Nacirema Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Hey all! I've been lurking around the site for a few weeks, getting a feel for the community and the discussion. I have to say, I'm impressed, and I look forward to having many a discussion here! I'm a New Orleans resident, and an Objectivist, of course. Which honestly, is a lot harder than you might think in this city. But hey, it's a high value to me, so I consider (at least, for the time) worht fighting for! Now, as for my intro story: I was introduced to Objectivism about 2-3 years ago (my junior year of high-school) by my English teacher when we all read The Fountainhead to enter into the essay contest. I loved the story and the most obvious message (don't be like everyone else, but don't be different just to "be different"), but didn't the philosophy much more than a cursory glance. To be honest, the most basic levels of it seemed pretty obvious to me, specifically doing what made YOU happy. The next year, I got Atlas Shrugged in the mail from the ARI, and while I didn't read it in time to make the essay deadline (which I plan on making this time around, btw), I was amazed at the philosophy, and how it all actually made consistent sense. It showed me how some of the premises I not only viewed as ideal, but even held (i.e., self-sacrifice, altruism, belief in God) were wrong, and reasoned away the guilt I felt for always feelings things like pride in my work and putting a value on fame and profit (I don't like to say "took" away, because to me it has too close to a supernatural connotation when discussing things such as guilt). After that, I set out to make my own logical conclusions, and I've come to a point in my lfie where I'm integrating objectivism into my life, while still keeping in touch with my own logical faculties and making decisions for myself based on evidence that I've witnessed firsthand, from credible sources, and following through on ideas. Not surprisingly, I have yet to disagree with Ms. Rand on any key issue. Right now, I'm in college for film, specifically for the field of editing and directing. I'm also studying music from the player's perspective (drums are fun!), and am educating myself on philosophy so that I can examine it at my own pace and compare it with others in the areas that most interest me. Well, enough rambling on, I'm here now. And my, am I happy for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 As someone who has donated a significant amount of money to the Ayn Rand Institute in support of their essay contests and free books programs, it's always nice to hear about positive results in actual people's lives. Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Welcome to the forum Nacirema. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Awesome teacher. I remember my teacher told me not to read Rand when she saw me reading VOS. Film student huh? Glad to hear I'm not the only Film geek on here. Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pianoman83 Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacirema Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. I'm definately looking forward to my time here. And yes, khaight, those essay contests are very good tools indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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