Objectivist Round Up

This week's Round Up is hosted by Reepicheep's Coracle.

Think about it.

Jayemel at CulturEsponse begins his slide for home:

All You Need to Know for the Last Four Episodes (of LOST)

EXCERPTS: Locke was a sucker because he bought into Jacob’s game hook, line, and sinker the same way Jack currently is. You see, Jacob creates the same (false) dichotomy that Lindelof explicated in the quote in the introduction. He makes it seem as if you believe in him, or the world will be evil--as without him there is nothing. The problem with that position is it’s observationally false and metaphysically dishonest.

Nothingingness doesn’t mean there is nothing; it means there’s nothing more. Observationally, there is something. We see it around us every day. It’s called existence. Metaphysically, what that means is the meaning of our lives is to live them. It’s a really simple idea, I know, but one we never hear. Why is that? Because people like Jacob perform a metaphysical conceit on us. They tell us the searching for “the meaning of life” will never be complete because there must be more than existence, there must be more than us. They then subtly twist this statement and tell us, if there is something more, that is what’s really important, and thus what is and what we know is nothing. Notice how Jacob does the same in his conversation with Richard in “Ab Aeterno.” He essentially convinces Richard “if you don’t choose me, evil will corrupt everyone” or, in other words, “if you don’t choose my something, everyone will become nothing as their souls will be lost to sin.” It’s a very deft rhetorical tactic, except that it's not true . . .

* * *

Before you can properly exist in the world, you must accept that the world exists independently, that you can understand it, and then attempt to understand it. Only when you do that can you begin to properly be self-interested because you have a proper sense of context in order to differentiate yourself from the rest of the world in order to best understand yourself.

Objectivist Round Up

This week's Round Up is hosted by Erosophia.

I love the title of Doug Reich's entry: "Celebrate Exploit the Earth Day with some Recycled Posts". Perfect!

And the painting of Prometheus isn't bad, either.

Religion vs. Morality

Wish I could be in New York for this talk being given by Andrew Bernstein:

Conventionally, most people believe that morality can only be based in religious faith and that in a world without God no principles of right and wrong could exist. Related to this, philosophers have long held that no objective, fact-based, rational code of values is possible.

Regarding both points, this talk shows that the exact opposite is true. The purpose of morality is to guide human life on earth and religion is utterly incapable of it. Flourishing life requires a code of secularism, rationality, egoism and freedom. Religious faith clashes with every principle of a proper moral code, and, as such, has led, and can only lead, to hell on earth.

The health care ramparts

Gena Gorlin at The Undercurrent provides a clear-headed view of the new frontline in the battle over health care:

Amid the intellectually hollow group-think of today’s rivaling political parties, there exists an opportunity as well as a desperate need: questioning minds are starved for answers grounded in objective, independently observable evidence. This need became palpable as multitudes of indignant Americans spoke out in furious (but, for the most part, intellectually empty) protest against the passage of the health care law. If those enraged Americans would speak out, not in blind fury, but in clear-sighted, solidly reasoned intellectual protest against the health care law and all it implies, they would be unstoppable—for they would have no real opposition.

Freedom for the sake of Freedom!

I agree with, applaud and encourage everyone who has the sense and the guts to stand up for Freedom for the sake of Freedom!

NOT religion.

NOT militias.

NOT racism.

Rob Abiera

Free speech scarier than loaded gun

Here's a good letter in this morning's The Oklahoman:

Ridiculous idea

Regarding "Tea totaled: Militia idea good way to lose support” (Our Views, April 15): The Oklahoman’s position on the formation of a militia in Oklahoma is right on. This is a bad idea. Most Oklahomans are pretty conservative in our political views and we’d like to see federal spending lowered and the erosion of our rights ended, but advocating the taking of arms against the government at this time is ridiculous. We still have the right to speak freely. We also have the right to vote. That scares politicians more than does a loaded firearm.

Bill Garrison, Tuttle

Wish I was in Grove

The title of this article makes me wish I had been in Grove yesterday. Notice that the article makes NO mention of religion whatsoever! Contrast that with the reports of the Tea Parties in Oklahoma City and Tulsa last week!

Grove tea partiers focus on freedom

(EXCERPT) Tables filled with political material lined the lawn as chants of "USA, USA” reverberated through the crowd. Homemade signs opposing taxes and spending, health care legislation, President Barack Obama, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shared space with the umbrellas.

Glenn and Polly Sharp, of Grove, said the American people have lost confidence in a government they said is taxing and spending its citizens into poverty.

