Objectvist Roundup

Welcome to the July 28, 2011 edition of objectivist round up. Please enjoy the recent posts by Objectivists on a variety of subjection from rational parenting to objective art, proper politics, sports, science and more. One might classify a collection of Objectivist Roundup posts as an overview of applying reason to every endeavor in life. I highly recommend browsing these posts whether you consider yourself an Objectivist, would like to know more about it - or are wondering what all the noise is about. If you value reason and rationality, you might discover that whether or not you agree with all the ideas, much of what you encounter will hit so close to home, you'll want to know more.  Any blogger on this list is likely to respond to any question about their ideas and approaches.

[UPDATE] I was mortified to find out that after my glowing recommendation of the posts and bloggers, I was alerted to the fact that nearly a third on the first go-around were spammers! This reminded me that the primary job of a carnival host is to ensure that all the posts do in fact come from objectivists (and certainly not from lead generation companies!).  Have no fear.  Everything below is now valid.

Enjoy!

Jennifer Snow presents Limitless posted at Literatrix, saying, "A discussion of the underlying theme of the movie Limitless."
Edward Cline presents The Oslo Factor: Blame Free Speech posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "The horrific attack in Oslo, Norway last Friday, in which 84 Norwegian youths were mercilessly gunned down by Anders Behring Breivik, a psychotic Norwegian Christian fundamentalist and anti-Muslim who also allegedly planted a devastating and lethal bomb in central Oslo, has produced an “Islamaphobic” fall-guy, made to order for the part."
Benjamin Skipper presents Dragon Ball Z as it Parallels to America posted at Musing Aloud, saying, "I love Dragon Ball Z for its awesome portrayal of good and evil: how the villains are cool, the heroes *actually* admirable, and the victories in the end overwhelmingly in the favor of good. Recently I've realized that the three different parts of the series actually reflect America's history and current affairs in uncanny ways."
Tod presents The Hockey Project posted at Tod.FM, saying, "Can a small, non-athletic geek become a hockey hotshot in 10,000 hours?"
Kelly Elmore presents Guilt About Traveling Without Livy posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "In this post, I talk about mommy guilt and reason my way out of "perfect parent syndrome" and into a selfish enjoyment of my own values."
Kelly Elmore presents ATLOSCon Survey for People Who DIDN'T Go posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "If you heard of our mini-conference ATLOSCon, maybe even considered going, but didnt, we'd love to hear why you didn't come. We hope getting more information will help us improve ATLOSCon for everyone. And its a REALLY SHORT survey."
Paul Hsieh presents The Limits of Comparative Effectiveness Research posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "Why "Comparative Effectiveness Research" (CER) is dangerous when policy-makers use it to treat all patients as "average"."
Rational Jenn presents On Minilectures posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "A "minilecture" is one part statement of the obvious and one part "I told you so." Minilectures can insult a child's intelligence and can set parents and child up for a battle. I offer a couple of alternatives to minilectures--a good reminder for myself because I minilecture my kids too often!"
Rational Jenn presents Podcast #16: Our Favorite Books for Kids posted at Jenn Casey and Kelly Elmore, saying, "Kelly and Jenn have a new podcast in which they talk EXTENSIVELY and ENTHUSIASTICALLY about their favorite books for kids. And more! Don't miss it!"
David Masten presents If you don't read this, I swear I'll...On the Non-Aggression Principle posted at Blazing Truth, saying, "An light-hearted analysis of the non-initiation of force, and why it is rationally immoral."
Scott Connery presents CBO: Boehner's Plan Only Cuts 2012 Deficit by $1 Billion posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "o far, speaker Boehner's performance in the budget battle has been mixed. That's the best that can be said about it really. Not too long ago, we witnessed the terribly embarrassing budget cut debacle. He pushed for the "huge" cuts of 100 billion, which got lowered to 36 billion, which the CBO finally revealed to be a mere 353 Million. His "massive" budget cut that he "fought so hard to get" was less than .01% of the Federal budget. Color me unimpressed."
Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents Who "Pulls Their Own Weight"? posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Santiago writes about the problems with the welfare state and puts the blame where it belongs rather than on immigrants."
David C Lewis, RFA presents Are You In Control Of Your Investments? | Twin Tier Financial posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, "Are investors rational? Do they need an external authority (i.e. a financial planner) to take control over their investment portfolio?"
Diana Hsieh presents Evolutionary Theory: Fact Versus Faith posted at NoodleFood, saying, "What do American students learn about evolutionary theory today? Alas, far less than they ought."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of objectivist round up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.    


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I am a little selfish

"Mommy, I am a little selfish sometimes,"  said Alex.  I knew that he was struggling with the internal conflict caused by the culture he is embedded in, their attempts to teach him that he ought to live a life of sacrifice rather than pursuing values, though not quite successful, resulting in a predictable turmoil.

"Tell me about it!" I said cheerfully.  "Well, I am selfish about my special Smurf," he continued.  "And my penguin pillow." Alex was enumerating things of personal value and significance within eyesight.  "Oh yeah?  Well, me too!" I added, not letting on anything was amiss. "I am selfish about my beautiful new house! And my newly painted bright-yellow car, and, of course, my special special babies!" I leaned over to his bed and we took a moment to giggle and cuddle together.


"Eh, mom, so what does selfish mean?" My point hit home. Now he needed to know more. "It means, caring for yourself and things that matter to you."

From there, it was easy sailing.  He was relieved at having been granted the option to pursue his values, and I took the opportunity to illustrate the difference between selfishness, self-absorption, and hedonism. "One more thing," I said. "You know, if you care for yourself, it doesn't mean you always do whatever you feel like.  Sometimes you have to decide what's more important, the thing you want right now, or what it's going to do to your life. If you care for yourself, your life is important, right?" We talked about balancing short-term and long-term values, caring for people in our lives, making each other happy and how that ties back to caring for oneself.


Mommy one. Immanuel Kant zero. But who is counting?