Stuff, Stuff, and more Stuff
Monday, here I go. [disclaimer]
There’s been a ton of stuff in the news recently, and I found myself split between intrigue and disgust at all of it. The plan for this post is to provide some brief thoughts on several issues and see what happens from there.
First, Google memo: If you have not read the original memo, then please do so here. Long story short, I found the general reaction from all sides to the memo perfectly aligned with the breakdown of principles and rational discourse raging in America; personally I find myself agreeing more with the author than disagreeing with him on all of the various topics he touches on.
Second, North Korea: Simply put, I don’t see a rational reason for America to have troops stationed in S. Korea and there is NO rational reason for America and multiple other nations to provide billions in foreign aid [via direct payments, food, and supplies] to N. Korea. That must stop ASAP and then America should either withdraw 100% from most of Asia or fully unleash its military might against the evil regimes in N. Korea, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Third, Trump & Bannon: I don’t like Trump, most of the stuff he has done has been a disgrace and failure; however I’m pleased that Bannon is out because his brand of economic nationalism spells nothing but trouble for America. I am curious as to what the future holds for this administration and what new foreign and domestic policies will be implemented over the next few months. [as an aside, I find it ludicrous that some individuals are already calling for Trump to be impeached or for 25th amendment to be invoked against him; this might happen later on, but right now there is 0 basis for these types of actions to be taken against him!]
Fourth, Charlotteville and terrorism: Very simple: racism is evil, neo-Nazis/white-supremacists/alt-righters/etc. are evil/stupid/misguided/etc. whose ideas and ideology need to be combated with better ideas and ideology {specifically the ideas inherent within Objectivism!}; it is NEVER acceptable to initiate force against any person for any reason. Force is the destroyer of human life, thus it must be placed under objective control (think government) and used only in retaliation against those who wrongly initiate force. Hence both sides in Charlotteville were wrong in the sense that the ideas they hold are wrong because both are collectivistic, deterministic, and emotionalistic; however, the real bad person is the murder/terrorist who drove a vehicle into the crowd and killed one and injured lots more. That person is a terrorist and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. To annihilate terrorism, both domestic and foreign, a country must crush the ideological source/inspiration for the terrorists.
Fifth, Eclipse: *sigh* personally I don’t see what the big deal is, but for those who wanted to take their time and money to go out and view it, then good for you. Not much else to say here, you do you and I’ll do me and life goes on.
Lastly, Education/school: As a teacher who just started my first day, I am eager to get a full year under my belt before making more in-depth discussions on the topic, but let me say this: the entire purpose of education should be to produce students who are able to function rationally and independently in the world by equipping them with the mental tools to organize and achieve their values. I’m not convinced that most people involved in education [from lawmakers to admin to teachers to parents and everyone else] fully understand/know how to achieve this goal nor do they necessarily agree that this should be the goal of K-12 and beyond education.
If one is curious about any of the topics I’ve touched on, I highly recommend listening to Dr. Yaron Brook’s podcasts in which he applies Objectivism to a wide variety of topics including all of the topics I mentioned above.
Otherwise have a great academic year and continue living your life to the utmost by pursuing and achieving rational values!
As always,
Choices=Reality