philosophy Archives - American Wordsmith

Religion Versus America

I felt compelled today to read this entire lecture given by Leonard Peikoff in 1986 because the message is still just as relevant, if not more so, today than back then. After hearing talk show hosts, like Ben Shapiro, conservative friends, and right-wing publishing companies tell me over and over again that America was built by our “God-fearing founding fathers” and in order to save America we need to bring back “under God,” I finally had enough.

I wish I could shout this message into a nationwide microphone that there is not only a path between the “atheist Democrats” and the “religious Republicans.” It’s a false dichotomy! What about the citizens of the United States who are pro-freedom, pro-individuality, pro-reason? Aren’t they the only true bastion of morality and spirit left in this country, the ones who kept it afloat for all these years?

Allow me to read Dr. Peikoff’s powerful words to remind everyone how America was founded and truly flourished in spite of the religious influence of the times.

To read the entire lecture, please visit: https://courses.aynrand.org/works/religion-versus-america/.

***

Links: https://courses.aynrand.org/people/leonard-peikoff/; https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Reason-Objectivist-Thought-Library/dp/0452010462?tag=aynrandorgcampus-20; https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.58837/

_____________________________________________________________

Views Expressed Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the postings, strategies, or opinions of American Wordsmith, LLC. Please also know that while I consider myself an Objectivist and my work is inspired by Objectivism, it is not nor should it be considered Objectivist since I am not the creator of the philosophy. For more information about Ayn Rand’s philosophy visit: aynrand.org.

Don’t Die

I recently read Bryan Johnson’s free e-book, Don’t Die, where he lays out his philosophy behind his Blueprint protocol. Unfortunately, I found his core message, “to fire the brain,” to go directly against the Objectivist philosophy of which I ascribe to. Objectivism holds that

Man’s essential characteristic is his rational faculty. Man’s mind is his basic means of survival—his only means of gaining knowledge . . . .

In order to sustain its life, every living species has to follow a certain course of action required by its nature. The action required to sustain human life is primarily intellectual: everything man needs has to be discovered by his mind and produced by his effort. Production is the application of reason to the problem of survival” (“What Is Capitalism?” Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 16).

Our brain is running the entire show, and it is a part of our entire body. You cannot sever one from the other (see “mind-body dichotomy” in the Ayn Rand Lexicon). In fact, your brain functions better when you are sleeping, eating, and exercising right. I think Bryan Johnson needs to clarify what he means when he discusses how our, perhaps, lazy, or depressed, or what have you personality wants to commit self-harm. But that is more of a psychological issue and not a physical one that the mind and body are failing to perform. Therapy is probably where most people need to start.

In his latest YouTube video, entitled “Watch These 39 Minutes If You Want To Live To 200+,” Bryan Johnson is giving a talk to an audience and toward the very end he says, “We do align on this one objective [don’t die]. […] You step one step above, we’re gonna become tribal.” Basically, he’s claiming that all people can agree on “don’t die.” However, if he knew Ayn Rand’s philosophy, then he would see that he’s wrong. Even in his discussion of “Evening Bryan,” who is the self-harm part of him, he is admitting that sometimes psychologically we are not fighting to live.

What I am saying is that not all people genuinely want to live or be alive or actively not die. Look at smokers or alcoholics or drug addicts—they all know that they are killing themselves and yet they continue to do harm with substances. In Rand’s fiction, there are numerous “villains,” who are deemed such because they are for death as opposed to life. They seek to take down society with them. It’s similar to school shooters who are so depressed that their own “life goal” is to cause pain to others and take them with him into the void. People are not in agreement over “don’t die.” In fact, as I’ve said on this channel before, people are constantly making that decision every single day they continue to live: live or die, live or die, eat the apple or eat the cake for lunch, smoke this cigarette or quit today, live or die, live or die, feed my baby or skip feeding them, continue my college education or kill my roommate, live or die, live or die. It’s a constant hum in the background of our lives, whether we consciously acknowledge it or not.

