Whatever The Reason For The Season ...

[Michael Russell]

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Michael and Kat a very Merry Christmas! And to thank the both of them for Objectivist Living, the most honest and adult Objectivist forum on the net. Although I am not an Objectivist and have only posted sporadically, I have always felt welcomed and respected on OL. Thank You!

As I mentioned before, I am not an Objectivist, and having only read Rand's fiction, I don't have a firm enough understanding of her philosophy to be a productive contributer to this forum. For that reason, I am retiring from posting on this, or any other Objecivist forum, for now. I may return someday, but for now, I intend to thoroughly reread Rand's fiction, and then move on to her non-fiction. I am currently reading The Passion Of Ayn Rand, I find it to be a fair and loving tribute to a great mind. For the life of me, I don't understand the hatred of some towards Barbara Branden.

Anyway, I posted this on another thread, but I wanted to repost it as my holiday wish for all the wonderful folks on OL. Merry Christmas!

From the Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z:

Christmas. [in answer to the question of whether it is appropriate

for an atheist to celebrate Christmas:]

Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an

exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas

holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will

toward men--a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property

(though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part)

of the Christian religion.

The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good

will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says:

"Merry Christmas"--not "Weep and Repent." And the good will is ex-

pressed in a material, earthly form--by giving presents to one's friends,

or by sending them cards in a token of remembrance....

The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the

mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying

...stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of

products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the

street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions--

the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors--provide

the city with a spectacular display, which only "commercial greed" could

afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the

wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.

[The Objectivist Calendar, Dec. 1976.]

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Michael,

You are always welcome here and you don't have to be an Objectivist to post. Having a first-hand mind and thinking for yourself is encouraged, but not even a requirement since we believe that wanting this can be learned. But that is not your case. You have always thought for yourself and it has been a pleasure to read your posts.

The best of holidays to you. I wish you much happiness.

Michael

[Danneskjold]

Well, I don't really think that it's that necessary to read every single one of her works. I myself am still trying to get my hands on one of her non-fictions. My mom isn't really happy about it so I kinda have to work around her. Either way, although I disagree that it is essential to read a large number of her works to be able to contribute here, I can see why you want to learn more. I look forward to your return.

[Chris Grieb]

Michael; May I return your greeting for this Christmas season. I hope you return to posting although I applaud your wanting to get more knowledge before you do. Jeff; Which non-fiction book are you looking for?

[Danneskjold]

I was thinking The Virtue of Selfishness, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, or The Romantic Manifesto, to start.

[Victor Pross]

Mick,

You can't go! We'll force you to stay!!

[Chris Grieb]

Jeff; Aren't you near a Borders or Barnes & Noble? I have found they all have Ayn Rand in the philosphy section. Can you get to Portland and go to Powells. Powell's has everything. Victor; You're right let's force Mike to stay.

[Danneskjold]

Ya, except I have no car and my parents control my money. My mom is VERY anti-Ayn Rand and I can't say a word about her without my mom bringing up every single bad thing about Rand's sex life or anything else she can use to do whatever. So maneuvering around my mom isn't easy.

[Judith]

Ya, except I have no car and my parents control my money. My mom is VERY anti-Ayn Rand and I can't say a word about her without my mom bringing up every single bad thing about Rand's sex life or anything else she can use to do whatever. So maneuvering around my mom isn't easy.

(*wince*) Adolescence sucks, doesn't it? My sympathies; I remember it well. Hang in there; just a couple more years....

Why not get online and check out the collections of your local libraries, see if any of them have them, and have your nearest library get them for you through interlibrary loan? Often books can be obtained from pretty distant libraries that way.

Judith

[Chris Grieb]

Jeff; That is an excellent suggestion if you just want to read the books. On the question of your mother tell her to lighten up. Ayn Rand was married to the same man for around fifty years. She had one affair during that marriage. This was not Zsa Zsa Garbor.

[Danneskjold]

My mom is a devout Christian. One affair is far too many. Also, the fact that Rand's husband knew about the affair seems to make it so much worse. As if it's much better to sneak than it is to be open and honest. In any case, I am going to try the library. There's only the matter of getting over there. Trouble is my street leads directly on to a busy road. Pretty hard to get just about anywhere on my own. I'm sure my dad'll give me a ride there though.

Anyways I feel somewhat bad for jacking this thread.

Michael Russel, come on, stick around. Even if your contribution is minimal, from what I can see everyone is valued here. You certainly aren't doing harm.