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Politics is Personal

November 16, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

A speech given by Paul McKeever to the attendees of Freedom Party of Ontario’s
November 15th “Politics is Personal” Dinner
Lamplighter Hotel, 591 Wellington Road, London, Ontario

 

The theme of tonight’s dinner is “Politics is Personal”.  Although the theme was one ultimately chosen by Bob Metz, the idea of the personal nature of politics has worked its way into a lot of my thinking in recent years.

There are several senses in which politics is personal.  For my part, tonight, I will submit to you that the fact that politics is personal is the reason that we are all gathered in this room tonight.

What I find most striking is the extent to which many in society have tried to hide the fact that politics is personal.  They hide its personal nature by the division of governmental powers.  They hide it with elections.  And they hide it with political parties. Read more

The Weak

November 8, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

To produce the values upon which ones survival and happiness depend, one must engage in rational action. Those who are more consistently rational, and those who are physically more powerful, are the strong. The irrational, and the physically less powerful, are the weak. Read more

ANALYSIS: Is a Good "Atlas Shrugged" Movie Possible?

September 27, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

Over the last few years, a trilogy of movies has been released based upon Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. I was asked by the movie company to review the first installment (you can read my review here), but I’ve not seen the 2nd and 3rd installments. Nor have I paid much attention to what was done in those two installments. Suffice it to say that many Objectivists (i.e., people who follow Ayn Rand’s philosophy, and love her novels) have condemned the trilogy (in some cases, because of some of the advisors and others associated with the production, including David Kelley and Nathaniel Branden). Not having seen parts 2 and 3, I’ll not comment upon them. However, I am interested in the question of whether it is even possible to convert Rand’s 1100+ page novel into a three-part movie that does the book any justice. Would it be necessary – as some hold – to convert the book into a mini-series?

Today, I performed a little analysis. The methodology would rightly be considered weak and incomplete, but it provides one with at least a sense of the nature of the task faced by a person trying to convert the book into a movie. Read more

The Lexicon of Man: “Free”, “Freedom”, & “Free Society”

April 23, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

In the context of the political philosophy of Man, the terms “free”, “freedom”, and “free society” are properly defined as follows: Read more

OkStupid: The Progressive Conservatives' Leftist Attack on Morality and Freedom

April 7, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

The freedom to speak ones mind without being fined or imprisoned does not imply the freedom to speak ones mind without being shunned, publicly humiliated, or condemned. So long as the misguided advocates of alleged “free speech” make that false inference, they will serve only as enemies of morality and freedom. And, for that, they must be shunned, publicly humiliated, and condemned…as follows. Read more

In 5 sentences: What is Objectivism, and how does it differ from libertarianism?

January 29, 2014 by · 1 Comment 

A member of the facebook.com community asked:

“Can someone explain to me in 5 sentences or less what objectivism is and how it differs from libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism without saying “it’s Ayn Rand’s philosophy,” telling me to read a book, or sending me a hyperlink. I just want a short explanation. That’s all. —> EDIT: Use a dozen sentences if necessary. Just don’t write a novel or use philosophical lingo I won’t understand.”

I replied as follows: Read more