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Post 0

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 2:20amSanction this postReply
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Hmm...given that there is no option for "Objectivist lawyer", I shall have to give this topic some thought before voting.

;-)

MH


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Post 1

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 5:58amSanction this postReply
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I picked none of the above, really thinking all of the above. :) A profession isn't heroic to me, but what a person does in any profession can be!

Post 2

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 6:03amSanction this postReply
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I don't think that professions themselves are heroic; it's the men who are heroic in the practice of their profession. Does it really make sense to think that a specific profession can confer nobility on a man, or is it more sensible to think that the talented, rational man brings nobility to his profession?

Post 3

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 6:03amSanction this postReply
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Damn it, Liz, I wanted to be the first to say that. :)

Post 4

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 6:14amSanction this postReply
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Liz, Matt G,

I agree and have voted "None of the above"

MH


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Post 5

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 6:33amSanction this postReply
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I voted for entrepreneur, a somewhat difficult choice given my own profession is one of the other choices. I can understand the arguments of the others who posted that a profession, in and of itself, is not inherently heroic. However, I cannot agree an equal degree of potential for heroism exists or is possible in every profession, which I think is the rationale behind the poll. For example, it is no coincidence that the heroes of Atlas Shrugged were all businessmen . . . and some hid their abilities by pretending to be "blue-collar" laborers. It is no coincidence many little kids say they look up to or want to grow up to be an astronaut, a fireman, or a doctor . . . and not a steel welder, a convenience store clerk, or a janitor. The latter professions do not stir the imagination or bring inspiration in the same way that the former professions do.

Post 6

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 3:02pmSanction this postReply
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Ahem ... Economist?

Post 7

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 3:52pmSanction this postReply
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Industrialist

Post 8

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 7:41pmSanction this postReply
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Architect? :-)

Peter Cresswell
ORGANON ARCHITECTURE
~Integrating Architecture With Your Site~
P O Box 108054, Symonds St, Auckland
(09) 631 0034
organon@ihug.co.nz 


Post 9

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 8:54pmSanction this postReply
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I thought an architect was an artist! :)

Post 10

Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:48pmSanction this postReply
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Without question, this is the most heroic profession: 

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictures/compdiff/lumber2.jpg

(Edited by Orion Reasoner on 7/12, 11:06pm)


Post 11

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 5:59amSanction this postReply
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Sorry Matt! Didn't mean to beat you to it. We posted at the same time.

I somewhat understand what Byron is saying, but I could always think of examples where people start out, say, pumping gas and end up running an enterprise. Happens a good amount in the restaurant business I think. Now you can argue that when they were busboys they weren't heroic, until they entered the business side and expanded the restaurant to make millions, but it's the same person going from busboy to businessman.

But out of all those listed there, if I had to pick one, it likely would be the armed forces. You can always find businessmen and entrepreneurs who stink at what they do. The title/job alone isn't enough. There are some of the most heroic people in those industries, but as a whole it isn't necessarily the case. I don't think I've ever met someone serving our country, however, that I don't respect, admire and thank for that decision.

-Elizabeth


Post 12

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 6:57amSanction this postReply
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Don't apologise, Liz, for being a little quicker on the draw than me. I'll agree with you on soldiers to an extent; the few military men and women I've met were people worthy of respect for their competence and their commitment to their values.

However, I won't say that the soldier's profession is inherently heroic. To do so would place Nazi soldiers on the same level as the men and women who enter the military in order to preserve and protect their own freedom by defending that of their fellow citizens. Hell, calling all soldiers heroic would grant unearned nobility to the scum responsible for abusing the prisoners at Abu Grahib.



Post 13

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 11:34amSanction this postReply
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No, not Nazis! I said "never met anyone serving our country..." :) But even with that said, I still agree 100% that the profession itself doesn't make you a hero. We have bad people in the armed forces too. Just that if I had to pick one job that was the most 'heroic' (depends how you define hero) across the board, that would be it I guess. Lucky for me I get to stick with my original "none of the above" response!

Post 14

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 4:34pmSanction this postReply
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This discussion is pointless, the correct answer is clearly "Investment Banker."

Liz, you might be interested in the story of Jim Cantalupo, the late McDonalds CEO who started out at 15 working a grill in Sydney and made it all the way to the top of the company.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/19/news/fortune500/mcdonalds_ceo/


Post 15

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 5:31pmSanction this postReply
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Movie action hero.

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Post 16

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 7:16pmSanction this postReply
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The philosopher is the commander of the intellectual army, as Rand called him. He is the man who makes all the other professions possible. That's in a rational sense, of course.

C


Post 17

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 8:44pmSanction this postReply
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Greetings.

Thank you, Charlie, for picking the profession you did. I was waiting for somebody to defend that position and was surprised that this did not occur sooner. Except, keep in mind, it is spelled "filosofer."

http://www.geocities.com/rationalargumentator/filosofyoflinguistics.html.

I am
G. Stolyarov II
Atlas Count 537Atlas Count 537Atlas Count 537Atlas Count 537


Post 18

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 6:31amSanction this postReply
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Whatever profession or endeavor ~I~ am doing is the most heroic! (Currently, lawyer!)

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Post 19

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 8:24amSanction this postReply
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Liz wrote: "Now you can argue that when they were busboys they weren't heroic, until they entered the business side and expanded the restaurant to make millions, but it's the same person going from busboy to businessman."

And that is my argument. Howard Roark can never be heroic as a quarry laborer and John Galt as a railroad laborer in the same manner they are as an architect and a scientist respectively. Like you said, same person, different professions. It is true that the title or position, in itself, does not confer nobility, but neither does possessing abilities one does not put to full use. The busboy could be the most business-savvy busboy who ever lived, but can never apply his savvy to the same extent he can as a restaurant manager or an owner. The extent of his heroism are defined by what he can possibly do within that profession. I contend your potential for greatness increases with your choice of career.

By the way, I appreciate the kind words for the military. If there is one thing I love about my job, it is the opportunity to work with some genuine heroes. I realized that when I swore-in as a US citizen last month at the LA Convention Center along with 3000+ immigrants, with more than that watching and cheering. Me and about two dozen other servicemen, in our full-dress uniforms, were seated front and center. From their medals, I can tell that some of them were combat veterans. The servicemen received their certificates first and at the same time, so we all left the building first and at the same time. As we slowly and solemnly marched down the middle of the aisle (in military formation) toward the main exit, almost everyone in the audience, without any prompting, stood up and gave us as a several minutes long standing ovation. I am sure they had no idea if these men did or did not do anything heroic, or possessed heroic qualities, but they gave us that recognition nonetheless. I think it is because people can recognize the act of choosing that profession (or any profession) can be a small act of heroism in itself. And that's my two cents.

(Edited by Byron Garcia on 7/14, 8:25am)


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