
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 6: Prioritizing Trustworthiness in the book Holy War for True Democracy.
Most humans are wired to be good. For those people, a promise carries importance – it represents a lightweight contract between two people.
A vow, or oath, is a more serious promise, in fact a contract, and a solemn vow takes precedence over most things in life.
Vows are a linchpin for a well-functioning society. We give vows when we marry, assume public office, give testimony in court, enter medical school (the Hippocratic oath), join the priesthood and join the military.
When becoming a member of Democracy Guardians, you must also make vows. When engaged in DG activities, DG members vow:
- to always be honest
- to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the best of your ability
- to act out of unselfish love of life and others
- to work towards better trust relationships between the people and organizations of the world
- to commit absolutely to increasing the collective well-being of mankind
These simple vows provide DG a foundation of strength because they are based on true love for humanity; willingness to collaborate and compromise, to both give and receive; and unsurpassed zealousness and determination to achieve selflessness and goodness.
These vows will appear when a new user registers to become a DG member, and are formally agreed to when the user clicks to accept the DG member’s agreement. Whenever a member performs a significant act within DG, such as adding a new judgment, the user interface will remind them of their vows.
Vows will be enforced by the community via trustworthiness judgments. If someone is discovered having betrayed his vows, his trustworthiness score will suffer.
Note that these vows only apply when engaged in DG activities, such as when working on a judgment. It is not necessary to honor the vows when not engaged in DG activities.