Objectivist Roundup

Russian Father Frost & Snowgirl

Welcome to the New Years Eve edition of objectivist round up. What have you been up to this holiday break?  I come from Russia where Christmas, predictably, was not celebrated, but New Year's was the most special holiday of the year.  Interestingly, traditions surrounding New Year's mirrored the American Christmas very closely.  Instead of Santa Clause, a character from religious stories, we had Father Frost, an old man with a white beard living at the North Pole and together with his daughter, Snowgirl, bringing kids presents. We had a New Year's tree, decorated in much the same way you see in this country, and presents were placed under it. It was also common to hire Father Frost to come to the house and for days approaching New Year's you saw Father Frosts wandering the city, going home to home and making kids delighted with their presence.  I also remember the first time my parents decided I was old enough and failed to hire me a Father Frost. I whined the whole evening, when is Father Frost coming? Finally, my dad decided to solve the dilemma by dressing up as Father Frost himself. I saw through the rouse  quickly and was extremely disappointed...

Russian New Year's tree

As a parent, I decided to avoid the whole thing and have Santa Clause be a fairy tale (a good one!) from the start, with the important parts of Christmas celebration coming from family, love and togetherness. At least that was the hope. The results? On Christmas eve my five-year-old told his aunt in hushed tones: "Aunt Angie, I won't tell my cousins, there is no such thing as Santa Clause. Because I know it is the truth, and I don't need to tell them, because I am right." Ugh... Nonetheless, everyone was grateful as I offered no guarantees of such benevolence!


Martin Lindeskog presents EGO: MORRIS THE CAT REQUIESCAT IN PACE posted at EGO, saying, "I miss Morris the cat. "Requiesce CAT in pace." Listen to the answers to the questions on Dr. Leonard Peikoff's podcast: What was the name of Ayn Rand's cat? Did she talk to it?"


Darius Cooper presents U.S. Economy: Federal Debt- How big is it? posted at Practice Good Theory, saying, "I put together a few graphs to show the size of the U.S. debt (excluding "entitlements" for this post)."


Tony White presents Post 3: Repaying a Teacher: Peikoff’s Horizontal Additions to the Objectivist World View posted at Peripatetic Thoughts, saying, "A tribute Leonard Peikoff's four major additions to the Objectivist world view. Includes a discussion of the connection between Ayn Rand and Ancient Greek man-worship."


Rachel Miner presents Finding Objectivism posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "Best of 2011: This is the story of my traumatic discovery of Objectivism while I was steeped in religious Jewish culture and visiting concentration camps in Poland. It was so life changing and I can now look back on my honest response to those new ideas with pride. I was 17, yet I was so ideologically devoted to Judaism, it still took me about three years to integrate the results of this experience."


Joseph Kellard presents The American Individualist: Photos: Rockefeller Center at Christmas posted at The American Individualist, saying, "I posted some photos I took that capture the spectacular that is Christmas at Rockefeller Center (and surrounding areas). Enjoy!"


Diana Hsieh presents Civility in the Election Season posted at NoodleFood, saying, "The 2012 election season is already contentious, and here's my policy on maintaining civility."


Rational Jenn presents I am a Productive Mommy posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "I've read about and heard many critiques about my current profession--a stay-at-home full-time parent. In February 2011, I wrote a post that addresses some of these critiques and explains why I think parenting is and should be a selfish, productive endeavor."


Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents How's This for Assimilation? posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Corrections to this post: I miscarried earlier this year, but I'm pregnant again. My new due date is in June. Also, I don't think assimilation should be a requirement for immigrants and is ultimately unimportant in the immigration debate. Obviously, assimilation in some areas, such as language, would be in the best interest of an immigrant, but that's their choice and it's their life, therefore, it should be of no concern to the rest of us."


Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents Who "Pulls Their Own Weight"? posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Santiago takes on a common immigration myth and gets to the real fact of the matter."


Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents Marxist Economics in the Immigration Debate posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Santiago exposes the Marxist economics Conservatives like to use in the immigration debate."


Kelly Elmore presents Reepicheep's Coracle: My Birth Story, Told For the First Time After Seven Years posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "I chose this post for several reasons. First, I think it is the most powerful piece of writing from this year's blogging. Second, it was the beginning of one of my big triumphs of 2011, moving past pain into healing. This is the year when I became okay after Livy's birth. This was my year of deliverance."


