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Betsy

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Everything posted by Betsy

  1. It may be moral in certain contexts, but it is also illegal. Doing illegal acts exposes you to the possibility that force will be used against you. That is a fact that should be given careful consideration.
  2. Betsy

    HATE

    Hate is the inescapable automatic emotional reaction to that which threatens ones values. Emotions, being automatic and unchosen, are not subject to moral evaluation as "proper" or "improper." What is subject to moral evaluation is (1) whether you subsequently make the mental effort to understand whether the value threatened is rational and whether it is really threatened and (2) if and how you act on your understanding.
  3. Betsy

    Mortality

    My attitide is summed up by the lyrics of a song called "Meantime" Before I was born a lotta things happened A lotta things happened and there's no doubt That after I'm gone a lotta things will happen That I'll know nothing about. It's the meantime, meantime All I'm given is the in between time All my lovin', all my livin' Gotta do it in the time I'm given... === As comedian Alan King said, "You only live once but, if you do it right, once is enough."
  4. John ("I voted for the $87 million before I voted against it") Kerry SAYS he'll give a tax break to corporations AND he'll start huge new government social programs AND he'll eliminate the deficit. Wanna buy a bridge to Brooklyn?
  5. The benevolent universe premise doesn't mean that the good will always win. It means the good CAN win. It means the good has a fighting chance. As someone who has been fighting for Objectivism for 42 years and for my own personal values for longer than that, I agree with Ayn Rand that "Those who fight for the future live in it today." Thanks to Objectivism, I've made good choices, had great successes, made wonderful friends, and am living a very happy and fulfilling life. I do realize that there are a lot of mixed up unhappy people doing stupid and irrational things out there, but so what? That's THEIR problem, not mine. Thanks to Objectivism, if I see trouble coming, I can deal with it appropriately. That might involve enlisting the aid of rational people, appealing to the rational side of someone with mixed premises, avoiding evil people, not sanctioning bad ideas, getting good legal advice, buying insurance, etc. As to how three can succeed if they are opposed by 997, don't forget that good rational people have a huge and powerful ally on their side: REALITY. As Thoreau put it in one of my favorite quotes: "One man more right than his neighbors is a majority of one." As to history, have a good look at it. When reason was even a small force in the culture, men prospered and the men of reason did even better. The only thing the men of reason have lacked is a solid epistemological foundation and, most importantly, a rational morality. They have it now. In the past 42 years I have watched the growth of Objectivism with delight and amazement. History is changing dramatically for the better and Objectivists are making it happen.
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