Bryan Johnson seems to be a bit naïve about people in general, possibly from having been part of the Morman faith for so long before leaving it. That’s why I always advocate reading classic or literary fiction as a way to peer into someone’s mind for an honest depiction of the human mind.

Even I can remember the days in school when I was hiding from my struggles at home and homework kept my mind off the pain. And so, I would do my homework into the wee hours of the night from middle school up through college at the expense of my health. Internally, I was in survival mode, and I would have rather died than put the work down. On the outside, I may have looked happy and normal, albeit tired. But on the inside, I was combusting, full of fireworks and fury. My whole soul would put sleep on hold, taking my health hostage. I needed help. I needed therapy. Only now am I able to fix what I had broken, slowly, very slowly. But it is not my mind that needed firing, it was my emotions. But, of course, you can’t fire your emotions—they are there to serve as red flags to protect you. Listen to them! And go seek the help you need in order to continue to make healthy decisions to live a long, beautiful life.

***

Links: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/125228–thomas-vanhuyse/anatomie/objecten#/RP-P-1903-A-23532,2; https://protocol.bryanjohnson.com/DONT-DIE-by-Zero; https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Ideal-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451147952; http://aynrandlexicon.com/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkS1Eww5jTc&ab_channel=BryanJohnson

_____________________________________________________________

Creating a Lifestyle Worth Living

As I approach my thirties, I have come to truly learn what kind of job I can not only handle but not dread from day to day. From micromanaging bosses to the gossip around the watercooler, I have not looked back since choosing to go freelance. I worked during college at my school’s private library for four years as a part-time student assistant, then as a receptionist in a law firm, and finally as a library assistant in a public library before being fed up with the pace and lifestyle those kinds of jobs made for me.

I have always been self-driven and goal-directed without the “helpful push” of a boss. I have always been my own boss. (My carefully filled-out agenda each school year would tell you as much). And with this personality came the difficulty of watching my peers slack off and enjoy standing still in their jobs while I felt like I was suffocating. Once I had paid off my student loans in about five years, I resigned from my last employee-centered job and went full-time freelance.

I began my freelance proofreading journey by taking the Proofread Anywhere course in 2017, and by 2018, I had completed the exam successfully. At this time, I was a receptionist at a law firm because the law had always interested me. My philosophy professors in college certainly pushed their students into law during my time there. It was considered a more “practical job” over becoming a philosopher, I suppose.

Proofreading has now become my longest-held job, and I have no plans to quit now. To me, typos had always jumped out on the page while reading books or other people’s papers. Perhaps I can thank my mother and father for reading to me at an early age and allowing me to challenge myself with more difficult reading material. My mother was also a writer and her day job consisted of copywriting for publishing houses, and my father wrote poetry for pleasure. Words were always a part of my world.

As a child, I loved holding my younger brother hostage, reading out loud from any book I could get my hands on. I would read for hours until my voice gave out. All of those moments of getting lost in a book, listening to the cadence of my voice rising and falling like waves, were so deliciously addictive. Nothing interested me more than continuing to read…and I still feel the same way.

With copious amounts of reading blossoms a desire for quiet, space, and routine. I grew accustomed to sitting in my home alone in silence and maximizing my time to accommodate more reading. This lifestyle translated extremely well into becoming a remote proofreader. I pull up the chair to my desk with my rather small laptop open on it, sitting in the quiet and reading most of my transcripts and manuscripts out loud. The lull of my voice carries the words back into my head, tripping an alarm every time I come across an error or something that simply does not sound or look right.

I usually have a split screen between the piece I’m proofreading and the Internet or a style guide sheet. Usually, reference books are strewn around me on various tables to my left and right. The thing about proofreading is that you have all the answers at your fingertips—you just have to know where to quickly search for them. Decision fatigue sets in after answering a million questions that crop up after reading every sentence with so much care. This is why I am being paid to do it. Proofreading can cause headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue. I have experienced it all. But I am good at it, and, while it is hard work, I love it.

