CONTENTS
- Feature Article: Fiction A Waste of Time??
- Department: Ayn Rand's Message
- Random Shots #110
- Other Articles
- "Celebrating Freedom (Not!)"
- Department: Classified Ads
- Subscribe/Unsubscribe
- Reprint Rights
- Information Sources
- Archives
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR In recent days, I've been very depressed because of the apathy I see when I try to inform people about the evil in the world. The evil of the "second-hander" who thinks that his need is a demand on the earnings of the creators and producers of society. People who want to subjugate the rest of us to their will any way they can. The "power seekers." These people inhabit every possible place where power can be wielded over others. They can be found in business and (especially) in government. Anywhere they can become the person who "makes the rules" for others to follow.
This apathy caused me to largely ignore politics for many years. But when I saw the success of Rush Limbaugh a number of years ago, it inspired me to again try to inform people of the depredations of the power seekers. But after several years of writing extensively in print, and more recently on the Internet, I find that people like to hear what people like Rush Limbaugh say, but after hearing it, shaking their heads and saying that it is, indeed, bad, they go out and wash the car or go to the store and forget about it. Meanwhile, I spend hour after hour, day after day sitting at this computer trying everything I know to get their attention and get them to take some sort of action. I've become very disappointed lately, and even had decided to cut back on my efforts to enlighten people because they aren't really paying attention.
Then I was asked to be the guest on KTKK 630AM in Salt Lake City, Utah to tell his listeners about "forced altruism," the term I had coined because I wanted to differentiate it from "altruism" itself. Altruism is something good that has been prostituted by the power seekers for their own benefit. I found a "kindred soul," in Randy Ford and I have also recently found other "kindred souls" in Denver and other places in the country. They have made me believe that there may be a chance for us anyway. No matter how bad it might look right now. I hope it's true. The feature article in this issue is about one of the callers on Randy's show. In the next issue of this newsletter, I hope to be able to profile Randy to find out what helped him become the person he is today, and why he isn't like others who only wish to take what belongs to others. -Ray Thomas, Publisher/Editor
A simple argument against "forced altruism":
Is it OK to steal from one person and give the stolen property to another person without the approval of the owner, just because of a real or imagined "need?" (Ray Thomas)
FEATURE ARTICLE: IS FICTION "A WASTE OF TIME?"
By Ray Thomas On June 10, 1999 I was the guest of Randy Ford, a radio talk show host in Salt Lake City, Utah by phone (Ain't technology great?). Randy is an unusual man because he is a member of that small group of human beings who still think for themselves and rely on their own talents and abilities rather than hating those who may be more successful at doing something similar for being more successful. In Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," Dr. Robert Stadler, the "last great intellect left in the world," described the "hallmark of the second-rater" this way:
"Miss Taggart, do you know the hallmark of the second-rater? It's resentment of another man's achievement. Those touchy mediocrities who sit trembling lest someone's work proves greater than their own -- they have no inkling of the loneliness that comes when you reach the top. The loneliness for an equal -- for a mind to respect and an achievement to admire. They bare their teeth at you from out of their rat holes, thinking that you take pleasure in letting your brilliance dim them -- while you'd give a year of your life to see a flicker of talent anywhere among them. They envy achievement and their dream of greatness is a world where all men have become their acknowledged inferiors. They don't know that that dream is the infallible proof of mediocrity, because that sort of world is what the man of achievement would not be able to bear. They have no way of knowing what he feels when surrounded by inferiors -- hatred? No, not hatred, but boredom -- the terrible, hopeless, draining, paralyzing boredom. Of what account are praise and adulation from men whom you don't respect? Have you ever felt the longing for someone you could admire? For something, not to look down at, but up to?"
Randy "suffers the slings and arrows" of the second-raters daily on his radio show (KTKK 630AM). Once in a while he even finds a spark of intelligence on the other end of the phone line. But not on June 10th. At least, I didn't notice any while I was his guest. The most outrageous caller was the one who blatantly insisted that it was foolish to get anything intelligent from reading Ayn Rand, or any other fiction. That no one should ever read fiction because it was a "waste of time."
Several things become obvious when you hear such a statement. First, that this man is a "second-rater," who thinks he knows more than anyone else does and that others should bow down to his superior knowledge because he doesn't read fiction. And it is patently obvious that he has not read Ayn Rand because he knows nothing about it. Yet he pretends to tell us that we can't get anything good from this, or any other book of fiction because it is fiction.
