moralist

By the way, I entered your sig into a translator. Hilarious! You should change it to: If my grandmother had Baals she would be my grandfather. ;)

Indeed there is justice in the world. Not as much as there should be and only intermittently. If there were no justice, civilization would have collapsed long ago. Ba'al Chatzaf I think it appears that way because much of what people perceive as injustice is actually the natural self-inflicted consequences of their own behavior. As I view America today, there is exactly as much justice (as well as mercy) as there should be. And that's good.

I'm happy to see the principles she wrote about in Atlas Shrugged becoming reality... because it means that there is moral justice in this world, and that people are getting what they deserve as the consequences they set into motion by their own actions.

The above quote is from a different article on verbal Aikido. The following article is impressive: She starts with rule 1: http://ezinearticles.com/?Verbal-Aikido:-7-Ways-to-Handle-Difficult-Customers&id=417396 That's very interesting and thought provoking... Whatever emotionally upsets us also controls us. For a fight to ensue, there first has to be an agreement, and that agreement is both parties each angrily blaming the other. If one person is not angrily blaming, a fight is not possible because there is no prior emotional agreement to fight.

This is one of Ayn Rand's most powerful moral principles. When a good guy sanctions evil he's not so good, but shares the nature of what he condones. And in like manner evil does not produce. It only consumes. The trick is living so as to render yourself inedible. Yes. And that's our challenge in life... to sort ourselves out for our own good. Evil does not belong to him. He can only belong to it by becoming its agent.

The bigger the bureaucracy, the more cracks there are through which to fall. I want the government to continue to keep growing because that process insures increased bureaucratic ineptitude... and that's where American freedom flourishes.

Exactly the same situation of the productive voting with their feet has been unfolding in California just as Ayn Rand predicted. It's beautiful to watch the chickens come home to roost from a safe distance.

The best place to hide in right out in plain sight. In my opinion, the need to form a collective is antithetical to Rand's idea. But since this world itself is imperfect, anyone who takes action however flawed, to realize that ideal, will learn a valuable lesson from the experience which will refine their subsequent actions. Building Galt's Gulch is an evolutionary process.

There is no aspect of Ayn Rand's writings I found more interesting and inspiring than Galt's Gulch. So much so, that I built my own.

Wouldn't forgiveness be the acceptance of the transgressors payment of the moral debt? I think of forgiveness as letting go of the negative emotions associated with the transgression. This is not necessarily done for the sake of the transgressor, but for the personal benefit of the transgressed. Forgiveness is a selfish act.

Yes. Inalienable from the outside world. Only our own foolish actions can prevent our enjoyment of those rights. "If you closely examine your chains, you will discover they were forged by your own hand." --moralist

Frankly, I thought that one of Ayn's major contributions to the advancement of the individual was/is the concept of "the sanction of the victim." Secondly, I believe you stated an excellent image when you opined that a citizen who puts his neck into the government noose cannot complain about rope burns... A... Yes... and each individual's own freedom rests upon choosing not to grant that sanction to the government in exchange for the fantasy of what we only ~think~ we will get from it. This process is completely self inflicted. In my opinion, the only way we can lose our inalienable rights is by living a dishonorable life that renders us unworthy of them.

I loved reading your fu story... I wanted our local Tea Party Patriots to remain a taxable organization so that we would retain our freedom. The moment the board went groveling to the government for the something-for-nothing entitlement of favored status, that act granted the government "the sanction of the victim" to exercise its control over the group. Now the group is embroiled in a national lawsuit and one of our board members is testifying in front of the Ways and Means Committee in Washington DC. Marching in Victims on Parade is so damned demeaning... as well as un-American. My suggestion was to be honest and change the name from Tea Party to Pity Party.

It is that f___ing simple. My heavens, the Federal state is exponentially controlling the individual citizen in America with an oppressive, extra-constitutional administrative state, enforced through the IRS...hmm where have we seen this action before? A... You will see it everywhere where people fail to properly manage their own lives. The opportunistic nature of the state is only a logical consequence of peoples' need for the something-for-nothing illusions it appears to offer them. People getting the government they deserve is a perfect example of Ayn Rand's sanction of the victim. If people lived lives deserving of a better government, they would already have it.

I see that from a different place. I regard money as capital, and debt as a lack of money. I look at my own account because that is my personal responsibility. So it logically follows that it is the personal responsibility of others to look at their own accounts. I couldn't as well way that because I'm a Capitalist. Only Creditists could say that. Creditists regard debt as if it was capital when in reality it is only their own lack of capital. The widespread insolvent delusion that credit is capital is what caused the crash of 2008. And that crash was simply a return to the reality that only capital is capital. The Creditists got slaughtered in the collapse... while the Capitalists continued to consistently prosper. Greg

I see that from a different place. I regard money as capital, and debt as a lack of money.

Intentions are irrelevant... as only our actions have the power to make the world around us what it is. Good done for the wrong reason has exactly as much beneficial effect on the world as the same good done for the right reason. Hi moralist. Good to see you here. Thanks, man. Yes. Good for him as well as good for the world around him. Yes. And he would only lose if he didn't regret his bad intentions and wasn't happy that he had acted contrary to them. God forbid. Everyone would either be in jail or dead if they were so integrated with their thoughts that they indiscriminately acted upon every thought that passed through their head! That's what murderers do. They do everything the voices tell them to do. What makes a man is the ability to observe his thoughts... to choose the right thoughts to act on... and to let the rest pass by unresponded.

It's certainly a challenge worth taking on. We do, however, enjoy an edge... as the basic nature of this country allows the rational to live good lives even among the irrational.

Thanks for the suggestion Michael, but impotent political outrage is not my thing. I just noted the humorous gap between your statement and reality. The kind of people who deal with moveon.org get exactly what they deserve because it matches the values by which they live, and I'm content with that. This is because I look for my own practical personal solutions which allow me to enjoy my freedom regardless of what others choose to do.

I am in my late 70's One lesson I have learned is that good manners is more important than morality. Ba'al Chatzaf ... just as good behavior is more important than good intentions. Amen and Selah! What you say is true for the same reason what I said is true. Good intentions are internal. Overt behavior is visible. Ba'al Chatzaf This is one aspect I most love about Judaism... it is behaviorist. This is a shortcoming of Christianity.

Intentions are irrelevant... as only our actions have the power to make the world around us what it is. Good done for the wrong reason has exactly as much beneficial effect on the world as the same good done for the right reason.

It's a shame that fantasy does not apply to moveon.org. "MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501©(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues. MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal political committee which primarily helps members elect candidates who reflect our values through a variety of activities aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election." "MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action are separate organizations."

If you could remove all of the cultural, social, and religious trappings... it would be impossible to tell the difference between the moral behavior of a good Christian, or a good Jew, or a good atheist.

I am in my late 70's One lesson I have learned is that good manners is more important than morality. Ba'al Chatzaf ... just as good behavior is more important than good intentions.

Hey Stephen, Yes, that's me. I registered under the same screen name as in the other forum because I'm not into hiding. Regards, Greg