look around at the world and y’all have made specific decisions about what is good for YOU. Y’all decided that you like South Mississippi and that you want to live there. Y’all decided that you would rather live out in the country than in the middle of a city because that works for YOUR interests.

The LEAST you can do for me is give me the chance to find a place that I fit in and that my interests are met where my skills and abilities are used for the best. Whether that’s in Mississippi, California, Timbuktu, I don’t know. Whether that is in engineering, public administration, education, sweepin the floors, shoot, I don’t know that either. But these are the decisions I make to find out what is right for ME. You gave me a home and food and love and you taught me how to treat other people and know this for a fact, that I love you so so much and I will always be grateful for everything that you have done for me. But this is my chance to take that foundation that you built and to build my own house on top of it. I’m sorry if you don’t want me to go into education or something because I won’t get paid a lot, but if it’ll make me happy, it would be stupid for me to force myself out of it.

I’m sorry if y’all don’t like the way I dress sometimes, but it makes me comfortable, and it’s not like people look at me like I’m a freak because other people wear that too. I know y’all will always be concerned for my safety, but I am too. I’m just as worried about yall living out in the country as you are about me living here. Every time daddy goes hunting, I pray that he doesn’t slip and fall on the stand or something. Just as y’all do stuff to protect me, I do stuff to protect y’all. I have respected your wishes and have kept this “situation” very quiet. I hate that there are people out there who would think badly about something so simple and harmless, but I know they do, so out of respect for you and our family and extended family, I have actually probably sacrificed some of my own comfort and happiness to protect us from the stupidity of the outer world.

But I’m telling you right now. My private life is MY private life. Yall have no more say in who I have crushes on than you do what foods I like. Just as you don’t want the government telling you what you can and cant do with your guns or money, you have no say in who my friends are or who I talk to. I know better than to be around people who will bring me down. I am very capable of creating a life for myself with friends whom I appreciate and enjoy myself with who also appreciate and enjoy me. And if I want to have a romantic relationship, I have every right to. I want to be able to say cute things and buy cute gifts and surprises for someone just like y’all do for each other.

I’m not a pervert or a child molester, I’m just a normal person. An adult. Who is capable of judging someone’s character just as well as y’all are. So I would very much appreciate y’all understanding that my life and the way I live it is just as sacred as y’alls. I know that you have had 20 years of thinking that I am this one little person that you were raising to be exactly like you, so the least I can do is give you 20 more years to get to know the real me, as I make my own decisions and create a life for myself.  

If you feel that you cannot be associated with me as I live this life that suits me best, then I will accept that. But if you want to continue to be a part of my life, you will do it respecting me and my decisions, just as you would to any other adult. If you are still having problems accepting this, I suggest you call Dr. Smallwood.  She is wonderful and I’m sure that she is absolutely capable of listening to all of your concerns and helping you figure out the best way to go. To be honest, I don’t want to talk about this until y’all have resolved how you feel about everything I wrote on here, and really would prefer that you go talk to Dr. Smallwood first, too, because this is really what we talked about the whole time last summer.

Believe me, I love you so so much. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even bother with trying to help you understand this. And that is exactly what I need you to do. Understand. Understand that I have a brain that is separate from y’alls and that it works in its own unique way. Understand that I am an adult and that I deserve to make my own decisions and build my own life just as every other human being on this planet does. And I need y’all to understand that as an adult, I know the consequences of my actions and I am capable of evaluating my choices and making decisions on what is best for me, just like y’all can do for yourselves.

I love you.

Much props to laurenthriller.tumblr.com for her input.  Even though mine was better.

Background:  These are comments on a pic of Lauren and Karl.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp I vote y’all for cutest camp couple

Lauren Kwiatkowski We could give you and Sarah Smith a run for your money.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp I think this should be settled in a 2 on 2 rap battle

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp tag team it

Lauren Kwiatkowski You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp ‎”Now, sometimes I’m eloquent and elocute from a podium, but mess with my girl, bitch, and I’ll shut you up like Immodium” That’s a little sneak peek. Taste good?

Lauren Kwiatkowski I’ve tasted some sweet ladies through my times, but never have I choked on such lord awful rhymes, I’ll pwn you so hard you won’t even be able to gawk, so get off thesaurus.com and maybe we’ll talk.