What ignorance this caller displayed. I've always been willing, when someone wanted to display his ignorance, to get out of his way and let him do it. Apparently so does Randy Ford. If we were to operate by this man's wishes, there would be no entertainment in the world. No fiction books, no television, no movies, no great plays. We would all be reading nothing but (mostly) boring non-fiction. He doesn't seem to grasp the concept that fiction is meant to be a "waste of time." We can't spend every minute of our lives in the pursuit of excellence. We have to be able to relax occasionally, and some people (me included) use fiction to relax.
People look at me strangely when I put down a "tome" I had been reading for research claiming "tiredness" and immediately pick up a fiction book to continue reading. They just don't understand that there is a big difference between reading for pleasure and reading for work. Besides: you'd be amazed at some of the "basic truths" I've picked up from light fiction, even from "action-adventure" books. From Don Pendleton's "Executioner" series where a man who was victimized by the mob goes around killing them in every one of his hundreds of books, I got this: "Don't follow any man. Live large and follow your own image." I got a lot more from this series but this is what I remember the most, and it is a maxim that I have always lived by. This is the description of a person who doesn't allow others to make his decisions for him, but makes them for himself.
From Louis L'Amour westerns I learned many things about how to survive in the wilderness. Things I would not have learned because I don't pursue that kind of knowledge (although I probably ought to, today). One example is how to boil water in a bowl made of tree bark (don't let the fire rise above the water level). The water keeps the fire from burning the bark.
I could go on and on about all the valuable knowledge I've gained from reading fiction, but I won't. So reading fiction doesn't have to be a "waste of time" if you're sufficiently intelligent to be able to get more out of it than this caller seems to gain. But of course, he's not looking.
"Liberalism: The irrational fear of self-reliance."
(C. S. Colewell, "Keepers of Odd Knowledge Society")
Department: Ayn Rand's Message One of the reasons many people put Ayn Rand and Objectivist philosophy down is because they don't understand it. Most haven't read Atlas Shrugged (in which she details her philosophy in a fascinating fiction story) or if they have, they didn't understand what they read. Many find it impossible to overcome the conditioning they've received during their entire life. They look at what Ayn Rand says and, like one of the characters in her book, say: "I can't answer you. I'm not good with words. But I disagree." Their problem is that if they understand what she's saying, it frightens them. They see the concept of being responsible for one's own affairs instead of demanding someone else do it as one of the most frightening things there is. Another thing that frightens them is the whole ideas of standing up for themselves. Many people have never stood up for themselves.
What Ayn Rand teaches us it that we are not our brother's keeper. Neither is our brother our keeper. Each of us is responsible for ourselves. To earn our own living and create prosperity for ourselves. Not to wait and expect others to do it for us because they will not. She teaches us that there is a large group of people in the world who play on this. They tell people that the government is their "keeper" in place of their brother. That they should expect the government to come in and do for them the things that they can't -- or won't do for themselves. In this manner, the power seekers create a class of dependent people who can be counted on the vote the way they want them to vote, so as to keep these power seekers in power over the rest of us. I call this group "looters." They loot from the creator and producer, those people who create all new wealth (profit) in the world and give to the "moocher," who just takes. The only thing the moocher gives back is his vote.
The best clue to what she teaches is the plotline of "Atlas Shrugged" which is described in this quote from the book: " 'We're on strike,' said John Galt. When asked why, he replied: "Why should this seem so startling? There is only one kind of men who have never been on strike in human history. Every other kind and class have stopped, when they so wished, and have presented demands to the world, claiming to be indispensable -- except the men who have carried the world on their shoulders, have kept it alive, have endured torture as sole payment, but have never walked out on the human race. Well, their turn has come. Let the world discover who they are, what they do and what happens when they refuse to function. This is the strike of the men of the mind, Miss Taggart. This is the mind on strike."
This section will be dedicated to highlighting sections of her works and philosophy st that those who know nothing about it can learn.
Liberal theories are not an expression of ideas, but a bucket of slime emptied in public."
(With thanks to Ayn Rand)
RANDOM SHOTS #110
By Ray Thomas AND THEY WONDER WHY: Bureaucrats in the United States government are doing everything they can to drive a wedge between the American people and the church...and now they wonder why they can't seem to get enough people in church. So now they're spending $30 million dollars to create a church that is also a "shopping mart," hoping that people used to going to the mall will come to church. (Source: "Good Morning America, May 12, 1999) They obviously miss the point. If people think God is no longer in their church, there's no point in wasting their time coming there, is there?
