First of all, Merry Christmas!! We hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. And in the true spirit of Christmas, Mosley discussed Leonard Peikoff’s article, “Why Christmas Should Be More Commercial” located here for Show 040. Here’s an excerpt:
“…Christmas as we celebrate it today is a 19th-century American invention. The freedom and prosperity of post-Civil War America created the happiest nation in history. The result was the desire to celebrate, to revel in the goods and pleasures of life on earth. Christmas (which was not a federal holiday until 1870) became the leading American outlet for this feeling.” –Leonard Peikoff
As Dr. Peikoff says, Christmas is a time to celebrate and enjoy the world. It is not a time of sacrifice (or of mindless giving for the sake of giving), but a time to be proud of what you’ve accomplished and sharing it with those who are a value to you.
Make it a good one!
What is “God”? A Christian youth group in my town recently concluded that “God is whatever you understand him to be.” In other words, “He can mean anything.” In yet even other words, “He means nothing at all.” This, however, is not what is generally meant when someone says “God”. By “God”, most people mean a personal being, the creator and ruler of the universe, someone that listens to their prayers and cares about them. This is the usage I will use throughout this post.
Does God exist? A god described as all-powerful (omnipotent) and all-knowing (omniscient) would be metaphysically impossible. Nothing can be so powerful so it that may violate the laws of reality. Such a being would necessarily be unreal and, therefore, non-existent. Also, nothing and no one can be conscious of an infinite amount of things at once. To be conscious is to be conscious of something(s), a quantity of things. Infinity, however, is unquantifiable. One may argue that there are only a finite amount of things in the universe of which to be conscious, but it’s important to keep in mind that ideas are included in the universe; and that realm is limitless.
Aside from this, God is simply arbitrary. Even if he were ascribed attributes that fall within the realm of metaphysical conceivability, there is no evidence to support such a being. What about miracles? The extraordinary is not proof of the supernatural. If you were cured of cancer, you should be praising your doctors, not God. And fulfilled prophesies? Many of these “prophesies” are considerably vague, like horoscopes, which can apply to a broad range of situations.
But can there be a morality without God? Absolutely. Nature alone requires that you act a certain way if you want to live; no God is necessary. There can be and is an objective morality that identifies the requirements of man’s life and the means by which to fulfill them. It is called Objectivism.
The topic of this show is collectivism and some of its manifestations, such as racism. After a shout-out to the business owners of Pittsburgh, Mosley read some quotes from the Ayn Rand Lexicon on racism and collective rights, including the following, and then throughly discussed them.
“Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage—the notion that a man’s intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry. Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors.”
“A genius is a genius, regardless of the number of morons who belong to the same race—and a moron is a moron, regardless of the number of geniuses who share his racial origin.”
“A group, as such, has no rights. A man can neither acquire new rights by joining a group nor lose the rights which he does possess. The principle of individual rights is the only moral base of all groups or associations.”
In the second half of the show, there was a caller as well. So check it out!
I love dogs, as many do, but they have their place, and it’s not at the dinner table. According to this article, however, it is in violation of the federal law for a disabled individual accompanied by a guide-dog to be refused service at restaurants.
Laws such as these can be very harmful to businesses. Restaurants can lose many customers in order to accommodate just one of these individuals. There are many people who are allergic to animals and some who just don’t want animals around while they’re eating.
The main issue here, however, is individual rights. It’s unfortunate if someone is disabled, but what gives them the right to impose their problems on others? Nothing. Just like anyone else, it is their responsibility to deal with their own problems. Otherwise, they can rely on the charity of others.
Once again, the government is going beyond its sole purpose of protecting rights and, instead, violating them.
Mosley and Arthur discuss the writers’ strike that has been making the headlines. Though, rather than focusing on the details of this strike in particular, the discussion mainly covered the underlying principles. Here are just a few that were mentioned:
- Employment isn’t a war of employers vs. employees, masters vs. slaves. Employers and employees share a common goal — to be productive — and should collaborate if they intend to be successful.
- Contracts are mutual agreements. When you choose a job voluntarily and sign the contract, you are morally obligated to abide by it. If you don’t like the terms, then don’t take the job! But if you change your mind and demand something outside of your contract, you have no right to break it and go on strike.
- Think you’re worth more than you’re paid? Talk about it. Present evidence to your boss and discuss it. If that doesn’t work, you can threaten to take your work elsewhere. And if no one will pay you that much, you may want to reevaluate your worth.
- The pie just got a whole lot bigger and I want my slice. If a company endures an increase in success, don’t think that means you are entitled to a larger wage because of it. If you feel you deserve it, talk to your boss, but that money is not yours yet. It may even be going back into the company so that it can become even more successful and perhaps eventually give you those benefits you’ve been after.
Listen to the show to hear more!
Please send us any comments you may have, including possible show topics. And of course, listen to the show every Sunday at 8pm!
