day no. 14,970: principles cannot remain hidden

This morning (9/4/19) while having coffee with my friend, Josiah, he reference the MCDP (available HERE). This is a published, public document detailing how the Marines tactically and philosophically approach war and warfighting.

This prompted me to ponder the fact that our military's principles are published in the public domain which led me to my next thought... The difference is not knowledge of the principles, but application of them. The manual may be available to all, but only a few will actually apply them. This is what makes the document possible to publish without it becoming a liability. 

Principles cannot remain hidden. If they can, they are not principles. Principles can be abandoned, ignored, abused, applied, embraced, but they cannot remain hidden. If they could be hidden indefinitely, they could not be definite principles. Principles are axioms that guide everything whether you like it... or not; whether you notice... or not; whether you employ them... or don't. 

You could discover a principle and then attempt to keep it hidden, but if it is truly a principle, you cannot truly withhold it from being discovered by another. You could keep your mouth shut, but the principle would still be available to your enemy if they looked hard enough. 

Principles reveal themselves. They are self-evident and authenticating. They are there. Always there. That is what makes them principles and not mere preferences. They may be fashionable, but they do not go the way of fashions. They may be en vogue in one season and out of vogue in another, but they do not cease to be principles based on whether or not they are applied. They remain: constant, faithful, dependable, reliable. 

They weather every storm whether or not we do. 

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” ― G.K. Chesterton, What's Wrong with the World

Christianity is not a secret. It is in plain sight and obvious. It is not for lack of availability that it often goes unemployed. It is for lack of appreciation and application.