Paul Hsieh presents My iPad and My Hip Fracture posted at NoodleFood, saying, "My "thank you" to Steve Jobs and Apple for their great products."


C.W. presents The Right Way to Solve the Entitlement Problem posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "Why is this my favorite? Well, the subject matter had to do with actually moving toward capitalism and applying Objectivism, rather than discussing principles. I want to revise it some. But on the whole, it is a good efort for a journeyman economist, I think."


Roderick Fitts presents Induction of Aristotle’s Theory of Four Causes posted at Inductive Quest, saying, "One of my best essays on the progression of thinking Aristotle engaged in to induce his theory of four causes--material, efficient, formal, and final."


Roderick Fitts presents Induction of "Reason is Man's Only Means of Gaining Knowledge" posted at Inductive Quest, saying, "My first inductive Objectivism essay without using the "Objectivism Through Induction" course as my training wheels. Enemies of induction, here I come!"


Jenn Casey and Kelly Elmore present Podcast #17: Brainstorming a Parenting Problem posted at Cultivating the Virtues, saying, "One of our favorite podcasts this year features an unscripted brainstorming and problem-solving session about a parenting problem."


David Baucom presents The Ballad of Gary Johnson posted at Cyrano Rises, saying, "To be published in the upcoming January issue of Charlatan Magazine, my article about the campaign and ideas of Gary Johnson and their cultural reception. Draws upon my Q&A sessions and my TOS interview. Written for a mainstream, not Objectivist, audience."

Martin Lindeskog presents "ANNUAL BLOG REPORT IX" posted at EGO saying "I have now been blogging for nine years. Please send me suggestions on how I should celebrate my 10th blogiversary in 2012!"


Trey Givens presents "ALL PEOPLE ARE STUPID AND THEY SUCK AND ARE DUMB AND I HATE THEM ALL FOREVER!" posted at Trey Givens saying "I maintain my optimism in humanity by staying away from it..."


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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Jealousy and envy

Alex and I had our Taikwan Do belt tests yesterday, him receiving the next, Yellow, belt, me skipping over it and getting Senior Yellow,  our paths divergent for the first time.

I had fretted much about how to talk to Alex prior to the event.  As I predicted, he was very upset, stating that we should be doing it 'together', that he was extremely unhappy that I would have a different belt from his, and shedding some tears.

Setting it aside for a few days, I set out to explain the general concept. We talked at length, without reference to the situation at our martial arts class, about a person's achievements being his own, that his challenge being only to give his own best.  In addition, we spoke about the pride one might feel at having a loved one accomplish something special, this being independent of one's own accomplishments.  Going through many made-up concretes, and using opportunities from minor circumstances that arose in our day-to-day life  to illustrate the point.

Yesterday, he broke a wooden board with the side of his bare hand, a challenge that every martial artist gets to overcome many times in his career. I was immensely proud of him.  The youngest student in the group, the little tiny five-year-old who had struggled to break the plastic snap-boards in practice, he did the task with focus and efficiency, leaving the audience in awe of his form and skill.  At bed time, we spoke about the experience.  I was so proud of him!  Then I said, "And I got to break the fat board, the kind they have for adults.  He gave me a beaming smile, one full of happiness that, I am sure, mirrored my own.  I was touched.  I said, "Your smile makes me so happy! I shows me how happy you are at something that I did!"  There was a pause.  "Mommy, I want to see your senior yellow belt", he said, still smiling happily. We had not talked about it in a couple of weeks, so not only was he accepting the circumstance, but he chose to bring it up, wanting to see my accomplishment.

Somebody said to me earlier, envy is not innate in children. Probably not, if you define envy to be the desire to destroy the good because it is the good: to want to take away one's value rather than acquire it for oneself.  On the other hand, jealousy is very natural: the wish for another's belongings, success or position in life. Envy is borne of resentment, while jealousy of valuing.

I loved teaching my son about coping with the feelings of jealousy. I think, it is the inability to cope with those feelings that can lead to bitterness, resentment and ultimately envy. Learning to separate another's success from one's own desire for same and being able to set independent goals while being genuinely happy for a friend's achievement is a true virtue, one that enables greatness. I am also proud of him for the ability to process this and come out on top!

