TOC

History

• The Declaration of Independence and Interpretation The Declaration of Independence is a concise, well written, and foundational document for the United States. Yet, from the earliest days of the new republic, people have interpreted it in different ways and used it to support different, even opposite, positions. For example, both Northerners and Southerners used it to support their positions at the time of the Civil War. Using a multidisciplinary approach, "The Declaration of Independence and Interpretation" evaluates the insights gained by reading the Declaration from the disciplines of history, political theory, jurisprudence, stylistic criticism, and pragmatics.
• John Locke and the Glorious Revolution John Locke is considered to be one of the founders of Enlightenment thought. His Two Treatises have often been characterized as the first secular expression of political theory in the modern era�an irony of history since he in believed in reason in a Christian context. Locke wrote foundational and influential works in philosophy and political theory, and was the apologist for the English Glorious Revolution in 1688.
• Thomas Jefferson Predicted In The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House, James David Barber classifies Presidential types into four categories and asserts that a Presidential nominee can be categorized and his performance predicted. Barber classifies Thomas Jefferson as an "active-positive" President as support for his theories. But a careful analysis of Jefferson's life using Barber's criteria does not support Barber's assertion about Jefferson and points to weaknesses in Barber's theory that need to be addressed.

Religion and Philosophy

• A Cop Can't Be a Christian "A Cop Can't Be a Christian" challenges the idea that a Christian cannot be an effective police officer and equally hold a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other. The roles coincide, not conflict, as in popular imagination and misunderstanding.
• God's Name: Futile or Useful? "God's Name: Futile or Useful?" In Judeo-Christian scripture, Moses delivered ten commandments to his people. The third commandment prohibited God's people from taking his name in vain. For many people, that commandment translates into not using a particular curse word. The third commandment is not as trivial as a simple expletive. Rather, taking the Lord's name in vain involves much more important issues in a person's life.
• An Analytical Outline of a Harmony of the Gospels. This analytical outline comes from A Harmony of the Gospels by A. T. Robertson, which is one of the classics in the field of harmonizing the accounts of Jesus life in the gospels. The outline has ministry divisions by H. I. Hester, and year divisions by James Stalker inserted in it.
• Main Books Found In Each Part of the Harmony. Only the fourteen major part divisions from the Harmony are used. This outline shows which books of the New Testament are used in each of the main divisions of the Harmony, that is for each of the time periods in Jesus' life. The goal of this outline is to help see which periods of Jesus' life that each of the gospels stresses.
• New Testament Outlines. Outlines of New Testament books. The outlines of the four gospels have part divisions from the Harmony, ministry divisions by H. I. Hester, and year divisions by James Stalker inserted in them, making it easier to coordinate with the Harmony and to keep up chronologically when studying events in the gospels.

Law Enforcement

• Burned Up and Out "Burned Up and Out" looks at the psychological phenomenon commonly known as "burn out". The focus is on the manifestation of "burn out" in law enforcement officers.
• Criminal Control System "Criminal Control System" looks at the Criminal Justice System from the perspective of being a system of social control instead of a system of justice. The goal of criminal law is to control behavior, which is a valid goal in itself, but which should not be confused with justice. The article is written to speak to a law enforcement audience but applies to anyone who is concerned with the criminal justice system as it operates in America.
• Death in the Police Family "Death in the Police Family" considers how Americans experience death in the last decade of the twentieth century. The death experience has changed dramatically in this century and the change has profound implications for how Americans cope with tragedy. The principles in the essay about death and grief are universal. The specific suggestions for police agencies apply to any agency seeking to comfort its members at times of death.
• Discipline Is Not Punishment "Discipline is Not Punishment" examines the punishment mentality of many administrators, in particular police administrators, and offers a better understanding of discipline. This alternate understanding is based on training and learning, and has a long history. Indeed, the base meaning of the term, discipline, involves teaching and learning.
• Messengers Of Death "Messengers of Death" suggests guidelines for the dreaded task of delivering news to a family about the death of a loved one. Though written for police officers, anyone who must make death notifications can benefit from the suggestions.
• Not So Obvious Police Stress "Not So Obvious Police Stress" rethinks the stress that most impacts a police officer. Contrary to what television would lead you to believe, police officers are debilitated by factors other than danger such as bank robberies. These insights are important to citizens as much as to officers, after all, citizens put guns on the people who are being affected by these stressors.
• Police Tribe "The Police Tribe" looks at societal forces that foster a system of tribal values among police officers. The "blue code of silence" is a symptom of the tribal value system. How can city administrators and police officers work together to serve their communities given the existence of such forces in the law enforcement community?

General Essays

• Brosky Again "Brosky Again" points out that our dual citizenship, as both citizens of the United States and of a particular state, allows the American criminal law system to violate double jeopardy. Americans violate the principle of double jeopardy whenever public opinion or a powerful figure demands that a person be tried again on federal charges when not satisfied with the outcome of a state trial. Technically, double jeopardy is not violated, but, in any valid sense of reality, it is.
• Do You Want to Be Committed? "Do You Want to Be Committed?" looks at the nature of close human relationships in marriage. Love is often said to be the most important ingredient in a marriage, but plain commitment can keep a couple together when feelings of love sag.
• Encourage or Stifle "Encourage or Stifle" defines the nature of real love, at least one concept found in this overly extended word. Love involves encouragement among people, not cycles of dependence and dominance.
• Free Expression: No Exception "Free Expression: No Exception" looks at freedom of speech and censorship. Freedom of speech is a cherished ideal that has been with Americans since their Revolution. In general, censorship signals failure. Truth, the kind that sets people free, should and will win in the marketplace of ideas.

Humanities

• Abolition of Helen (and of Man) "The Abolition of Helen (and of Man)" is a discussion of the tension between philosophers and rhetoricians. The discussion begins with Gorgias', "Encomium of Helen," refers to Plato and Aristotle, draws from Quintilian, and ends with C. S. Lewis, Abolition of Man.

Consumer Protection

Credit Card Acceptance by Merchants Merchants sign agreements with credit card companies for the privilege of using their cards and are bound by civil law to obey these agreements. People have many rights and protections when using credit cards, and this link explains a few of them that exist at the time a card is used. Follow this link to the MasterCard site which clearly explains several things that merchants may not do. MasterCard seeks help in finding merchant violations. You may read about the violations and report violations at this link. If you prefer, you may call and report violations to MasterCard International at 1-800-300-3069. MasterCard will follow up on reports and bring merchants into compliance. The things that merchants may not do are:

• May not require identification
• May not refuse a valid card
• May not require a minimum purchase amount
• May not charge an extra fee for using a credit card

Site Description

Description

• Constant Consideration is a site for articles, essays, and books aimed for intelligent, including scholarly, readers and authors. Both published and unpublished works appear here. Authors are encouraged to submit works to be included. Fields of interest are not limited to those listed in the table of contents. One of the problems of publication in many periodicals is that useful information becomes forgotten on the shelves of libraries throughout the world.
• Constant Consideration allows such publications to be in another place where they can continue to be available and useful. Another problem with publication is that not all worthy pieces can be accommodated. This site provides another avenue for making such efforts available.
• Constant Consideration emphasizes the written word, not glitzy graphics for two reasons. First, graphics should enhance communication, not hinder. Second, an excessive use of graphics is one of the prime reasons that the Internet is slowing down.

Legend

....Return to Table Of Contents
....Return to previous document
....Go to top of current document
....Go to next document
....Send E-mail