VacantLaugh

Damn, the Chaconne is nice. I myself have only gotten into classical music in the past few years. It all started with Rach's 2nd Symphony. I myself cannot get into Bach terribly much, though there is one specific piece I absolutely love. Here is a lovely video of it on YouTube. It is one of his Shubler Chorales.

Being only 16, I'm still a high school student (though I can't wait to get out). I work as a dishwasher/food preparer at a country club in the next town over. I fully intend to pursue accounting as a career, most likely in a large corporation.

As a 16 year old, I'm right in the middle of high school education. Many of you are older and have gone through this era, so this is mostly whom I am targeting. It is extremely hard to see any value in the "education" I receive at my high school. Every last bit of information is aimed at getting enough points to secure that A. The idea of learning is lost amidst the big point scramble. There is no make up work in almost any of my classes, which basically means, any concepts we cover essentially don't matter as long as you get so many questions right. Whether I eventually grasp these concepts after a test or not, my grade can't reflect it due to the "points." Even more angering to me is the material we learn seems utterly pointless for the type of career I wish to pursue. Why am I in calculus classes when I want to go into accounting? Why am I learning about Puritan history in a literature class? What's even more disheartening is that I have a 3.9 GPA, and I have never studies for any of my classes. I work 30 hours a week, and still perform better in a system I don't understand than many of my classmates. The only thing average about my grades is my SAT score (something else that bothers me). So, I was wondering if anyone who's been through this (and can decipher my horrid ramblings) can tell me how important high school and public education really are.

Reading under the ethical part of the discussion of Animal Cruelty in the other division of this forum, I never came across one question. Why are animals considered as property under the law? Does the inability to possess rights automatically constitute something as property?

I was using the same background! Now my computer had to be reformatted and I have been too lazy to get it back. Did you get it from Power Windows?

I think it's amazing that a lot of poster's parents were into/knew of Objectivism. Skap35, I am especially interested in the fact that you grew up on Objectivist principals. I'm 15, and have had a hard time battling myself over the point in life. It was not until I started to read The Fountainhead that I began to appreciate life. As you, Skap, grew up on Objectivism, I have thought about what it would have been like if I had too, and not brought up Catholic. A personal goal for myself is for when and if I have a child, to introduce Objectivism into my own child's life. I truly think that if Objectivism was part of a child's upbringing, that they would be able to live happier, more productive lives earlier on instead of battling through the cultural trends of today that are pretty much corrupting people. As for finding out about Objectivism, it was a long process. I am an avid listener of Rush, and had known for a while that 2112 was correlated with Rand's Anthem. I never actually understood the lyrics to 2112 until I read Anthem though. Unfortunately, I did not pick up The Fountainhead for at least, oh, 6 months later. I had somewhat of a mental breakdown, and I contacted one of my teachers about my problem. They noticed that I was interested in Anthem (we discussed it for summer reading) and she encouraged me to look more into Rand's works (she's never read Rand herself). I loved Rand's writing style and I soon began to see why I was unhappy. Since then, I have been incredibly happy and have found reason to work hard and to love my life. I tend to ramble...

Yep, I am a huge Rush fan. My favorite song is Cygnus X-1 (both books) and my favorite album is probably Hemispheres. Rush was actually my introduction into Objectivism. I'm pretty new here too and have only posted once or twice. Welcome to the forum.

Another thing about the "Starman". People often refer to the figure (having no real knowledge on the subject) as a pentagram, therefore accusing of Rush as satanic. I find it funny because he even claims "I don't believe in the old dirty bastard". I'm sure I misquoted but the Power Windows site is down for me. I am new to the forums here, and I am a huge Rush fan.

Well, it has taken me a considerable amount of time, but I have finally joined a community to discuss philosophy with others. While I am a mere 15 years of age, I find myself motivated and thoroughly interested in philosophy, and especially Objectivism. To start, I'd like to say that searching for reason is not always the easiest thing, at least when it comes to peers. I do not know if many people actively pursue philosophy as a teenager, so I do no know if I'll feel out of place here. The reason I say it is hard to search for reason, is because it seems like the society around me is full of irrationality and anti-reason. I have been indoctrinated from early childhood to believe in faith, altruism, etc. It was not until I was introduced to Anthem until I began to fully understand the corruption of the doctrines I was brought up on, and proceeded to read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. It's simple to say that say that my life has been turned around. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people are tired of hearing the "Atlas Shrugged changed my life" type of ordeal, but it's true. I think the only "downside" to being rational is the wait to find someone else (friend, teacher, etc.) who reflects my morals. I'm not afraid of being alone, but I am a little disturbed that it's so hard to come by someone of reason. I have a question that I'd like to ask on the forum, this being the first time I've really talked to advocates of reason. Why is society so wrapped up in altruism and faith/religion when it just leads to horrible consequences and broken down lives? The only reason I have found out why anyone would turn to religion is quite pathetic. I believe that someone only goes on faith in a deity or "supernatural being" because they cannot provide their own happiness and must depend on someone or something else. I don't see how someone can trudge through life expecting something for nothing. Expecting someone else to provide happiness and well being. I think one of the greatest parts of my life is that I can earn my happiness. Well, I'm sure I will be active in this community, so I will post later. -Patrick