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Looper's Delight
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In a message dated 3/10/00 5:18:53 PM Pacific Standard Time, Loopers-Delight-d-request@annihilist.com writes: << I happen to know a good number of self-proclaimed liberals (who also happen to consider themselves intellectuals - what a surprise!) I consider myself to be pretty liberal politically. I do not consider myself to be an intellectual. I spoke of intellectual properties or functions, assuming it to mean "those that the intellect engages in", not that such practices were exclusively the domain of 'intellectuals' per se. >who have the standard knee-jerk reaction to Ayn Rand I don't think it was 'knee-jerk', I did honestly try keep an open mind about a lot of it. Ironically, I felt like the unspoken message I was getting from a lot of it was to close my mind. > Perhaps so-called liberals just can't > stand the idea of an individual sometimes being more important than the >so-called Whole? I don't doubt for a second a great number of people feel this way. I just don't think it's the most productive way for a society to function. >Sorry folks, it's necessary on most occasions to rise up above the norm; etc, etc, etc Sorry, man, this is the kind of elitist double-talk that really turned me off to the whole thing. I think in many ways these people that you're feeling so superior to have a lot more going on than the one(s) doing the so-called "rising". > Rand's portrayal of those Other Than The Individual in "The >Fountainhead" is > probably what originally pissed off liberals though It doesn't really piss me off, that would require me devoting far more energy toward it than it's worth, frankly. I just think it's useless as a philosophy. I'm turned off by the facistic narrow-mindedness that it seems to require of its followers, so I just try to avoid them and go about my own way. > If you don't think there's a difference between people who create, and >those > who don't, perhaps it's one's own lack of creativity that urges such >(ahem) > SPURIOUS thinking. Meaning specifically, MY lack of creativity? There's one argument I'm not even going to touch... Despite you wanting to wage a 'class war' of sorts between those that create and those that don't, I invite you to consider two things: 1) unless you want an audience of artists only, this relationship is symbiotic, and 2) All people of all walks of life have and exercise creativity in their daily lives in many ways. Most of them just aren't so friggin' precious and pompous about it. Since I've read here a few times that this thread is losing interest on a list that has nothing to do with this subject, and frankly I see little that's more useless in the grand scheme of things than an ersatz philosophical discussion via internet (as entertaining as this has been), I have work to do and kids to take care of. If you want to send me something off list, I'll welcome it and get to it when I can, but as for this list it's back to lurker status for me. Since I know from personal experience that's it's vitally important to Objectivists that there be a clear-cut winner and loser in every discussion, take this forfeit however you like... Hakuna Matata :-) Ken R