Db and I target certain high schools and donate copies of Atlas Shrugged. As a matter of fact, we have a couple of high school teachers in the Gulch who may appreciate and benefit from such an investment. ISank, I believe teaches Economics in Hawaii. If you have any advice on reaching out more to the tabula rasa individual, I'm all for it. We have the world to win :)

The ability to raise an army of volunteers large enough to do the job should be a major indicator as to whether the cause is just or not. The draft is vile and inhuman. That said, the one group of people that Americans owe a debt to is our veterans. That is also the group of people we fail if we don't step up.

Complain all you want. And thank you for your service. We'll try not to let you down.

you were in the air force? . WoW! -- j
.

Personally I believe that voting in this day and age is useless. There needs to be a LOT of education done so people start thinking again before they vote. In the meantime there is so much pressure to have giveaways that other people pay for that its pretty useless to fight it.

I was thinking about enrolling myself. Also look at
http://atlassociety.org/objectivism/atla...

If you go to the Atlas Summit, there are quite a few courses on Objectivism there, but I could not find anything at all on the science/engineering side. With as much science and engineering as went into the main characters in Atlas Shrugged, there ought to be more science and engineering at an Atlas Society conference.

Hello, J,

Thank you so much for these!

I took Heinlein to heart. I have always thought it...well...crappy...that men paid for their right to vote by being able to be drafted but that women had the right to vote as a gift from the men. I do not agree with the draft, but I do think that if we institute a draft it should be across the board, with alternative service for conscientious objectors.

This was something that was in my mind when I enlisted in the USAF. (The other thing that was in my mind was 'getting a job'.)

So when someone questions my right to have a political opinion (this does not happen often), I have innocently asked, "Oh. What branch of the military were YOU in?" (I think I have said this twice. In neither case had the person been in the military.)

What it comes down to is this: when I search internationally, there is still no place freer than the US. With all of its warts, it is still worth protecting.

Jan

Leonard Peikoff teaches a twelve lecture course on Objectivism. Nathaniel Branden (recently deceased) used to teach one, too.

http://www.peikoff.com/courses_and_lectu...

http://www.peikoff.com/courses_and_lectu...

http://reason.com/blog/2010/03/15/nathan...

Hello. K,

I do not see much to disagree here. It seems to me that you have in mind primarily the people who already somehow developed an interest to explore Objectivism.

I think that I had in mind mostly the "tabula rasa" kind (like my grandchildren) or people who need to be turned around from a misguided view about Objectivism received somewhere along the way.

Where would be fun if we never ever disagreed?

I will obey your order more than you know. ;-)

Stay well!
Maritimus

How does one calculate the misery index now? The inflation rate is reportedly almost zero, but it cannot be so given that we are printing $1 trillion each year.

The unemployment rate is also nebulous now as well. Obama has succeeded in confusing so many people regarding A = A that even people like us have a hard time quantifying just how bad the situation really is.

I agree, anyone living off the system should not be able to vote. And I'll go one further, anyone who takes a paycheck from the government should not be allowed to vote.

I'm sure there are those just looking for an excuse to get violent but most of these people are just angry. Like the mob in Baltimore, they know the system is f*%#ed up and they refuse to bow down but they won't take the time or the effort to find out what is truly wrong. And if they did they might find out that some of their own beliefs are part of the problem. Even some otherwise rational people with that one issue that causes their emotions to overpower their senses.

While a patriot may have to pick up a gun, willingness to pick up a gun does not make one a patriot.

hello Martimus. I am happy to disagree on this subject. Since this is an introductory site, as it were, the idea is to cull the students and answer questions which are basic and send them to Rand's books, both fiction and non-fiction and to hear some interesting lectures. Hopefully check out sites where they can gain more knowledge of Objectivism and study. I personally know several members of this site (you know them too!) who found us because of the movies. They have gone on to read and re-read Atlas Shrugged and have read several of Rand's non-fiction books. Before they came here, they had never heard of Objectivism. I think you will see some changes to the site over some time that will address your concerns about the "fluff." Getting to talk with scholars from the Atlas Society for one.
Have a great week, Martimus

This is like the discovery of Jesus. Which is the more powerful experience; that of the youngster raised in the church that has always been a "believer", or the middle aged rascal that has smoked and drank and chased and cheated...then suddenly finds Jesus (or some would say Jesus found him). I think Objectivism is a similar experience.

One can study and be taught all of the "nooks and crannies" of the philosophy and even pass an examination on the facts of the matter. Or, another can take it to heart and live it as a way of life. In my estimation when someone decides to do a thing it is profoundly different that learning about something.

