--- In nathaniel_branden@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Lee"
<mikelee.home@c...> wrote:
>
> Nathan wants to take 2 steps forward and to heck with looking back:
>
> > For a number of weeks I've been thinking about why
> > Objectivist-oriented groups seem incapable of dis-
> > cussion that does not degenerate into a disgusting
> > spectacle of bitter acrimony.
>
> I think it's mostly because most Objectivists are weirdos.

Heh. You're always a joy to read, Mike.

As I contemplate an essay on the subject, I must confess
that "weirdos" is not a term I planned to use. Not that I
couldn't...

... 'course there's always "special" and "exceptional."

> Self included. I've gotten better, but I think the
> thing that almost all young Objectivists have in
> common is thinking they can think their way past
> all life problems. That's a weirdo notion. I have a
> hammer, and I'm better at hammering than most everyone
> I know, so everything and everyone looks like a nail.

An apt analogy. Objectivists have their "reason" hammer,
and proceed to pound on eveything in sight with it. I am
not selling the virtues of reason short, mind, just the
habit of pounding on things with "reason" until they
seem to have exactly the shape we desire.

AKA rationalization. Many Objectivists are masters at
self-deluding rationalization--the better the mind, the
greater the potential for mental sorcery.


> > Life-coaching is a forward-thinking approach, and soon
> > the need for that will become more apparent than ever.
>
> The older I get, and perhaps the more distant I get from
> the mundane horrors of my childhood, I realize that I didn't
> really triumph, I just shrugged it off.

There's something to that. I've seen a lot of people get
self-indulgently bogged down with feelings they imagine
they have been "repressing," and while I do not discount
the validity of that mechanism, eventually, for many,
there's something to be said for the "Get over it!"
directive.

...

> Anyhow, it's become increasingly obvious to me that
> skills matter. New Orleans is a pretty good existence
> proof of that. People who don't develop skills drown.
> Dog paddling is an important skill.
>
> I think this coaching model has legs.

Indeed. It's sad to see people stuck in the same be-
havioral ruts year after year, never learning anything
from the conflicts and trials they've experienced.

Instead of a deliberative "What can I learn from this
to make my life better?" it's far too often a knee-jerk
"How can I CMA?"

Nathan Hawking
www.wethethinking.com