JACKSON, Tenn. — March 1, 2019 — Becky Norton Dunlop, the Heritage Foundation's Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, said lives, workplaces and nations must be guided by principles grounded in truth. Dunlop was the featured speaker at Union University’s annual Faith in the Marketplace luncheon Feb. 28 sponsored by the McAfee School of Business.
Dunlop said the Heritage Foundation is guided by Christian principles to help individuals and families be able to live better lives according to their values.
“Judeo-Christian principles grounded in truth focus on the well-being of people,” Dunlop said. “We know that people are our most important, valuable amenity in the world. They’re the highest creation of the creator God. All that we do should be to enhance and enrich the human family while living here on the earth.”
Dunlop shared several of these guiding principles at the luncheon, beginning with two commands of Jesus, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“That would resolve a lot of issues for which we now have laws and regulations,” Dunlop said.
Another principle that Dunlop said would eliminate the need for oversight is reflected in Union’s core values - do everything with excellence.
“I tell our young people at the Heritage Foundation, somebody’s always watching you,” Dunlop said. “If you’re asked to get a cup of coffee or make a Xerox copy, somebody’s watching to see if you do it with excellence or if you think, ‘Oh, that’s beneath me.’”
Other guiding principles Dunlop shared are reflected in the founding documents of the United States. These include religious freedom, individual freedom, protection of private property, the value of the traditional family and the importance of constitutional limited government.
Dunlop said many of these principles are ingrained in the minds of Americans, but they are easily forgotten in everyday personal and political decisions.
“These are things that we know instinctively, but we forget in the emotion of the day,” Dunlop said.
She said the Heritage Foundation tracks economic freedom across the world and focuses on four broad areas: the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets.
“These areas - all of which involve things like integrity, hard work, freedom - make a difference in how prosperous a country can be and how prosperous the people of a country can be,” Dunlop said.
The Faith in the Marketplace luncheon was part of Business Week for the McAfee School of Business, which also included a Business Career Fair and the Hub City Innovation Cup case competition.