Opening up a fresh transcript from a court reporter, I learn so much about any number of topics. I always wanted to learn everything growing up, and since we have yet to produce a chip to insert into our brains, I have had to spend time reading to learn. My desire to know more is not hindered by my job now—it is quenched. I learn new legal terms in Latin or medical terms or criminal slang on any given day.

When a publishing company asked me to copyedit and/or proofread for them a few years into my proofreading career, I paused. In college, we had creative writing workshops which were essentially learning to give editorial advice on everything from developmental, structural, and grammatical aspects. And I loathed it. Why? Sadly, the culture in this country, especially in the universities, is one of liberal, collectivist thought. I disagreed to my core with most of the stories. The fictional pieces were filled with things the college students had read in their other classes or filled with childish clichés from a lack of reading enough or riddled with grammatical errors that were acceptable to pass off as a “stylistic choice” thanks to modern writers everywhere. Not only was editing not appealing to me, but freelance writing and journalism paid for writers to produce work for businesses and products that I did not care about. My words (and brainpower) felt too precious to waste on those challenging jobs, writing was already hard enough.

My college days taught me that I would never be able to become a professor, though I loved learning, or an editor, though I loved writing, or a traditionally published author, though I knew my writing was good enough. My choices were made and shaped so much by this culture. But without feeling too much pity for myself, I decided that I still wanted to live a happy life on this earth right here and now.

So I pulled away from the “traditional 9–5” in exchange for the atypical freelance life. I took control of who I interacted with on a daily basis, which mostly consists now of my husband, family, and friends. I behave with the proper etiquette to all strangers I meet, but I do not engage any more than I need to. I guard my time carefully, and I devote myself to the most black-and-white type of work possible in the writing world: proofreading.

In another blog post, I wrote about how I considered proofreading a skill, calligraphy a craft, and writing an art. I wrote the novels that were in my soul when they needed to be written and put them out into the world myself. I practiced calligraphy after a long workday to help free my mind from the meaning of words to focus more on the beautiful shapes they made instead. (Plus, I had always wanted my cursive to look like my mother’s when I was young). However, in the spirit of transparency, living in Iowa and in this dormant age, the royalty checks are not large enough and the calligraphy clients are few and far between. Most of my money comes from proofreading alone.

While I struggle financially, I am not a “starving artist” thanks to the help of my wonderful husband. I surely help supplement our family income, but I am not at all the breadwinner. I am learning to be okay with my status, investing myself in more of the domestic duties around the home while continuing to learn as much as I can, since knowledge means much more to me than wealth. In a proper society, the value that I produce would bring me the appropriate amount of money, but this is not a healthy period. I acknowledged this reality, and so I adapted my life accordingly.

I continue to incorporate my skill, craft, and art into my daily life, and it is not something I ever plan to retire from. I won my freedom back from a school system that expected us to conform to the traditional workforce. I have created a life that I feel good about. And with my husband and me beginning to plan for children, I can stay at home with them in the future while working. A new chapter of my life is beginning and, for once, I feel grounded and in control of it.

My hope is more people think critically about the work that would fit best with their own personality and lifestyle. I realize that my path of being very much a homebody and self-directed is not for everyone. But it is what makes me happy. What makes you happy? If you had all the free time in the world, what would you do with your time? Is there a way you can monetize your passion for something? Go out there and create the world you want to live in, even if that is only within your own four walls.

_____________________________________________________________

To Readers

Mission Statement: “I write to inspire readers to cherish the most meaningful moments found in daily life.”