They build multi-million dollar edifices with the money people donate to the church, then don't have enough left over for the things people expect of the church. Then they wonder why people don't come. This sounds a lot like the way the federal government operates: spend like a drunken sailor, then blame it on the taxpayer when they don't have enough to spend some more. There's only one way to get people back in the churches. Make them a place where people feel that God resides. A place where they can "Gather together" and sing His praises. A church/mall ain't gonna do it.
BAN CARS! In Costa Mesa, California, Steven Allen Abrams drove his Cadillac over three innocent children in a school zone, killing two of them. He said: "I was going to execute these children because they were innocent." So maybe we should ban cars altogether, especially Cadillacs. If we use the logic used by the anti-gun fanatics that's what we ought to do. Then maybe there would be no more innocent children killed by cars. That's about as stupid as banning guns because a couple of kids take some into a school and use them to kill some other children.
This tragedy has made my point eloquently: if you get rid of all guns (even if you were able, which you aren't) people will still find a way to kill. What are the fanatics going to do when they've banned everything? Cut off people's hands because they might kill somebody with them? Then they'd just use their feet. How stupid can people be?
WOMAN KILLS HOME INTRUDER: Yet another piece of evidence that if more honest people had guns there would be less crime because there would be fewer criminals. In Heathrow, Florida, Elizabeth MaGruder shot and killed a stalker who had been stalking her for a long time when he entered her home with a handgun (most likely illegally obtained) and a rope. He shot her five times with a .25 cal. handgun, but her .38 was bigger. She survived, but he didn't. Take that, Andrew Hudson! (Andrew Hudson is the press aide to Mayor Wellington Webb in Denver. His only answer to my question: "What makes you think a criminal, who breaks laws for a living, is going to obey a law that says he can't carry a gun?" was: "That's a stupid question." Now he won't even answer my emails. The fact remains it is not a "stupid question," but a logical one, and the fact that he won't answer it is proof that he has no answer.)
"Man cannot survive except by gaining knowledge, and reason is his only means to gain it. Reason is the faculty that perceives, identifies and integrates the material provided by his senses. The task of his senses is to give him evidence of existence, but the task of identifying it belongs to his reason, his senses tell him only that something is, but what it is must be learned by his mind."
(John Galt, in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," page 942)
CELEBRATING FREEDOM (NOT!)
Copyright © 1993 By P. Campbell All Rights Reserved The other day, as the kids and I set out in search of props for a traditional Fourth of July celebration, I decided to explain to the kids what Independence Day was all about. "Yes kids, we are celebrating our independence from a government who wanted too much control...", I began as we climbed into our government licensed and registered vehicle, snapped on our government required seat belts, and made a quick check to see that my 'papers were in order', oh, you know, my driver's license, and government required proof of auto insurance. "...and too many taxes"
"Hmmm", I thought to myself, "we could surely buy a lot more fireworks and hotdogs if we had the 30% plus of Daddy's wages the government commandeers from his paycheck".
"It's traditional to celebrate with firecrackers and pop-bottle rockets, and a wonderful assortment of fireworks!" I went on to say, as we pulled up to a stand displaying only 10-second sparklers and environmentally pollutant smoke bombs. "Ah yes, the government is now protecting us from the fireworks they assume we are too ignorant to know how to use safely and properly" (but weren't we all educated in government schools?).
"Well, let's just get some sparklers," I say with waning enthusiasm.
"LOOK, Mom!" , my son points out, "These fireworks were made in CHINA! Isn't that where they killed some school kids who wanted a little freedom?" My teenager adds, "I read in the newspaper that the Chinese get their organ donors by killing the lucky prisoner with the right DNA." "Eeoouu", my daughter squeals, "and they eat babies!" I finish with, "And our president thinks China is a great nation".
"How appropriate", I now think with just a hint of sarcasm,"We are about to celebrate our freedom with products made in and purchased from a Communist country where the people are considered to be nothing more than raw materials, and freedom seeking students are murdered in the street by a government who knows they can quash opposition because the Chinese PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE GUNS."
"Oh, let's just go home," I sadly respond, "Maybe we'll just burn an American Flag."
So while you were all out celebrating something or other, we just sat home and mourned the loss of our independence. -- P. Campbell Clinton Ark.
Permission to reproduce in whole or in part with full credit to author.
"The creators and producers move the world -- and the moochers and looters feed upon them and hate them for it." (Paraphrase from Atlas Shrugged, page ii)
Other Articles
Bandits With Badges: This has got to be one of the worst examples of police agencies gone amok, using the RICO laws to steal with abandon, then fight amongst themselves over who gets the most loot. A "must read."