Objectivist Roundup

Welcome to the December 1, 2011 edition of objectivist round up. It's Christmas time again! For most of us, it is a time of joy, family and a beautiful tradition. For some a religious holiday, or an opportunity to acquire too many belongings.  For my five year old, it is a time filled with extremely confusing messages coming at him from the general culture. Part of the confusion comes from our family's approach to Santa: though not a real person, he is part of a fairy table that makes Christmas special. Alex becomes confused each year at why his friends don't know the obvious. Each year, he comes up with some new commentary.  "Mommy, daddy, you know, if you had  told me that Santa Clause and Easter Bunny were real, I would still figure it out.  After all, are there any talking rabbits that go around people's houses bringing them eggs?!"

Another gem this year was, "You know, Christmas is just about money," he said with a curled lip, clearly imitating someone he saw lord knows where! "It is?" I countered. "What about family?"  "Oh, that too..." "And the beautiful Christmas tree in our home?" "Right!" "... and celebrating the joy of life with all the Christmas music?" He lit up.  "Mommy, can you play Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer?"

Allrighty then...

Kate Yoak presents Free Market posted at Startup Thermometer, saying, "I was surprised to discover a strong emotional reaction of my own when a contractor felt that the world economy was treating him unfairly.  Here is why I fired him."


David C Lewis, RFA presents 10 Healthy Meals That Probably Won't Break Your Budget | Twin Tier Financial posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, "10 healthy meals that probably won't break your budget."



Darius Cooper presents von Mises on the Quantity Theory of Money posted at Practice Good Theory, saying, "With M1 booming and the price-level still fairly constrained, I wanted to share von Mises's critique of the Quantity Theory of money."



Joseph Kellard presents Conspiracy Theories and Freedom Don't Mix posted at The American Individualist, saying, "A commentary in the New York Times underscores the corrupt epistemology that permeats Egypt and will thereby undercut any effort at establishing freedom, if one even exists, in that Islamic-dominated nation."



Rachel Miner presents Soaring posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "A quick post noting my experience of a hot air balloon ride which I had anticipated for about twenty years. (Three pretty pictures are included.)"



Paul Hsieh presents HHS Restrictions on Neurosurgery: Just Don't Call It Rationing posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "Some of the proposed new restrictions on medical care here in America make Canada look good in comparison."



Jared Rhoads presents Twead #15: Political Philosophy, Clearly posted at The Center for Objective Health Policy, saying, "This week we posted assorted notes from the book "Political Philosophy, Clearly" by Anthony de Jasay (Liberty Fund, 2010; 347 pp). Get a flavor of it here."



Benjamin Skipper presents Reintroduction posted at A Giant Doing, saying, "This is the ex-author of the now defunct blog, Musing Aloud. I've decided chocolate reviewing isn't for me, so I want to go back to regular writing, but in order to shake off some unwanted readers I have started a whole new blog."



Paul Hsieh presents Screening For Terrorists vs. Screening For Cancer posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "My latest PJMedia OpEd shows the underlying similarity between two seemingly disparate government approaches to screening for two kinds of dangers."



Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents Budgets Groan: Immigration Law Continues to Hurt, Not Help posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Florida conservatives have a case of NIMBY over a proposed immigration detention center."



Diana Hsieh presents LTE: Campaign Finance Reforms posted at NoodleFood, saying, "My letter to the editor in defense of free speech -- and Scott Gessler's campaign finance reforms -- was published in the Denver Post."



Rational Jenn presents The One About Thanksgiving posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "I wrote this post so that one day I'll remember some of the details of this year's Thanksgiving holiday. It was one of our best yet!"



Edward Cline presents Ambidextrous Statism posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "There is no fundamental difference between the Far Left and the Far Right. They are both totalitarian in nature. Their median is a mushy socialism posing as “Progressive” welfare statism that leaves no whine or grievance left behind. And in all historical cases, the median has always drifted inexorably in one direction or another."



John Drake presents Review: Your Brain at Work posted at Try Reason!, saying, "A review of the book "Your Brain at Work"."



Jason Stotts presents Stolen Paternity posted at Erosophia, saying, "Can paternity be stolen? It turns out that it can."



Atul Kapur presents “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” in Quotes posted at Wit Lab, saying, "I share my favorite quotes from a book by Richard Feynman. Since he was a physicist, and not a philosopher, I find it remarkable that he held so many unconventional and good ideas."



