It is easy of course to look at the alleged faults of others. Or rather, what in others is different from ourselves that we do not like. Sometimes things are only faults when we do not appreciate them when in fact there is nothing faulty about those things.

What has always been difficult though is to see our own faults. I more than most am aware of my own faults. I know of them because of a deeper introspection that I practice. I have been examining myself for many years. I had learned that people are very similar and learned that I could learn about people by learning about myself and learning how and why I act and think. It has proven effective in being able to apply what I learn about myself to the population at large.

Where there could be errors and possibly large errors is where I might be different than the population at large. I never thought that it would be an issue but it certainly could be. So, I have to be aware in instances where I may behave different than an average person. That is why it is better to examine the fundamental thoughts and actions instead of too detailed ones that may vary by personality. For example, we should all pretty much be similar in our tendency for self-centeredness and our concept of fairness. So, it is important to examine the larger broader scope than the finer everyday details of choosing chocolate or vanilla ice cream.

The other way that I am aware of my faults beyond using introspection, is by comparing myself to idealized figures that are without fault. One might compare themselves to what Jesus of Nazareth taught or to what Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha taught. It is easy to know something is a fault if you have something to judge it against.

A more difficult method of determining whether a trait is a faulty one is by seeing if it harms you or helps you. Typically, being quick to anger harms you and would usually be considered a fault because of this. Being wasteful would typically harm you and could be considered a fault. The problem with this method is knowing what is going to be harmful or helpful. Typically, helpful things occur more in the long term which is hard to see. A quick lie can help you in the short term but harm you in the long term. It takes a lot of historic knowledge to be able to apply this method of fault determination effectively. You have no idea what the long term effects of something is so you have to use historic data to guide you.

And of course, once you learn about your faults and that you have them your question becomes what should you do with that knowledge. One course of action would be to try and minimize or remove those faults in oneself. This of course is not easy due to the ingrained nature of these traits. Some of them are learned and some of them sit hardwired into the base of our brain. You basically have to actively train and practice to overcome these natural tendencies. You have to constantly monitor your thoughts and actions and stop your thoughts from running away from you. You have to actively control your thoughts all the time. You have to learn to recognize undesirable thoughts and stop them in their place and replace them with the types of thoughts that do not lead to faulty behavior. It is a lot of effort and not many people want to work that hard and are willing to live with their faults.

Is it even worth it? We are not guaranteed a long and fruitful life on this planet. Is it worth the time and effort of trying to remove our own faults? Living without faults has a potential advantage of keeping you out of trouble and possibly making you someone to be admired and could potentially make you into a calm and peaceful entity full of love for all mankind living in blissful quiet contemplation. But would it? Might other humans think that you think you are better than they are? Might they be jealous of you? Would anyone listen to you? Would they understand you? Might all that effort not be worth the short time that we are alive? Might the outside world and its constant struggle come knocking on your door and bring chaos and temptation with it. Is something like removing your faults only available to you if you live in the woods alone and away from all humans? Will they eventually find you?

What seems to the typical solution to things is to balance the opposites and arrive somewhere in the middle. So by this framework, we would not try and remove all of our faults since the effort and outside influence are too great to make it worthwhile. But neither would we live by our whims and let loose our passions as this would cause us a lot of problems. We should then try and learn what our faults are and reduce their potency. We will still get angry but it will be controlled quicker. We will still be selfish but at times we will give more. And by striking this balance we will make our lives easier so that the effort to achieve it pays for itself.

Over 200 years ago British soldiers marched from Boston to the towns of Lexington and Concord in order to seize weapons that were stored there by the citizens of Massachusetts. The British commander stationed in Boston feared an armed rebellion and wanted to make sure one could not occur and so he sent his troops to take the supply of weapons from the citizens of Massachusetts.

The citizens of Massachusetts thought the British government did not have a right to tell them what to do. The British government was willing to use a large force of professional soldiers in order to make sure the citizens of Massachusetts did what they were told. The citizens of Massachusetts thought that the only way to prevent their rights from being trampled on by a brutal dictator was to take up arms against this occupational force living amongst them.

So when the British soldiers arrived in Lexington on their way to Concord in order to seize the weapons of the Massachusetts citizenry, they were fired upon by citizens of Massachusetts that were willing to fight for freedom from the British government. The battles at Lexington and Concord are the first of the American Revolution.