Hello, K,

I think that Objectivism can be introduced by teaching, just like any other body of knowledge. Of course, there has to be some interest in the "student". The interest can be ignited with a well done initial "lecture" of the course. When a question comes up to which the "teacher" does not have an answer, it crucial that the answer be: "I don't know! Let's look it up together.", rather than an evasive half truth. You cannot teach honesty in a dishonest manner. You cannot teach Objectivism without your "body language" serving as a "visual aid".

The reason these thoughts occurred to me was a reaction to your " ... exposure is enough." I think that in the current culture and climate almost any "candidate student" is very much more likely to have received at least few very negative and derogatory "introductory exposures". (What's with the quotation marks today? I seem to overuse them incessantly!)

Does anyone know if there was ever at any University a course on Objectivism? I would like to see the curriculum.

As another comment, regarding some other comments below, I do not have much hope that someone stumbling on our Gulch will get excited to learn Objectivism. There is way too much superficial fluff and straying off subjects here to entice a "student". Please, do not take offense. This is a "club" of people who have degrees of knowledge about Objectivism and a myriad of other interests and, occasionally, other agendae. An exclusive and strict focus on Objectivism would quickly become burdensome.

Despite those objections to qualifiers, these are just my off-the-cuff opinions.

All the best, K!
Sincerely,
Maritimus

Oh, I know.. I think that the Misery Index under Obama is MUCH worse than it ever was under Carter..

in part, that is why Atlas Shrugged is a mystery and a thriller

I really wasn't a student of Objectivism until 2008. I had agreed with many of its conclusions, primarily the economic ones, but not all of its conclusions and certainly not all of its premises. I continue to learn, as do we all.

I worked in industry for a while, as did most FIT faculty. Since being at FIT, I have co-started and sold two startup businesses. The second business really had a lot of promise, but Obama made sure that my business would be penalized so that he could favor his solar energy companies. The ten of us all decided to shrug together.

Sorry, Wonky. I didn't join FIT until 1998. It is far more advanced now than when you were here. We now have a biomedical engineering department for which I have a 20% appointment. You undoubtedly took Materials from my predecessor, Pat Mangonon. You will be welcomed back if you decide to return to a university worthy of Galt, D'Anconia, and Danneskjold. FIT made it into the top 200 in the world the last two years. PM me if you are planning on a return visit.

"Any idiot can vote." Yes, and they do. Lately, a phrase has come forth to describe them as "low information voters." You might even substitute the word NO for the word LOW. Ever since I can remember, I took my patriotism for granted. I was always proud to stand with my hand over my heart when the anthem is played, or when the flag passes or is raised. I firmly believed that this was the greatest country on the face of the earth, and its people were for the most part, the best people on earth. But now.....not so much. That doesn't mean I'm giving up, but I have to recognize that this is no longer the country of my parents (the so-called Greatest Generation) or for that matter, the country of my youth. By any standard, it has deteriorated and it will take a heluva upheaval to get it back on track.

My quest to find and learn Objectivism began with the question "if there is no god, where would morality come from?" I had heard Hannity or Rush or someone make their standard statement that there could be no morality without god and I just couldn't fall for it any longer. I had to ask myself that question out loud, several times before it finally sank in that I really needed to find out.

I don't know how to spark that curiosity in others. How to get them to realize the importance of doing that "mental work".

I wonder if our paths crossed. My wife and I attended FIT from 92-96. Given that our degree programs were Molecular Biology, Genetic Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, I think we were lucky to have mostly "hard science" courses. Still, I would like to have discovered Ayn Rand in college. Maybe via a secret society of Galters that met somewhere in the "jungle". If FIT is still what I remember, I can imagine quite a few students are worth reaching out to and would very much appreciate it in the long run.

I have read the "If you don't vote, you can't com-
plain" argument many years ago; I think it was in
a children's civics book by Munro Leaf. Ayn Rand
did not endorse that argument. I read what she
said in a collection of "off the cuff" answers to
questions. At a tape lecture, I heard her say
something (in fact, I don't know, but maybe the
statement in the book was the same, made on
the same occasion)--I think she said, "It's no
sin not to vote"; I think she said she didn't
blame people for not voting, with no better
choices than the ones offered; not to vote could
mean "none of the above"; she said she would
not vote for anybody in the Presidential election
of 1980. Perhaps one should do something
prior to the nomination; campaign for some idea
or write letters to editors about issues.

I think now more than ever, young minds need to learn about "real life". They have been awash in the "everybody participates" and "there is no failure if you try your best" culture. They need to learn from someone that if you harness your abilities and take charge of your life, you can accomplish great things and not have to utter the words "Would you like fries with your order?" when they're in their 30s.

I live in Illinois. Usually on the ballot for national elections there are fringe parties such as Libertarians that I vote for just to let the DemReps know that some of us are not buying their BS