6.2.2 |
THE PROMISE OF ADHERENCE |
There are exactly three cardinal promises which an adherent of
the DNI may ever make:
- to tell only what is (or was/is/will be) true (or what
'e will make true);
- to distinguish only what is (or was/is/will be) relevant; and
- to aim only at what is (or was/is/will be) (ultimately)
neutral.
Hence, there are exactly three ultimate things 'e may ever swear
to: (1) the truth, (2)
inclusivity (or
relevance) and (3)
ananicity (or
neutrality). As 'e shall eschew what
is abusive, the neutral-inclusivist shall not swear or curse by vulgarizing
expressions of false or supernatural belief or by being impertinent.
And as 'e shall eschew
honor-exism and personative
exclusivism 'e shall not swear
allegiance to a person or personified being under asymmetrical conditions.
In a relationship between people who know each other an oath of loyalty
which is nothing else than a solemn promise need not be exclusivistic, but
even if it is not, such an oath will always be subject to the principles of
the Norm; not only to the
principle of truth but to the other three as well.
Some might consider concepts such as oath, swearing and
solemn supernaturalistic or exclusivistic in themselves.
Especially the term oath which is, among others, defined as
solemn calling upon a god to witness the truth of what one
says may be questionable (albeit, perhaps, not as questionable
as vow). Should they be right, we must never 'swear any oath'
and conscientiously decline to take one when asked to do so.
Yet, such does not mean that we could not declare something by
affirmation or make a 'solemn' promise; and if solemn is not
acceptable, that we could not make an 'earnest' or 'serious'
promise, this in itself being merely a question of terminology.
However, in languages or countries where theists, for instance, prefer
to use the terms oath and swearing, whereas nontheists
traditionally already prefer to speak of "affirming" and "promising",
it may be better that we stick to these 'promises' and
leave the swearing to the other side.
Those who one-sidedly swear allegiance to a person, particularly a
representative of a
monarchical or other exclusivist
system, put at least symbolically blind trust in being a liege of temporal
or pseudo-eternal lordship.
When they swear, they implicitly swear by serfdom and
the primacy of the authoritative.
It goes without saying that the perpetuation of these
practises
and of this symbolism (or rather antisymbolism if forced upon
citizens or people who would like to obtain citizenship) does not agree
with the principles of the DNI.
Yet, the Doctrine admits of declarations and promises, and serious or
'solemn' declarations or promises at that.
The most solemn promise an adherent of the DNI will be able to make, then,
is the promise of adherence itself.
Unlike allegiance, adherence is not a matter of being a liege or serf,
but a matter of adhering to one's principles.
And unlike allegiance, adherence is not a
theocentrist or other
authoritarian expression but typical of a
normistic
commitment. That is why a solemn promise of adherence can have a
profound significance in a normistic context, certainly in the
context of an
anastomosis of adherents. If, and when, there
are no objections against the use of the word oath, the anastomotic
promise may be called "the Oath of Adherence". In any event
it may also simply be called "the Promise of Adherence".
An Oath or Promise of Adherence is to consist of the three
cardinal promises which an adherent of the DNI is allowed to make.
It can be formulated in a restrictive and in a prescriptive way.
Variants of the restrictive version are:
I / We, [ name(s) ], (hereby) (solemnly/earnestly) promise /
affirm that i/we will never (purposely) tell what is untrue (or
what i/we will not make true), will never (purposely)
distinguish what is irrelevant, and will never (purposely)
advance what is (ultimately) unneutral
and
I / We, [ name(s) ], swear that ....
Variants of the prescriptive version are:
I / We, [ name(s) ], (hereby) (solemnly/earnestly) promise /
swear to (purposely) tell only what is true (or what i/we will
make true), to (purposely) distinguish only what is relevant,
and to (purposely) aim only at what is (ultimately) neutral.
There is no obligation to raise one's right or to raise one's
left hand when taking the Oath or Promise of Adherence. The most
suitable corporal sign, so far as hands are concerned, is to
clasp them together as shown in
figure S.4.1.2.1.
Since taking the Oath is a form of symbolism, there is not even a general
obligation for members of an anastomosis to make this solemn promise,
whether to remain a member or to become one.
(There may be such a requirement for members with a certain organizational
function.)
Conversely, it is solely anastomotic members or candidates who should be
allowed to formally make the Promise in the presence of two or more of
their fellow adherents, because its earnestness combines only with the
membership restrictions of an anastomosis.
The symbolism of the Promise ought not to be contaminated by people
who are ignorant of its meaning, for instance, or who also
associate with the actions and symbolic practises of groups
defying the Norm or violating its principles.
For reasons of truthfulness and interpretation a Promise of
Adherence must be made in the language of the anastomosis
concerned, and can solely be made by the promisor if 'e is
sufficiently able to understand, and communicate in, that
language. Before the Promise is made a person not making the Promise
'imself may start with the
following words (which take into account that some people who are confined
to bed or to a wheelchair, for instance, are unable to stand and walk, and
that mute people are unable to speak):
(Dear) (sibling(s)) ([name(s)]), if you wish to make
the Promise / take the Oath, please (step/move forward and)
stand/sit/lie still.
Before proceeding you must realize that by making the Promise /
taking the Oath you call upon your fellow adherents of
the Ananorm to witness that you
sincerely intend to refrain from what the Norm proscribes, or to do what
the Norm prescribes. This solemn/earnest promise will symbolically put you
under a special obligation to every member of our (speech) community.
It is
thru us/me that
you ask all siblings of the DNI to attest to the truth, relevance and
neutrality of what you are going to say / write down.
In this position we/i will now give you the opportunity to make
the Promise / take the Oath of Adherence (in the Language of
this Anastomosis).
After this introduction the Promise proper can be made individually
or collectively. To conclude, the Wheel of the Ananorm or
any other adequate poem may be sung by those present at the
ceremony.
(The figure of speech used in the Wheel is an ancient one.
The word wheel derives from kyklos, meaning circle or
wheel, which in turn derives from c(h)akra, also meaning
wheel. In some systems of thought levels of consciousness
were, or still are, depicted as wheels or 'chakras'. The effect
is the more striking because telos in
teleology, which means
end or purpose, derives from cakra too. That is why it
is also of great symbolic significance to call the DNI "a teleological
doctrine". By doing so we further unify the past, present
and future; and this without trying to roll back the wheel of
history.)
6.2.2.0
THE WHEEL OF THE ANANORM
The wheel of the new Norm has been set in motion.
There is no way anymore to stem the anabasis.
It has already been set in motion --
the wheel of the Ananorm,
the wheel of the Ananorm.
