Common Sayings Reevaluated

1. Christians say, “I asked Jesus into my heart,” “I was born again,” or “I was saved,” or else we probably were not.
2. Christians don’t say hello, we “greet one another with a hug and a holy kiss.”
3. When Christians say goodbye, we declare, “Have a Jesus-filled day!”
4. To a complete stranger, a “good Christian” won’t hesitate to announce, “Jesus loves you, and so do I!”
5. Whether affectionately or with pity, you may never be sure, Christians often say, “Bless your heart,” which is always pronounced with thick southern sweetness. Go ahead and say it again. You know you want to: “Bless your heart.”
6. For grins or groans, now throw this in: “God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.” (But, you know, that’s not in the Bible, right?)
7. When the pastor preaches a powerful message and the choir’s songs are especially pleasing to the ear, Christians exclaim at the close of the service, “We had church!”
8. Wait just a minute. We don’t say, “The pastor preached a powerful message.” No, Christians say, “The pastor was Holy Ghost-filled and the Word of the Lord was anointed.”
9. Christians don’t have good days, we “get the victory!” And a great day is a “mountaintop experience.” Can someone say “Amen?”
10. Christians don’t have bad days, either! No, we’re “under attack from the devil, as Satan roams like a roaring lion to destroy us.”
11. Christians don’t ever say, “Have a good day!” We say, “Have a blessed day.”
12. Christians don’t have parties, we have “fellowship” and dinner parties are “pot blessings.”
13. Christian[s] don’t get depressed; we have “a spirit of heaviness.”
14. An enthusiastic Christian is “on fire for God!”
15. Christians don’t have discussions, we “share.”
16. Similarly, Christians don’t gossip, we “share prayer requests.”
17. Christians don’t tell stories, we “give a testimony” or a “praise report.”
18. When a Christian does not know how to respond to someone who is hurting, we utter, “Well, I’ll be praying for you.” After that comes, “God is in control.” Next, we say, “All things work together for good.” Should I keep ‘em coming? “If God closes a door, he’ll open a window,” and another favorite: “God allows everything for a purpose.”
19. Christians don’t make decisions, we are “led by the Spirit.”
20. Christians RSVP with phrases such as, “I’ll be there if it’s God’s will,” or “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.”
21. When a Christian makes a mistake, we say, “I’m forgiven, not perfect.”
22. Christians know that a really terrible lie is “belched from the pit of hell.”
23. Christians don’t insult or say rude things to a brother or sister in the Lord. No, we “speak the truth in love.” However, if someone should mistakenly feel judged or rebuked, we say, “Hey, I’m just keepin’ it real.”
24. If a Christian meets someone who is stressed or anxious, we know they simply need to “let go and let God.”
25. Last but not least, Christians don’t die, we “go home to the be with the Lord.”		1. Objectivists say, “I asked the love of my life into my heart,” “I was born to be selfish and happy,” or “I was drowning in altruism,” or else we probably were not.
2. Objectivists don’t say hello, we “greet one another with a bow of the head with respect for each other’s individuality.”
3. When Objectivists say goodbye, we declare, “Have an ego-filled day!”
4. To a complete stranger, a “good Objectivist” won’t hesitate to announce, “Your reason loves you, and so do I!”
5. Whether affectionately or with pity, you may never be sure, Objectivists often say, “A is A,” which is always pronounced with thick southern sweetness. Go ahead and say it again. You know you want to: “A is A.”
6. For grins or groans, now throw this in: “You work in mysterious ways when you are not thinking rationally.” (But, you know, that’s not in Atlas Shrugged, right?)
7. When the Ayn Rand Institute podcaster preaches a powerful message and our internal choir’s songs are especially pleasing to the ear, Objectivists exclaim at the close of the episode, “We had logic!”
8. Wait just a minute. We don’t say, “The ARI podcaster preached a powerful message.” No, Objectivists say, “The podcaster was Reason-filled and the Word of the Self was anointed.”
9. Objectivists don’t have good days, we “feel a sense of life!” And a great day is a “benevolent universe experience.” Can someone say “Amen” like Peikoff?
10. Objectivists don’t have bad days, either! No, we’re “under attack from the whim-worshippers, as tribalists roam like a roaring lion to destroy us.”
11. Objectivists don’t ever say, “Have a good day!” We say, “Have a virtuous day.”
12. Objectivists don’t have parties, we have “OCON” and dinner parties are “pots of gold.”
13. Objectivists don’t get depressed; we have “a spirit of moral judgment.”
14. An enthusiastic Objectivist is “on fire for heroes!”
15. Objectivists don’t have discussions, we “debate.”
16. Similarly, Objectivists don’t gossip, we “share our honest opinions.”
17. Objectivists don’t tell stories, we “give a philosophical argument” or “praise Rand’s work.”
18. When an Objectivist does not know how to respond to someone who is hurting, we utter, “Well, I’ll be thinking of you.” After that comes, “You are in control.” Next, we say, “All things can be handled if you adapt.” Should I keep ‘em coming? “If an opportunity closes its door, a new one will open,” and another favorite: “Don’t leave your life to chance.”
19. Objectivists make decisions, we are “led by objective knowledge.”
20. Objectivists RSVP with phrases such as, “I’ll be there if it brings value to my life,” or “If I’m willing and the second-handers don’t rise.”
21. When an Objectivist makes a mistake, we say, “I’m perfect, just not omniscient, sorry.”
22. Objectivists know that a really terrible lie is “belched from the pit of delusion.”
23. Objectivists don’t insult or say rude things to a brother or sister in the community. No, we “speak the truth in love and the good.” However, if someone should mistakenly feel judged or rebuked, we say, “Hey, I’m just keepin’ it rational.”
24. If an Objectivist meets someone who is stressed or anxious, we know they simply need to “make a plan and execute.”
25. Last but not least, Objectivists don’t die, “it’s the world that will end.” [But, also, DON’T DIE—thank you, Bryan Johnson.]

