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Monday, June 21, 2004 - 2:54amSanction this postReply
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I don’t think that I am an Objectivist, because I haven’t read much about Rand. So I hope you don’t mind if I put down a few of my thoughts. Here is one.

 

I find it strange that most humans “flag” specific days of the year, like birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, deaths, etc., and then find themselves wanting to remember those days, year after year. The emotions whether it be joy or sadness are stashed away in the back of their minds, and on those days, they are withdrawn to play out their roles.

Why do humans always have to repeat everything? Surely if we want to evolve, we should stop living in the past. Remembering historical events is O.K, but to “flag” them, seems bizarre.

 

Life to me is like living one long day, and we happen to be in the earth’s shadow every few hours. There is no repetition, and there is certainly no such thing as “ today is a new day”.  Forget about “Monday, Tuesday- January, February, etc.” Just because the full moon shows itself regularly and the seasons are routine, does not mean that we should repeat everything.

 

Do commercial interests spur it on, or do religious groups drive it? - Or perhaps we have been brought up to believe that forgetting someone’s birthday is a bad thing!



Post 1

Monday, June 21, 2004 - 9:51amSanction this postReply
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Whose birthday did you forget!

Post 2

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 3:04amSanction this postReply
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I was hoping for a better response on the subject!

Post 3

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 3:37pmSanction this postReply
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Michael,

Peter made a post a short period of time ago related to this.  Try here.


Post 4

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 6:44pmSanction this postReply
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Michael,

I'm sorry there has not been a better response. I have intended to respond, but have been busy on other threads (and elsewhere).

I personally observe very few dates dictated by someone else's choice to commemorate some event or season that means nothing to me. On another thread I mentioned "empty ritual" and was soundly criticized for it. (I just noticed before I had an opportunity to post this Joe Rowlands linked to that other thread. Thanks Joe.)

The reason people follow these conventions is just because most people live second-hand. All these observances give them the only meaning they have in life. If someone else did not tell them when to celebrate and when to be serious, what to value and what to despise, they would have no meaningful life at all, and have no idea how to live it.

While I think cultural standards, courtesy, and good manners are extremely important for a society to work well, that does not extent to rituals. In early America there were very few holidays, and no one felt a sense of necessity to observe such as there were. Today there is hardly a week when there is not some intrusive requirement to observe some, "day," to honor something no one in the whole world cares about.

Those of us who have a life find all these artificial dates, seasons, and rituals intrusions on our time, life, and resources. They are a kind of theft. For the rest, the artificial is their life. They are thieves, promoting activities that intrude on the lives of others, because it "means something to them."

Regi 



Post 5

Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 2:57amSanction this postReply
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Thank you for the link to Peter's thought on the matter. Peter wrote:
"Each of these rituals has a crucial secular import  - the ritual helps to remind us that this event is an important milestone in our lives and those of people special to us; that it is worth marking and celebrating."
I don't think that any event, no matter how important, should be made into a ritual. Take this for example. My grandfather died on the 9th February 19??. He was probably the most important man in my life, because I grew up without a father. I may have made a mental note of this day, but I do not feel I need to grieve every year on this day. In fact, when this day comes along I will probably not even think of his death. Other people it seems, like Peter, need to do something on these days to remind himself of who he is! (Maybe visit someone at the cemetery). I do not need reminders. The event remains in the past and may have changed my behaviour now and in the future.
Take another example. Yes, I probably am happy on my birthday, when my children treat me special, or different. But on the other hand I know that they have changed their behaviour not because of me, but because someone has led them to believe that this is the thing to do on this day. I much rather prefer them to treat me the way they really want to treat me, and not to put on a false pretence. Children do not create any rituals. Adults brainwash children into creating rituals and then they adopt this into their adulthood.
Peter writes: " Done properly, these events should peak to our souls - if they don't, they ain't being done properly."
Who says that we have a soul? Sorry that's another debate! How does one do this properly? Is there a specific procedure that one can follow? Like a build-up before the event. - Something like an advents calendar?
Regi, I think that you're onto it. You say: " Those of us who have a life find all these artificial dates, seasons, and rituals intrusions on our time, life, and resources. They are a kind of theft. For the rest, the artificial is their life. They are thieves, promoting activities that intrude on the lives of others, because it "means something to them.""
Those days like the, Queens Birthday, Waitangi Day, Ansett Day etc, etc are an intrusion to my business and me. I feel that no man should be forced to close down his day of survival because the government says it's a holiday. Not only do they create a loss of your daily trade, but also then you are forced to pay your staff for a day's work, where nothing was done! 
Do humans really need to have repetitive rituals?





Post 6

Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 6:37amSanction this postReply
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Hi Michael T,

Yes, I have always felt that too. 

Perhaps it is related to creativity. It is very hard work but a joy for those who do it, its never automatic; there is always something exciting to look forward to. 

Michael


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