While reading “The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge” by David McCullough, I came across a passage referring to the death of Emily Roebling, the wife of Washington Roebling, that I found particularly poignant.
CULTURE
A nation’s culture is the sum of the intellectual achievements of individual men, which their fellow-citizens have accepted in whole or in part, and which have influenced the nation’s way of life. Since a culture is a complex battleground of different ideas and influences, to speak of a ‘culture’ is to speak only of the dominant ideas, always allowing for the existence of dissenters and exceptions. — AYN RAND
Freedom Of and From Religion
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
Reality May Be Optional
One of the wonders of modern times is that reality is often seen as a social construct and therefore optional. Thus, if one finds a particular reality offensive or inconvenient, he just “changes” it.
The Sound of Music (1965)
Director Robert Wise's The Sound of Music for 20th Century Fox is an opulent and lavish production. The 1965 movie musical, written by Ernest Lehman, is melodic and cinematic. At the start of its nearly three hours, with sweeping aerial photography in famous opening...
The Virtue of Justice: Judging Others and Self
Despite the teachings of conventional morality, judging others is a virtue from the perspective of rational egoism.
A Right to Discriminate
Why must you be religious to practice what you believe? This should be about individual freedom.
Movie Review: Malcolm X
The words "...by any means necessary," conclude Spike Lee's racist propaganda piece, Malcolm X. This phrase asserting that the ends justify the means, a rationalization for tyranny throughout history, is the movie's theme. Lee capably gives "by any means necessary",...
The Altar of Government Schools
If you send your children to a private school, you are not a bad person. And anyone who claims otherwise is a monster.
Who Trashes Liberal Arts?
Liberal professors have trashed the liberal arts, by converting so many liberal arts courses into indoctrination centers for left-wing causes and fads, instead of courses where students learn how to weigh conflicting views of the world for themselves.
“Common Core” Public Education vs. Critical Thinking
The very name “Common Core” is collectivist (i.e. socialist, communistic) in its orientation. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s deliberate. The bureaucratic intellectuals in Washington DC and elsewhere think this is a good thing.
Socialism is Based on a Philosophy of Death
We Would Not Have Killed 1.7 Million People in our Agrarian Utopia
Hollywood’s Carbon Footprint
No more movies. No more lights. No more power usage.
What to Say When Someone Calls You “Selfish”
I want to control you, which is why I intimidate you by calling you “selfish.”
Movie Review: Selma
Selma is a lost opportunity. A great movie about achieving 20th century progress for blacks in America has yet to be made. Selma is an example of how not to do it.
The Shadow of Selma
Barack Obama belongs on the side of Selma’s oppressor, not on the side of Selma’s oppressed.
College Campus Update: Indoctrination Done in The Name of Education
Let’s update college indoctrination done in the name of education.
Thomas Sowell’s Random Thoughts for March 2015
Random thoughts on the passing scene…
The Feminist Male Demonizing Fantasy of “Rape Culture”
If we forget the difference between violent and non-violent conduct, no one is safe. If we pretend everyone is guilty instead of a few real criminals, rapists win.
The Moral Case for Price “Gouging”
There is a knee-jerk response to the notion of an individual raising the price of his property during a storm that immediately evokes hostility from most people. Why?
Anthony Robbins’ Poisonous Recipe for Love
Robbins poses a false alternative. Either you go into a relationship exclusively to give, or you go into a relationship exclusively to take.
“Common Core” Public Education vs. Critical Thinking
Thinking merged with indoctrination — imposing any kind of agenda from authority — is not education; it’s schooling.
Cancer of Multiculturalism
President Obama’s vision is that of a man brainwashed through an academic vision of multiculturalism, in which American exceptionalism has no place.
Why Be Moral?
Your life depends on it.
Damaging Admissions
Admitting students strictly on the basis of their academic qualifications, which might seem to be common sense, is rejected by many college admissions committees.
Lesson from Brian Williams’ dishonesty: Faking is futile—and hazardous
Why should one follow honesty systematically, as a principle?
Why Be Moral? Your Life Depends On It
Moral principles, such as self-interest, rationality, honesty, justice, integrity, independence, productiveness, and pride, are not based on feelings but on facts.
Tragic School Stories
The best that politicians can do is to give parents and children who are serious about education a mechanism to opt out of rotten schools. That option is something the education establishment fights tooth and nail against.
An Open Letter to Clemson Students
It is our moral obligation as faculty to defend our students’ basic rights to free speech and expression, whether we support those views or not.
Happy Randsday! Give Yourself A Present This Randsday!
To celebrate Randsday, you do something not done on any other holiday: you give yourself a present. Randsday is for getting that longed-for luxury you ordinarily would not buy for yourself.
Cheap Education … For Free
Government freebies foster mediocre education — and expensive mediocre education, at that.
Random Thoughts for January 2015
Demographic “diversity” is a notion often defended with fervor but seldom with facts.
Reasons to Reject Humility
Why do we accept humility as a virtue?