What I do
Four strands of the same argument: rights, film, writing, and getting people in a room together.
A defender of unalienable rights
William Jackson is a social activist, futurist, journalist, philosopher and humanist. Writing, film and events on the rights that cannot be taken from you, the freedom to think for yourself, and what we owe the people who come after us.
I am a sentient being, with the ability of self-awareness, intentionality and reason, and the ability to feel, sense and perceive.
UNALIENABLE RIGHTS
Rights that cannot be sold, surrendered or taken, not even with consent
FREE THOUGHT
Opinions formed on science, logic and reason rather than authority
POLITICAL FREEDOM
Not only the absence of coercion, but the real means to act on a right.
A sentient being
I am a sentient being, with the ability of self-awareness, intentionality and reason, and the ability to feel, sense and perceive, while carrying both objectivity and subjectivity through the living of my life.
A social activist, futurist, journalist, philosopher, humanist and defender of unalienable rights, including the enforcement of those rights by our federal, state and local governments, as they should be, and as articulated by Thomas Jefferson in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
In an effort to establish a more perfect union, world and life, I work to raise awareness of what is and of what can be, and to encourage the implementation of what is best.
Words worth keeping
The voices this work keeps returning to, quoted as they said it.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
“I’m an idealist without illusions.”
“Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.”
“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”
How this works
No paywall, no gatekeeping and no appeal to authority. Read the sources, disagree where you disagree, and write if you want to take part.
Read the source yourself
Claims here point back to the document or definition they came from, so you can check them rather than take my word for it.
Plain language, on purpose
Rights get taken with vocabulary before they are taken with law. Nothing on this site needs a specialist to translate it.
The door swings both ways
One address, whether you want to help with the work or you need help yourself. Both kinds of message get an answer.
How to take part
None of this needs a title, a budget or permission. It needs people willing to notice, to say so, and to act on it.
STEP 01
Speak Up
Say the thing plainly, in your own words, to someone who can hear it. Silence is read as agreement, and it usually is.
STEP 02
Do Something
An opinion held privately changes nothing. Turn up, write, record, organise, or simply refuse to go along with it.
STEP 03
Be Concerned
Pay attention on purpose, and keep paying it after the news moves on. Most rights are lost during the quiet part.
STEP 04
Get In Touch
Write and say what you want to work on. The same address is open whether you are offering help or asking for it.
Writing
Essays on rights, free thought, political freedom, and the long view of what we are doing here.
Questions, answered plainly
The terms used across this site, defined, so nothing rests on a word you were expected to already know.
An unalienable right cannot be transferred, surrendered, given, taken or sold, and that holds even where consent is claimed. It is intrinsic and inherent to the individual. An inalienable right cannot be transferred without consent, which means it can be transferred with it, actually or constructively. Rights of that second kind are not inherent in a person and can be alienated by government. The Declaration of Independence uses the stronger word. Most state constitutions use the weaker one.
It holds it to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It goes on to state the reason government exists at all: to secure those rights, deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. That is a duty placed on federal, state and local government alike.
Free thought is the philosophical position that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic and reason, and should not be settled by authority, tradition or dogma. Practising it is called freethinking. The demanding part is that it applies to your own conclusions and to anyone asking you to adopt theirs, including me.
Political freedom, or political agency, has been described as a relationship free of oppression or coercion, as the absence of disabling conditions together with the presence of enabling ones, and as the absence of economic compulsion. It is usually read negatively, as freedom from unreasonable external constraint. It also means the positive exercise of rights, capacities and possibilities for action, including social and group rights, and freedom from internal constraints such as social conformity.
Write to help@williamjackson.com and say which one it is. Offers to contribute, screen the documentary, host or take part in a happening, or work on the writing are all welcome, and so are messages from people who need help rather than want to give it. Every message is read.
There is a donation link at paypal.me/WilliamJackson. Contributions go towards the documentary, the events and the writing. Nothing on this site sits behind a payment, and support is voluntary.
Still have questions?Read them all