Here_to_Confess

Thank you all for your responses. Some of them I felt were courteous, others rude, and still others hit me right where it hurts the most. But I do not seek pity, so I do not blame those who felt my posts were bloody foolish, or worse. I see that I have been subconsciously exploiting the intelligent posters of this forum by asking for their opinions on something that should be my own personal, private matter. I also see that, as far as Objectivism goes, I know far less than I thought. Well, I've taken my proverbial medicine. I shall cancel my account with this forum, and someday when I am wiser, I will return (with a more secular user name ). Goodbye.

With all due respect, I would appreciate not hearing sarcastic or insensitive remarks. (Unless you were being serious, in which case I can assure you that I have not sunk THAT low.) If you mean 'unearned guilt', that's not what I'm feeling. I DID earn my guilt. I originally meant to write a long post asking how I can go on with my guilt, how I can continue to preach and practice Objectivism knowing that I have deeply betrayed it in the past. I was going to ask, How should I respond to a moral relativist who retorts with, "Well, nobody's perfect. Are you perfect? Have you never done anything wrong?" And then I came up with an answer: a good response in such a situation is, "Yes, I have done wrong things, things of which I am ashamed. My shame in committing them proves that morality is absolute. If morality were relative, I could feel neither shame nor pride in what I did." It sounds, though, like a "feelings are facts" argument, which of course is fallacious. Any ideas on how to improve it? My whole aim is to reconcile my past failings with my committment to Objectivism, both internally and externally (i.e., to prove to myself and to others that I am no hypocrite).

Would you say that mass murderers are capable of eventually becoming completely moral? And would it matter if they were? They would still have their evil acts on their conscience. This isn't about social metaphysics. Indeed, my concern is EXACTLY the last thing you said, "what you think of yourself". I want that feeling of non-contradictory happiness and self-esteem that is the goal of Objectivist ethics. Yet, I cannot help but feel that so long as I have done things that now disgust me and fill me with self-contempt, I can never have that feeling.

Yes, I realize that morality is not an end in itself, and that I do have volition. Still, do you believe that a soul is infinitely elastic, that evil deeds after evil deeds can pile up on it and there is still a chance for it to be moral again? Ayn Rand once said that, rather than "Do not judge others lest ye yourself be judge", "Judge and prepare to be judged". How can I have the ability to judge others now that I have lost that unimpeachable character? If some moral relativist demands of me, "Are you perfect? Have you never been immoral?", what response can I possibly give that person? "Yes, I have been immoral, but I'm good now"? To me, that sounds like a murderer pleaing to the judge, "Yeah, I have done some awful things, but I'm gonna make up for it." The rational response to that is: "You can't make up for it. You're evil through and through. The best you can do is die." My feelings about this can be summarized by paraphrasing a quote from the movie "Wall Street": "As much as I wanted to be John Galt, I guess I'll always be myself."

Yes, I am aware of how fundamentally different Objectivism is from religion qua morality. I am not seeking forgiveness from people I don't know. I guess I should have been clearer: what I AM seeking is the answer to the question of whether, given the things I have done and continue to do to some extent, I am FUNDAMENTALLY immoral, in the sense of being beyond hope of improvement. Further, even if there is hope for improvement, that does not erase what I have done in the past. Does it not shut me out forever from being considered a moral person?

Hello. I am new to this forum as a member, but am a long-time reader of the posts here. I am certain that what I wish to request is highly unusual, so if any moderators object, please let me know and I will withdraw this topic. I have a long list of "sins" against Objectivism that I wish to confess. However, I wish to retain my anonymity as much as possible. I am not sure what the Objectivist view of anonymous confession is, whether it is immoral to hide one's identity to protect one's reputation, so again I ask that any posters who are very knowledgeable about Objectivism tell me whether my request is immoral or no. Only if you agree that my request is moral will I go ahead with my confession. Otherwise, I will drop out of this forum and not trouble you again. Thank you very much.