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Objectivist Roundup

Welcome to the October 27, 2011 edition of objectivist round up. These last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. I am pouring every ounce of energy I have into my startup, the one that began almost a year ago, and is getting ever closer to overtaking my life. It's been a real challenge to divide my focus between being an active parent and a startup entrepreneur. Can it be done? I am learning that the right answer to this question is, "I have no idea. But it will be." Taking a moment out of my day to review the latest from my fellow objectivists is just what the doctor ordered!


Edward Cline presents Occupy Wall Street: An Axis of Enemies posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "A number of stark contrasts should be noted between the freedom of speech and assembly as practiced by Occupy Wall Street and Pamela Geller."


Ari Armstrong presents In Defense of Income Inequality (In Capitalism) posted at Free Colorado, saying, "In a free society, income inequality is morally just and economically essential. Forced wealth transfers, regardless of the beneficiaries and victims, are morally wrong and economically destructive. This post quotes from and links to my article in The Objective Standard."


Rational Jenn presents The One About the Shooting Range posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Recently, my husband, oldest son (age 9) and I took a gun class at a local shooting range. And just so you know, I'm a pretty good shot! :D"


Brian Phillips presents An interview with an immigrant posted at IndividualRightsGovernmentWrongs.com, saying, "While conservatives make noises about illegal immigration, they frequently ignore the trials and tribulations that an individual must suffer in order to legally immigrate to America. This interview reveal some of those obstacles."


Paul Hsieh presents Hospital Bill From 1960 posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "How much have medical costs risen in the past 50 years?"


Diana Hsieh presents Video: State Involvement in Marriage posted at NoodleFood, saying, "In Sunday's webcast, I discussed whether and how the state should be involved in marriage -- a crucial issue for the debates about gay marriage."


Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents On Open Immigration, by Guest Blogger Fotis Olympodoros posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Guest blogger, Fotis Olympodoros, contributes this wonderful piece about open immigration to Mother of Exiles."


Joe England presents The Lesser Circumcision Rant: Religion, Parenthood, and Urinary Tract Infections posted at Think Twice.


John Drake presents Thinking Your Way to Productivity posted at Try Reason!, saying, "David Allen's Getting Things Done may have a bit in common with Rand's Art of Non-Fiction. In this post, I examine the possibilities."


Rational Jenn presents Time Travel Tuesday: On Problem-Solving and Choosing Battles and the Virtue of Independence posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Using kids arguments as an opportunity to teach them something about the virtue of independence."


Kate Yoak presents Getting out of the office: Pain and pleasure posted at Startup Thermometer, saying, "As my business venture moves closer to market launch, I am battling the personal challenge of leaving the comfy home office and speaking to strangers."

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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Patience and kindness

"Mommy, I don't think you were nice to Lily. You hurt her feelings," Alex said one particularly stormy afternoon.
"Well, she..." I started and caught myself. Sigh. Why can't I just be perfect?
"You know, you are right. I always try to be kind, but sometimes it's hard and I get impatient. You know, it's actually quite challenging to be a mommy."
"Really?" Hmmm... apparently I make it look easy!
"Yeah. You want to try? When we go to pick up Lily, do what mommy does. Be patient and kind. If she does something wrong, don't get angry. Remember that she is still learning. Teach her how to do it right." 

As Lily's gymnastics class drew to a close, I reminded Alex, "Patient and kind, remember?"
He was ready to give it a try. Lily was in rare form and "patient and kind" turned out to be quite a challenge. But not all was lost.


This conversation gave us a new valuable and interesting tool. Let me point out that a three-year-old sister can drive any five-year-old boy to distraction, no matter how loving and focused he is or how hard he tries.  But now, instead of saying, 

"A L E X!!! Y O U   D O   N O T   H I T  Y O U R   L I T T L E  S I S T E R!!!!!!!"


I can calmly remind him, "Remember, patient and kind, like a mommy!" "Oh... I forgot..." which frequently follows is almost as good as an apology. And I think, this gave him a whole different level of understanding of my job... This is always good... have your little boss empathize with your task.

Preschool due dilligence: naps

A while ago, I wrote about my dismay when I found out that naps were required by law. This was in the beginning of the research that I was doing on preschools for my daughter as we were getting ready to move.  I am happy to report that all was not lost.

Here is what I have learned:

Laws regulating naps tend to be extremely vague and subject to interpretation. This means that implementation will vary county to county and school to school. The spirit of the law is reasonable: children should be provided with the opportunity to nap. This means, don't keep them up because you do not have the space for cots. Good idea, right? In most preschools in Los Angeles, this means a special nap room where kids who still nap go to in order to rest. This is exactly what happened at our old school.  As the child grew older and consistently failed to fall asleep, he was returned to the main room to continue with activities. 