***

Kaitlyn Bankson (born Kaitlyn Marie Quis in New York, January 3, 1994), better known by her pen name Kaitlyn Lansing, is an American writer, calligrapher, and proofreader. Kaitlyn studied literature and philosophy throughout her education, which shaped her creative voice. Her published works include: Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Poems; Unveiled: An Anthology of Nonfiction; Urgency: An Anthology of Short Stories; Marginalia from the Snake Pit: A Novella; The Paper Pusher; The Dormant Age; A Man of Silence; and A Man of Action. Kaitlyn’s unique perspective and raw prose bring light to matters that are often left untouched. Readers can see more of Kaitlyn’s work at kaitlynlansing.com.

_____________________________________________________________

Finding My Own Voice

It was in high school the first time I noticed my gut telling me in class that what I was hearing was wrong but could not say why. I was lost in the dark with just a feeling of nausea hanging over me most of the time. I found clarity and words for what I was feeling over the summer when my dad handed me Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I was fifteen. It took me a few weeks to read through, but I was glued to it. I had finally found a voice, a role model, an inspiration out there in the sea of darkness.

But after sticking my head out in class several times, I learned quickly that my opinions were not the norm nor were they very popular. I decided to stop chiming in as much and that only diminished further when I got to college—one of the most liberal bastions of thought on the planet. My poorly graded papers on Kant in my philosophy classes again showed me that if I was going to get my degree I had to remain silent.

I joined the workforce soon after as a receptionist in a law firm, where, of course, my job was to be accommodating and likable—not confrontational, so I stayed quiet for fear of losing my job.

I fell in love, moved, and ended up in my second library job since college. Here I was surrounded by more of the same ideologies and I knew better now to keep quiet.

I had written by then books, but none of them were picked up by the liberal publishing houses. I even had agents sympathetic to me tell me that anything that even slightly reeked of alternative ideas would never see the light of day.

So, like many of the YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcast, etcetera, channels I have watched grow for lack of a voice in the mainstream media, I have had to try whispering into the void—dipping my toes in to see if my head will be lopped off for my opinions.

I now work for myself as a freelancer and I have nothing to lose, really. I have no teachers or professors there to lower my grades, I have no boss to fire me, I am completely on my own now and able to sink or swim by my own design.

I wonder all the time who is “my audience”? Who is out there to hear me now shouting into the void? Who will respond with an echo? Will it be a young man who calls himself an Objectivist? Will it be a stay-at-home mother who wants to be reminded of how wonderful life can be? Will it be a business owner who needs some inspiration?

I hope to find my audience someday or at least some friends who share the same values that I have gained ever since I read Atlas Shrugged that glorious summer.

_____________________________________________________________

Who Am I and What Do I Believe In?

As I wrote about in the previous blog post, Atlas Shrugged and, subsequently, all of the other works that Ayn Rand produced have changed my life. My interest in her led me to the Ayn Rand Institute where I interned, joined the Objectivist Academic Center, attended conferences, and even became a student leader for them. I learned more about Rand’s philosophy as well as how to communicate and write more effectively. It served as my saving grace away from my constantly learning what not to do or think in college. I will forever be grateful for my opportunities there, and I still tune in to their podcasts every week!

Once I had finished consuming all of Rand’s works, I felt comfortable enough considering myself an Objectivist. Objectivism is defined briefly in the “About the Author” section of the Appendix in Atlas Shrugged, where Rand writes: “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” To break that down a bit more take a look at the Ayn Rand Lexicon online where she breaks down the branches of Objectivism further in “Introducing Objectivism” in The Objectivist Newsletter (Aug. 1962):

My philosophy, Objectivism, holds that:

Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

She also includes in “Philosophy: Who Needs It” from her book, Philosophy: Who Needs It that “[t]he fifth and last branch of philosophy is esthetics, the study of art, which is based on metaphysics, epistemology and ethics.”

In essence, I want to be clear to my readers that I am, in the crudest sense, an atheist who believes in capitalism. And all of my work, motivation, and subsequent goals since I was fifteen have stemmed from those values that I have held close to me. Anyone who is offended by such views is free to put my work down and forget about my existence. But for those who share my views, welcome and enjoy my work.

_____________________________________________________________