Entrance

Like freedom itself, TOLFA is for everybody - but not necessarily right now. This page is meant to save you work and frustration, if this is not the best immediate opportunity for you.

A friend (your "Mentor") recently suggested you take this course, so he or she thought that now probably is the best time - but here, you can make sure. If it's not, don't give up - just postpone participation; and do be sure to talk it over with that friend.

Here then is your "Entrance Examination." The questions and answers will not say you're right or wrong, just whether you're ready or not - whether working on the rest of TOLFA will be time well spent at once, or later on. Please settle somewhere quiet and click on your best-fit response to each.

When all are done, hit "Enter" and TOLFA will respond with a score, to indicate whether it seems you should proceed at once. The decision is of course still yours - if you want to over-ride that indication, that's fine. There's no prohibition - unlike most Entrance Exams, this is not a go/no-go gateway. Technical note: "cookies" and JavaScript must be enabled on your browser.

Question 1: A neighbor plans to build on his property in such a way as will, you think, hurt the market value of yours. What will you do?
Invite him over, to explore a possible resolution
Contact the Zoning Board to prohibit his plans
Serve him notice of a lawsuit if he proceeds

Question 2: The police catch a local teenager red-handed while vandalizing your car. How will you ask them to proceed?
go ahead and prosecute, you'll gladly act as witness
enquire whether Social Services can provide counseling for the troubled youth
let you contact the boy's parents about paying for repairs

Question 3: You're a subsistence farmer, in a poor county of Appalachia; and you have two cows, a field and a strong ambition. What is your business plan?
contact the Department of Agriculture about getting subsidies to expand
sell the cows and grow marijuana on the field
sell one cow and buy a bull

Question 4: Your daughter is bright, but is doing poorly in the local High School, whose reputation is ho-hum. How will you get her a better education?
cut back hard on expenses, so I can afford to move to the next town with much better schools
my wife and I will home-school her
become an activist in the local PTA, and lobby the School Board for better performance

Question 5: What is the purpose of your life?
to serve my country
to build as big a fortune as I can
to enrich my children with good principles for living
to enjoy all that it can offer me and achieve as much as my talents allow
to leave the world more free and prosperous than I found it
to obey and glorify God

Question 6: What do you think about taxes?
an essential ingredient of a socially-just, compassionate society
unpleasant and too high, but they are the price we pay for civilization
simple theft, neither more nor less
worse; the way the stolen money is spent does even more damage than the stealing itself

Question 7: Should the Feds be free to tap your phone?
no how, no way, not ever
never without a judge's permission in advance, as Amendment 4 requires
of course; if I talk with terrorists, they have the right to find out why - without delay or formality

Question 8: A big war looms, and you're 19 and about to be drafted. You agree that the world would be better without the enemy, but not that America is in any danger of unprovoked attack. What will you do?
before drafts can be mailed, call up the recruiting office to volunteer
report for duty as the draft card directs, so risking your life and that of those you're told to kill
burn it, risking imprisonment and the scorn of neighbors and potential employers

Question 9: You're about to marry the love of your life, but learn that your State requires you both to take various tests and to pay for a "license," ie to get the government's permission. What will you do?
fly to Vegas or another place where no such requirements exist, and marry there
bow to the inevitable and do what the State demands
welcome these laws as wise contributions to public health and marital stability
call off the wedding
make vows to each other and ignore the government, as in Common Law tradition

Question 10: Your firstborn has just been delivered, and the hospital staff ask you to sign a bunch of forms. You notice that one of them requests a Social Security Number to be assigned to your baby. Will you sign that one?
yes, for it will avoid all manner of government hassle later on in her life
yes, for I'm far too exhausted to argue or resist
no, for it's really a kind of ID#, to make her more vulnerable to a highly intrusive government
no, for that application is one she should make, when she is old enough to decide
yes, for that's the way the system works

Question 11: You encounter an unfamiliar viewpoint about a subject that interests you. By what process of thought will you evaluate it?
I'll check what the authorities say, and reject the new viewpoint if it fails to conform
I'll see how the new ideas compare with others, think about them some more, and decide for myself by my own reason which of them makes the most sense
I'll recognize that the latest opinions are always the best, and so will discard the old ideas and adopt the new ones at once as my own

   

Welcome Page       Study Plan