Sure you still want to do this?

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp OH IT IS ON

Ryan Mishler Awwww YEAH!! :-)

Karl Alexander Abad Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

I’m gay.

Lauren Kwiatkowski OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH​HHH

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp Fuck Pokemon, Ash Ketchum is an asshole, hey Peach, you want this pussy? Sorry, it’s in another castle

Lauren Kwiatkowski That’s cute, you get your rhymes from hooked on phonics? Keep running your mouth and I’ll bring out my massive Onix, and break down the walls of that fort your hiding in, don’t you realize that this battle you will not win?

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp Ooh, you’re kinda fiesty, are you perhaps part Latina? Too bad your face looks like Han Solo shot you in the Cantina. You think you’re winnin this battle, you think you’re doin well? Get ready, I’m about to ram your ass with a big ole blue shell

Lauren Kwiatkowski I ain’t no Latina, I be Polish and Gaelic, and I be ripping you to more pieces than a mosaic. What’s this star wars bullshit? That doesn’t give me my fill, but that don’t mean I won’t shut you down like Hope Solo did to Brazil.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp I don’t know how you’re a “badass” your partner’s a skinny Filipino, excuse me while I bow out early, I’ve gotta go fuck Megan Rapinoe

Lauren Kwiatkowski At least I know how to spell the names of the ladies I fuck, and yeah I’m a grammar nazi, but you’re running out of luck, you can’t get no pussy and you can’t get no cocks, and when you try to get it in you miss like Ms. Shannon Boxx.

Lauren Kwiatkowski NO FAIR YOU EDITED IT AND FIXED RAPINOE’S LAST NAME.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp You might wanna double check that, and do it quick, I spelled everything right, so suck my thick dick, and sorry that your insults are all in vain, but I get my shit done when it counts like Brandi Chastain

Karl Alexander Abad Princess Peach in the hizzeh, reppin the hoes. Yeah, stay down there, Megan, pussy under your nose. Sorry, lady, Ms. Rapinoe wants a touch of class. Not some hookd on fonix illiterate with a concave ass. You mess with my boy, I’ll off ya in a flash. Now get back to your corner, Mama Peach wants her cash.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp Peach, get back to your street corner, we don’t want you in here, I’m surprised you can even talk without Ash, your puppeteer. Did he give you lunch money and wipe your ass? Speaking of your butt, it’s so big, it’s reached critical mass. Shit, I don’t even know how you can sit in your Kart, not to mention your pussy smelled worse than one of Wario’s farts

Lauren Kwiatkowski Oh shut the fuck up, you no name poser, wishing Peach would rip off those pantyhosers. If you don’t buzz off, I’ll smack you with my peacock, or make you watch me gives my bitches head like Abby Wambach.

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp Yo, my name’s Ja’Kaylen, yeah I own this house and, if my skills could be quantified, they’d be OVER NINE THOUSAND!!! While y’all were messin around, sittin on your rear ends, I’ve use my mad skills to land a hot ass girlfriend. So I’ve got some hot ass to tap, I hope you understand, I hope you have a nice date tonight with your right hand

Karl Alexander Abad Oooh, look at you, talkin smack to your boss. Don’t wanna eat? Oh dear, well that’s your loss. Yeah, I got ass, what of it? It bring’s dem hoes in. Cept you, dear, pulled ya straight from the recycling bin. Go on, try and sell your body. Tr…See More

Ja’Kaylen Fromcamp Oh, Peach, what a cutie, your beauty sure is rare, with your lovely little head full of blond hair, but what they never mention is that it also covers your back, and plus it looks like a Wookie lives in your crack. I’ve been runnin this game with class since I popped out the womb, you are weak to my fire like you’re a Vileplume

Now I know that you know that ze knows that we know

That “no homo” is a no-go but if you don’t know, then you won’t grow

So to all the lesbos and lesbros and homos and “I don’t know”s under the rainbow, we’ll say let’s go

Because it’s our row that we hoe to forego the status quo

And to show what we know and say so to those who only hear half-truths like Van Gogh

So we can go show our message so we won’t be repressed like Jim Crow

And we let our care show and our love overflow

So if just one kid steps back from the open window

And whether change flows slow or the flow just goes,

We all have room to grow, even CEOs of NGOs

And we must go to those who say “no” and those who preach “homo no mo’” 