Definitions:In order to understand politics, you need to understand how we, and the collectivists define the words we use. When we're debating them, they're sometimes using the same words we use, but they have a very different meaning. This list tells you what we mean when we use words, and in many cases, what they mean.
"It is an absolute that if you produce more than you consume in your lifetime, you're a producer. If you consume more than you produce, you're a moocher or a looter." (Ray Thomas)
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING We freely exchange ads with other publishers. We do not accept paid ads. You may advertise anything not objectionable (such as sex. Pornography, hate, etc.) here. If you'd like to trade ads, send an e-mail copy of the ad to raythomas101@hotmail.com and I'll send you a similar sized ad in trade.
SWEEPSTAKES NEWSLETTER: Explains where and how to enter the country's largest and best sweepstakes. A monthly publication of over 30 sweepstakes each issue. Also has a lot of creative ideas for making money at home. For a sample copy send $2.00 to: MARTIN PUBLICATIONS, Box #86, Marseilles, IL 61341. (TF)
ARE YOUR CHILDREN SAFE…FROM THE GOVERNMENT? If you have children or grandchildren, or even know anybody who does, you need to read this Comprehensive Report. "Target: Your Child" tells you how your children have been targeted as "pawns in the game" by people in the government who want complete control over what is taught them in school without interference from you, their parents. The object of the "child protectors" is to destroy all parental authority and vest it in a government agency. To accomplish that, they'll lie, cheat, frame people and send innocents to prison for many years, and destroy families whether they're guilty or not. They just want the power to teach your children their values instead of yours. Send $3.95 to RAY THOMAS, Box 16247, Denver, CO 80216-0247 and you'll get a copy by return mail. If you think it's a crock after reading this report and researching the facts, just send it back in saleable condition for a full refund, any time.
"THE INTER CIRCLE": An organization that can be of immeasurable help in building a mail order business. It is billed as "The Organization for Ethical Entrepreneurs." You get FREE advertising in their snail mail newsletter and in their Directory. You also get a beautiful membership certificate, access to their entire membership list, and monthly updates on that in their monthly newsletter. If nothing else, it's a "Goldmine" of contact names, both for straight mail order and email order. I counted about 38 names in just the last issue with email addresses. Send for free details to: objective@briefcase.com
CAN YOU LIVE 120 YEARS? The human body is designed to last 120 years or more. Unfortunately, we usually die a lot earlier than that because of a mineral deficiency. To find out why, and learn where you can get ionic minerals to help keep you alive, and even make money helping others do the same, go to the "Stay Alive Longer" web site: http:/www.freeyellow.com/members2/stayalive.
What is sexual harassment? Anything the "victim" or the "enforcer" says it is. Subjective laws allow them to decide just what constitutes breaking the law so they can turn anything into sexual harassment, at will. (Ray Thomas)
This newsletter is FREE. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the "Alert List" that notifies you when a new issue is available go to: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/beyondcommonsense and follow the directions. Published and Copyright © 1999 by Ray Thomas, P. O. Box 16247, Denver, CO 80216-0247. Phone: 720-351-3674.
Email: raythomas101@hotmail.com Publishers and List Moderators: Reprint rights are hereby granted so long as you reprint this publication completely with no editing. The best way to reproduce it in email is to just create a link to it in email if your email program permits it.
Reprinting specific articles under my byline: May be done so long as the copyright indicia and contact information is intact and no changes are made in the text.
Reprinting of specific articles under someone else's byline: you must ask them for permission . There is contact information with each article.
Information Sources
The "Child Protector Watch": This is a web site/free newsletter that keeps the spotlight on the Child Protective Services, who are "out of control" in their quest to take over control of our children so we can't object when they teach them collectivism as an ideal in school.
Free Web Building Help Most people don't need all the fancy "bells and whistles" on a web site which make them expensive. A simple design will do the job.
The" Forced Altruism Scam": This is the "parent" web site for this newsletter. It details how the power seekers are using "forced altruism" as a tool to force the producer of new wealth to work for the betterment of moochers who will not work for their own betterment. How they have convinced Americans that "We are our brother's keeper" so that they can take from the producer at the point of a gun and give to the moocher to buy the votes to keep the power seekers in power over the rest of us.
Archives:
Since this is the first issue done this way, there aren't any archives yet. But starting in the next issue, each previous issue will be archived in complete form.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. Ref.: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml