Greetings from Scarsdale, NY

[Tonix777]

Hi everyone, nice place you have here

I am a "late Objectivist": In my case it was sad to suddenly discover in my 40s that I was somewhat stupid most of my previous life.

Almos all my existence I was close to Objectivism in some basic vital attitudes and thoughts, specially those concerning to Metaphysics (Objective Reality) and Epistemology (Reason), but when it came to Ethics and Politics my mind was a strange mixture that I now regret and even when it could be quite worthless I have to confess my sin: I was more close to the "left wing" in most political and ethical points of view when I was young and even later. I have to say however in my defense that they were inherited ideas and concepts from my family and not from my own intellectual harvest, which doesn't necessarily redeem me from my own responsibility anyway.

Over the time I questioned those ideas more and more and my points of view were gradually moving to a more realistic perspective, as long as I confronted myself with questions like:

Why being rich "has" to be bad?

Why socialist countries were falling one after other?

Why the masses "have" to be always right?

Where come the wealth from?

How I would like to live?

Who am I in reality and what I want as values?

So for all that I did and said wrong before, for al the ideas I repeated without deeper researching or getting more first-hand information, for all the people I despised and blamed, for all the things I "thought" without really thinking: I apologize

But then some day, some years ago, it came to my hands a book from Ayn Rand (Thanks to my friend Daniel for this) and since then I finally found myself reflected in a coherent philosophy, my soul found a home.

However you can't just forget who you are overnight, so it has been a long learning process to integrate Objectivism into "my" mind & life which even included moving from my country to NY (It was at first kinda disappointing that USA is far less Objectivist than I imagined, but this is another topic). When I first saw that golden statue pointing the skyscrapers in front of the Central Park I quietly cried thinking that Aynd Rand lived there...

And in the end we are humans, we have moods, and "stages" in our lives. We have also cycles of good an bad times, etc. so John Galt is a ideal to follow, sometimes it amuses me when some people get disappointed when they realize that they can not be "The perfect Objectivist" they can not be John Galt.

For me the secret is to try hard everyday to be better than yourself whoever you are, having in any case John Galt a beacon in the horizon, but trying also to be the hero in the movie of your life in your own way

Edited August 13, 2010 by Tonix777

[anthony]

Hi, and welcome!

I think the "slow-brewed" Objectivist is the best kind. B)

AFAIC, "apology" rejected, more like congratulations that you stayed true to you, and changed what you had to change.

(Where did you come from, BTW?)

Tony

[Brant Gaede]

Hi, and welcome!

I think the "slow-brewed" Objectivist is the best kind. B)

Where can I buy this beer?

--Brant

must have a dollar sign on the label

[Tonix777]

Hi, and welcome!

I think the "slow-brewed" Objectivist is the best kind. B)

AFAIC, "apology" rejected, more like congratulations that you stayed true to you, and changed what you had to change.

(Where did you come from, BTW?)

Tony

Thanks for the warm welcome

I come from Argentina, a country with almost no Objectivist activity and unfortunately with a current government leaning more and more towards collectivism, populism and other unpleasant "isms" from the left side of the World

So I am happy about working and living in NY since a couple years ago. A big but nice challenge for me and my family