In 1959, Mike Wallace did an interview with best-selling author Ayn Rand, who wrote The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. She termed her philosophy “objectivism” and said a society built upon the ideals of individualism and objectivism tended to be the strongest and most successful. I watched most of the interview a couple months ago, although I’d caught parts of it years prior. I’ve always admired Rand’s economic philosophies, and I believe they are more important today than ever before especially in light of what our government is doing with its financial goals. My personal belief is that the government right now is attempting to rescue us from a disaster that they caused.

Rand has some very good points about what makes a society work well, especially her views on a welfare state vs. laissez-faire economics. But I think she is wrong in her assessment of self-sacrifice and love. I believe self-sacrifice is a virtue and that loving some people first might be the only thing that will make them worthy of it. As well, I believe that even as a spiritual duty, self-sacrifice is only valuable if it is done of one’s own free will. It is no longer self-sacrifice if it is coerced. Rand splits hairs on self-sacrifice because she admits to helping her husband but prefers to call it selfish because she derives benefit from helping him. Others who are altruistic could parse their reasons the same way—it’s that proverbial “good feeling inside”. Upon reflection, it’s almost better to say that being self-less has “selfish” benefits. I think that even Rand would admit that one of the primary foundations of economic and social progress has to do with delayed gratification. Selfishness has nothing to do with merely looking out for your own self interests. Its quality goes much further. It must have its way immediately even if it severely injures others. To love another is to defer oneself to bring benefit to the one loved. Parents do it for their children, friends do it for each other. Rand wants to maintain consistency about things like rewarding hard work, which I understand, but I think loving people only when they deserve it severely diminishes the very substance and value of love. Making love conditional robs it of the only quality that makes it beautiful. Some people simply can’t become worthy of love unless love itself comes to their rescue. Gangbangers who commit murder and mayhem, drug addicted pregnant women who keep using even after finding out they are pregnant—these are people who are difficult to love. And in their bitter or helpless state, they must be loved if they are ever to change. Everyone needs that kind of help to varying degrees. I think if Rand believed in at least some version of unconditional love, her logic—which holds together remarkably well and for such an incredibly long time on this issue of what motivates goodness in us—wouldn’t eventually fall apart.

Filed under: Life
by The Hipster
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In reading the rules for writing possessives, I’ve found much more confusion and complexity than I’ve found clarity. So, I’m going to describe my rule for possessives in hopes that it will make punctuating the form much easier.

Some rules make a distinction between the singular and plural form stating that the apostrophe comes before the “s” in the singular form, after the “s” in the plural form, unless the plural form does not end in “s” in which case……blah blah blah.
I have an easier method. Add apostrophe+s to everything. Here are four examples: (more…)

Filed under: English and Grammar
by The Hipster
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Just a quick lesson about the difference between irony and coincidence: (more…)

Filed under: English and Grammar
by The Hipster
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Today, I watched a video by former ABC News correspondent and current communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, Linda Douglass, talking about the “fishy” mis-information traveling the internet and email about Obama’s health care reform bill. She cited one example, a subject line, of this mis-information, then showed us a couple sound bites of Obama promising not to touch private insurance options. I could feel Linda pinching my cheek and patting me on the head the whole time, but the clincher came when she whispered to me (okay, she didn’t whisper, but it’s the sort of thing Red teachers whispered to their little Chinese students) to snitch on my fellow Americans who are blogging and complaining about Obama’s plan. So here’s my snitch: (more…)

Filed under: Politics
by The Hipster
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I am a white woman. I moved to California in 1983, and I’ve received a lot of speeding tickets between then and now. I have less of a lead foot now that I have kids, but I still find the odometer rising from time to time. Except for the last time I was pulled over, EVERY SINGLE TIME I have received a ticket. Without fail. I have never verbally abused an officer. I have never complained. When asked for my license and registration, I have handed them over promptly without fussing. But except for the mercy of the last officer who pulled me over, I have never gotten away with speeding. I have paid dearly for the fines and traffic school. I hate that. But I will not make the incident worse by getting in an officer’s face.

That is why I read the story of Henry Gates and Officer James Crowley (more…)

Filed under: Politics
by The Hipster
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I heard something really funny today. Laurence Leamer and numerous other editorialists and writers are calling Bernard Madoff’s crime the greatest Ponzi scheme in history. To provide a primer on the so-called Ponzi scheme, made famous by the notorious Charles Ponzi in the early part of the 20th century, it is a scam to manipulate investor confidence by taking investments and paying dividends, not from the interest the fund earns but from monies provided by new investors. If the supposed dividends are large, investors are more than willing to invest even more money and get their family and friends in on the action. Usually those pushing the scam can survive undetected for a while, after which they fold their tents and disappear, taking most of the investment money with them.

Anyway, back to Bernie. He plead guilty and will probably spend the rest of his life in jail. That is as it should be. But (more…)

Filed under: Politics
by The Hipster
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I’ve never done a blog before, but the idea has appealed to me for a long time. And I’m not sure exactly why. I have read other blogs and been amused, informed, and sometimes unnerved by how honest people can be. It’s that last part that intrigues me. And I’m not talking about people who say crass or obscene things just to get a rise. To me, that’s not real honesty. But it’s people willing to bare their souls. I’ve never minded being entertaining or having opinions about things…..it’s baring my soul that is hard. I’m not sure I’ll succeed even in this blog, but I’m willing to give it a try.

A few weeks ago, I brought my kids home from karate practice and stopped to get some takeout. As I was leaving the drive-through, all traffic had stopped in front of me on the main road. The light was red ahead of the cars, so I had to wait. Directly in front of me was an SUV with a father and daughter–the girl looked (more…)

Filed under: Life
by The Hipster
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