"This tea party is not Republican or Democrat,” Glenn Sharp said. "It’s about everyday citizens, the people that walk down Main Street in Grove, Tulsa or Oklahoma City.”

Objectivist Round Up

This week's Round Up is hosted by Sacred Ego.

Proving my point in Tulsa

Tulsa tea partiers rally at separate events

Mike Kurtz, whose group USAPatriots sponsored the Expo Square event, said his organization’s priority is bringing Christian morals to government. One of Thursday night’s featured speakers was Rick Scarborough, a self-described “Christocrat” best known for his book “In the Defense of Mixing Church and State” (and no relation of ex-Congressman/TV host Joe Scarborough).

My strategy going forward

From here on out, I'm going to (try to!) focus on morality: specifically the principle that an individual human being is an end in him- or herself.

That this is where the right to life comes from. That the right to life means the right to one's own life, and pertains only to actual, individual human beings.

That individual rights must never be subject to majority vote.

Proving my point

Oklahoma tea partiers at Capitol protest taxes, intrusion

The Rev. Paul Blair, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, said he brought two busloads of his congregation who typically would be worshipping at Wednesday night services.

"We’re having church at the Capitol tonight," Blair said.

Why I'm not going to the Tea Party

When the Tea Party movement first began over a year ago, I shared the concern of many over the threat to liberty represented by the expansion of government pursued by both Democrats and Republicans. I was wary, however, of religious conservatives who had a history of hiding behind free market rhetoric to put over their theocratic agenda. While I hoped that those involved in the movement would realize that the cure for excessive government is to uphold the principle of liberty, I feared that the movement could be misused by those who are, in fact, the enemies of liberty.

Across this nation, there are many - including Objectivists - who have worked inside the Tea Party movement to advance the cause of liberty by upholding the principle of individual rights. Unfortunately, here in Oklahoma the Tea Party movement now appears to have been completely co-opted by the Religious Right. There will be two Tea Party rallies at the Oklahoma state capitol building today and tomorrow. Though the two rallies are being organized by two different groups, both will feature, as speakers, candidate for governor Randy Brogdon and Fairview Baptist Church pastor Paul Blair.

As a member of the state senate, Randy Brogdon has been intimately involved in all too many efforts to incorporate religious dogma into state law.

Paul Blair is the founder of Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ and the current national director of Reclaiming America for Christ, both organizations devoted to injecting religion into politics and government.

I refuse to support a Tea Party movement which chooses to be represented by those who I consider to be a direct threat to my freedom. This is why I will not be attending either of the rallies.

Objectivist Round Up

This week's Round Up is hosted by Titanic Deck Chairs.

Greenspan continues to betray freedom

Once again Alan Greenspan is in the news, providing ammunition for all those who seek enshrine the government's power over the market at a time when the Fed is under attack: not for having too much power, but for having too little.

As those people can be counted on to point to Greenspan's history with Ayn Rand, it will be necessary to point out yet again that Greenspan spent his entire career at the Fed betraying everything Ayn Rand ever stood for.

Alan Greenspan is not a defender of freedom, but its destroyer.

John Lewis' speech at the Charlotte Tea Party

Here's my post from April 23rd, 2009. It was Dr. Lewis' speech that inspired me to adopt the description of myself as "An autonomous individual with an independent mind."

"We need to regain the vision of ourselves held by the American Founders. We need to stand up, and assert ourselves as autonomous moral beings, with the right to our own life, liberty and the pursuit of our own happiness. We need to reject the claim that we are weak and dependent beggars, and to assert our own competence to run our own lives.

It is going to take as great a commitment to destroy this cancer as it took to build it. We’re going to have to be strong, we’re going to have to be independent in our thinking, and we are going to have to reject handouts when they are offered to us. And we’re going to have to speak out."

More John Lewis

Here's a link to the complete text of the speech given by Dr. John Lewis at the Charlotte, NC Tax Day Tea Party.

AND here are a couple excerpts:

The government has, once again, become a ruling aristocracy, set up as our masters, disposing of our lives. . . .

This is an attempt to seize your life, to destroy your sense of self as an independent human being, and to replace it with a being with no self-esteem and no capacity for individual action — a being doomed to beg for sustenance from an all-powerful ruling elite.

Tea time

Yes, it's getting to be that time again - I will be devoting several posts between now and April 15th to the subject of the Tea Party movement.

So to kick things off, here's where it all begain: Rick Santelli on CNBC, February 19th, 2009.

Objectivist Round Up

This week's Round Up is hosted by The Playful Spirit.