Because I know they are gung-ho, but we all know that they don’t know what we know,

That from homo to hetero, from rich folk to average Joe,

From Chicago to Tokyo, from Monaco to the Congo,

Whether bald head or afro, whether your skin is dark or as white as snow,

Whether you wear Tevas or Chacos or play Phase 10 or Uno

We are all on the same boat and we all row the same flow,

Now they might look at you like a UFO in a strip show,

But it is what we owe to those who can’t go or are anonymous like John Doe,

So we must go, and as we go we will grow and as we grow, we will know that 

We have shone with the glow till we just can’t give no mo’, 

So just go. 

Well, howdy, welcome y’all, let’s begin this affair,

Let me warn you, rhymes like mine can be pretty rare

If you don’t believe me, just hire a statistician

Or call up Mr. Webster if you need a definition

Turn with me in your textbooks, page 123

I’ll give you all a little lesson, a crash course in “me”

Now first I like to think I have a whole lot of class,

But I have been told I have a little more sass

I always mean what I say, every single word

And I’m always my true self, half-gangsta, half-nerd

Plus, so I’ve heard, I’m a babe, certifiably

Nonetheless, I also like other girls, reliably

When I’m on the mic man my flow is smooth as butter

But the pretty girls make my heart flutter

Sometimes I’m a player, it’s okay if you assumed

Cuz when I see a girl from across the room

And her eyes can me melt like some kind of quesadilla

Hey girl, I’ll be the cheese you can be the tortilla,

Cuz you should be my baby, I can be your Swayze

We’ll be dirty dancin till the room’s getting hazy

Turn me on, crank it up, girl you rock me to my socks,

you got me all confused like the Amish with an xbox

blow my mind all the time with your brand new technology

but your hardware is the only kind that I wanna see

Girl you so fine I get chills when you’re eyin me

You put me in a spell like your name is Hermione

Yeah, you got magic like you play for Orlando

If I was straight I’d flip sides like a Calrissian, Lando

Oh, by the way, heyyyy I’m gay,

And I can say it with fierceness, like Bebe Benet

And I’m so glad that I found this great community

That’s so full of tolerance and unity

I’ve got friends to help through thick and thin now,

Even from long distance like we work for Cathy Renna

But many out there aren’t as fortunate as we

They never got this kind of chance where they could see

That there are people full of love and kindness and acceptance

Instead all they saw and heard was violence

I’m sure among this room we’ve prolly heard it all,

I mean, shoot let’s just see what I’ve been called

A pervert, diseased, I was sent to be “fixed”

And that was just from Mom and Dad, but here’s the sitch

I know why the words they say are untrue

I knock them down before the pain can get through

Things that to others would cause injury

But I know how not to let it get to me

Some of yall are the same, you got thick skin too

But to tell you the truth, we are a fortunate few

Kids out there die just for being queer

That fact should hit harder than the water pressure in McTieyre

Have you ever been beat up cuz you like green beans?

Nobody cares if vegetable preference is in your genes

Nobody yells, “We don’t serve your kind here”

When you say you feel more comfy in cotton than cashmere

Yet Tyler Clementi felt so victimized

That his only escape was to take his own life

Now I like to think I’m a normal consumer,

But when I hear, “That’s so gay” I fail to see the humor,

Because unless that guy’s fanny pack you’re talking about

Has come up to you and personally come out,

You have no idea about its true identity,

So what gives you the right to throw around obscenities?

(Hint: nothing)

Now I know that you know that ze knows that we know

That “no homo” is a no-go but if you don’t know, then you won’t grow

So to all the lesbos and lesbros and homos and “I don’t know”s under the rainbow, we’ll say let’s go

Because it’s our row that we hoe to forego the status quo

And to show what we know and say so to those who only hear half-truths like Van Gogh

So we can go show our message so we won’t be repressed like Jim Crow

And we let our love show and our care overflow

So if just one kid steps back from the open window

And whether change flows slow or the flow just goes,

We all have room to grow, even CEOs of NGOs

And as we come to a close, I want you all to know

That you can call me a dyke or you can call me a wussy,

But I will fuck who I like and rep PLATYPUSSIES

Hey y’all :)