In orange county, the busy-bodies that have the power to fine preschools have declared that, according to the Operations VP at LePort, "If an inspector sees a three-year-old out of bed, we will get fined!" What is this, Argus Filch of Hogwartz?  

Still, some schools have managed to get around it.  In the ten mile radius of our new home, I have found a wide variety of implementations, from a mandatory one-and-a-half hour in-bed period for every child under four, to the basically sane approach of Monarch Bay Montessori, where children who do not nap continue quietly working with Montessori materials in the same room where their peers are napping.  Some of the non-nappers actually spend part of the time helping the younger children fall asleep!  (How delightful to watch them as they stroke their classmates' hair, murmur lullabies and settle them in!)


Needless to say, this is where my daughter goes to school now. Montessori is a child-driven educational philosophy. How destructive it is to the entire environment that the children are forced to stay in bed when their bodies do not require it! To all those schools I spoke to I say - come and look at the successful classroom that Monarch Bay has put together! You probably have a lot more to learn than nap time.  Their attitude toward the children precludes forcing them to nap, but it naturally goes far beyond that. I've been delighted with our experience so far, with how smoothly the adjustment has gone for my child and her peers - compared to what I have seen elsewhere.


And to the parents who are invariably finding my last blog post on the subject of naps as they desperately search for information about what to do, I advise: keep looking. You will find a school with a sane practice - and you will likely find that it is a better school in most other ways as well.  Best of luck to you!

Objectivist Roundup

Please enjoy the newest edition of the Objectivist Roundup! It is embarassingly late - my apologies to the authors.  Having spent the day driving around LA with two kids, a Russian-speaking grandfather and a computer hidden under the passenger seat, I not only failed to post it on time, but fell asleep at my desk last night as I started putting it together! Perhaps somebody needs a break. Let this edition serve as an excuse for you to do the same and enjoy!

Burgess Laughlin presents Mysticism in the Qur'an posted at The Main Event, saying, "Ideas cause human actions. The ideas of Islam lead to actions -- some of which are directed against those of us who are infidels. Second in the series of notes on reading the Qur'an, this post identifies the forms and role of mysticism as a source of ideas in the Qur'an."


Diana Hsieh presents Gary Johnson: Don't Waste the Opportunity posted at NoodleFood, saying, "I don't want to waste the opportunity represented by Gary Johnson's bid to become the GOP nominee for president."


Keith Weiner presents The Fed's Decision: "Operation Twist" posted at keithweiner's posterous
, saying "The Fed decided this week to further interfere with the markets. "Operation Twist" is designed to lower the rate of interest on longer-duration Treasury bonds. It will do many things, none of them good."

Rational Jenn and Kelly Elmore present Podcast #21: When Temperaments Clash! posted at Cultivating the Virtues, Our latest podcast features an example of mutual problem-solving with someone outside of our family (a babysitter), more discussion about temperaments and how to manage the conflicts that arise in part because of temperament, and whether it's okay for parents to play "good cop/bad cop" with their kids. Thanks for listening!"

Ari Armstrong presents Health Responsibility (In My PJs) posted at Free Colorado, saying "If somebody gets sick without health insurance, "should society just let him die?" No, but that doesn't mean he should get a free ride, either, or that others should be forced to pay up. What are the real answers to today's problems in health care?"

Rational Jenn presents Time Travel Tuesday: Limiting Myself posted at Rational Jenn, saying "A post about one of my favorite parenting tools, Decide What You Will Do, and why using it helps me remember to be the rational egoist I want to be."

Jason Stotts presents Sexual Distinctions: Candaulism, Cuckold, Threesomes posted at Erosophia, saying "Non-monogamy is a big place. In this essay, I draw some distinctions that might help to clarify things a little."

Mike LaFerrara presents Obamanomics and the Ghost of Title 2 posted at Principled Perspectives, saying "Obama’s attempt to expand government’s intrusion into the hiring policies of private business through his new “American Jobs Act” is rooted in the legal and philosophical precedents established in the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

Jim Woods presents Taxing Congress posted at Words by Woods, saying "Offering a modest proposal to tax congressional pay; which we can call the Incompetence Tax"

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