 Why Objectivists Should Celebrate Christmas
by Matthew Humphreys
Every year in late November or December, some Christmas related debate seems to start up on SOLOHQ – from what Christmas means to what we should call it. Here then are a few thoughts from an ex-Christian: I have come to the conclusion that Christmas as it is celebrated in the west today has much more Objectivism in it that Christianity.
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Saving for Greatness
by Luke Setzer
A fellow freethinker who works for World Financial Group shared this document with me. Their sales representatives regularly give this flyer to prospects. The flyer names no original author of this fine dissertation, but it certainly resonates with the Objectivist ethics of financial management. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 15, 2004 |
Have Yourself A Very Selfish Christmas
by Dustin Hawkins
As that special time of the year once again approaches, it is important to remember that Christmas is one of the most selfish times of the year. And that is a good thing. (Read more...)
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SOLOing
by George W. Cordero
Here Objectivism is not some endless ‘open system’ unwilling to judge the culture at large. Nor is the Objectivism expressed here a series of stifling rule-bound exercises in being a ‘true believer.’ For years Objectivism has needed a bridge between dogmatism and philosophical eclecticism; it is as this bridge that SOLO makes its appeal.
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A Christmas Concerto of Deliverance
by Luke Setzer
This article turns the Charles Dickens "classic" A Christmas Carol on its ear and reveals Scrooge as the hero and Cratchit as the oaf who needs a few lessons from visiting "spirits". (Read more...)
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Thursday
November 25, 2004 |
A Thanksgiving For The Best Of All Mankind
by Lindsay Perigo
It's fitting on such an occasion to extend a broader salute to the best of humanity across the globe who epitomise the explosive flowering of reason and freedom nurtured by that magnificent document, The Declaration of Independence. For me personally this means a hymn of unstinting praise to the following, among others: (Read more...)
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Wednesday
November 17, 2004 |
The Wide World
by Marcus Bachler
Can you remember the days when men were still men and women were still women? No? Well, neither can I. But don’t despair, help is at hand. (Read more...)
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Assignment: Infiltrate Alcoholics Anonymous
by Bob Palin
I'm currently taking a course called "Drugs and Human Behavior" at a local community college. A pay raise at my job is contingent on accumulating enough "incentive credits," which is my reason for taking this course. One assignment was to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and to write about our personal reaction ... (Read more...)
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A Letter to Cassandra
by George W. Cordero
It’s funny how a simple remark or gesture can make such an impact. You made a lasting one with me. (Read more...)
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The Dogbert Dismissal
by Luke Setzer
This Toastmasters speech from the Basic manual seeks to cultivate the skill of speaking about one's own convictions. (Read more...)
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White Tennis Shoes vs. NaNoWriMo
by Nature Leseul
NaNoWriMo is a challenge issued to writers: “Write a novel in a month.” It sounds impossible. It sounds crazy. It sounds like the kind of summons only a ghost-writer for a mass-produced pulp fiction series would choose to answer. Didn't Ayn Rand spend a decade writing Atlas Shrugged? How can anyone do anything like that in only a month? But a NaNoWriMo novel is not expected to be Atlas Shrugged. It is not expected to be profound, or gripping. or moving, or a bestseller. It is only expected to be 50,000 words. (Read more...)
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Are You Saying That You Don't Love Me?
by Joseph Rowlands
Love is something seen as getting in the way of one's self-interest, instead of as an embodiment of that self-interest. It's seen as an end in itself, with no apparent cause, and certainly not one that's tied to the achievement of value. This is what makes it possible for people to be reassured when someone makes a huge sacrifice on their behalf. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
October 20, 2004 |
The Anti-Misanthrope's Manifesto
by Barbara Branden
[Editor's note - I spotted this post from Barbara on the thread below re 'The Loner's Manifesto.' I couldn't leave it there, hidden from view, eloquent hymn to the human spirit that it is! Hence, I'm re-posting it here as an article. I've removed the name of the person to whom it was a reply, just so he doesn't feel "got at" & because the sentiments here are a salutary admonition to all of us - Linz]
As Objectivists and Soloists, we all have exalted dreams which we try to reach -- and some of us assume that we are alone to have such dreams. Life is not easy for anyone, and many give up their dreams in despair, but that does not make them monsters. There are monsters in the world, but let's reserve that condemnation for those who deserve it. (Read more...)
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A Different Viewpoint on Kilbourne's Article on "Being Cool"
by Jake Moore
I greatly enjoyed James Kilbourne's article, and agreed with it to great extent. But after some thought, I decided that I'm in a position in age to expand on this topic, and to illustrate that it's a deeper issue than merely "being cool" that motivates teenagers to act the ways that they do. I was a teenager not long... (Read more...)
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Rediscovering Leonardo
by Marcus Bachler
This is an “individualist” rebellion against social conventions and restraints. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Human Initiative & the Blues
by Tibor R. Machan
While our species may well have come about through the natural processes of evolution, when this process got to us, it came up with a pretty amazing, extraordinary—free—being. (Read more...)
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Why I Hate Chris Sciabarra & Barbara Branden
by George W. Cordero
We declare that we live by the philosophical tenets of a woman who regarded reasoning and work a virtue, and then stop the hard work of expanding our rational minds by accepting the ‘package deal’ version of Objectivism, in its totality and without question. (Read more...)
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A Composer's Mission Statement
by Adam Buker
Because of all of the discussions on music, I thought I would share my viewpoint as a composer. This is my mission statement that I have written for my upcoming web site at musicATB.com. (Read more...)
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 Philosophy For Life
by Lindsay Perigo
Part of a dialogue with a contemporary philosophy teacher. (Read more...)
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Reprise: 'Headbanging Caterwaulers'
by Derek McGovern
[Editor's note - I am reprising this article because it is relevant to the current discussion on this week's poll topic. I am proud to have inspired it. - Linz]
It was one of Lindsay’s editorials on the Politically Incorrect Show that set me off. The subject was quintessential Perigo: the mindlessness of contemporary popular music. Dismissing many of today’s musical fads as "unmitigated garbage," he went on to question how supposedly rational people could embrace such "caterwauling." (Read more...)
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Flying SOLO
by Jennifer Iannolo
They say you can never go home again. Sometimes the nature of one’s journey, however, is to find it in the first place. (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 23, 2004 |
Don't Be Cool. BE HOT!
by James Kilbourne
The most horrible way to live that I can imagine is to always be worried that you are not cool. The great fear becomes that you might embarrass yourself. To give in to that fear is the death knell of all in you that is sincere. (Read more...)
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Tuesday
September 14, 2004 |
'Romance and Rationalism' Revisited and Revised
by Lindsay Perigo
This is a revision and expansion of a Free Radical editorial, penned before the founding of SOLO, updated to take into account the current furore on SOLOHQ re homosexuality. (Read more...)
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Gourmet or Gourmand?
by Jennifer Iannolo
In the words of Gordon Gecko, "Greed is good." (Read more...)
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When Men Become Nem
by Lindsay Perigo
The events of our age make it starkly clear that humanity is at a crossroads in its evolution, as critical as was the transition from perceptual to conceptual thought. (Read more...)
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