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Links: https://www.learnreligions.com/cliches-christians-say-700635; http://www.aynrandlexicon.com; https://medium.com/future-literacy/one-meal-23-hr-fast-100-nutrition-18187a2f5b

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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.

Why Did I Write A Man of Silence?

***WARNING: SPOILERS***

I essentially wrote A Man of Silence as a way to describe what daily gratitude looks like in slow living, while also coming (somewhat) to terms with my own divorce.

The idea of a cathedral (which then became a monastery) came to me when I began college. I think I noticed for the first time just how sheltered I had been and this new, fast, hard lifestyle made me vulnerable. I learned that I ached for my time alone and in silence.

Could I live happily without religion? Could I be a moral person without religion? Those were my main concerns throughout college as I was still unclear about how vital secular morality was to my life, even though I had already found Objectivism. I had yet to truly delve deep into the philosophy.

Brother John escapes from his former “normal” life in search of the one he desires—the monastic one. However, he is an atheist. So, the main conflict for me was to show how religious people blindly follow their passions or what religious leaders tell them or the Bible, while the rational, secular Man follows his own mind and his own interests. The picture leads to one that paints the religious as more often “sinful” than the nonreligious.

Though, Brother John is not without his own demons either, since he is searching through his routine and rituals for some ultimate standard of “Truth” and “Beauty,” as a poet might, all while denying his passions entirely. It makes for a man who is oftentimes struggling with himself. Still, I find his behavior less reprehensible than the religious men in the story who have sex with prostitutes, or flagellate themselves just for suffering’s sake, or call upon students to hurt other people for political gain.

Secular morality has to be learned; it is not innate. And I believe that as long as a person is trying to learn something honestly, even when mistakes are made, they are still morally perfect. But those who are living dishonestly and are never truly bettering themselves, such as the other monks presented in this story, well, they are imperfect human beings who will never find peace.

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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.

Why Did I Write The Dormant Age?

***WARNING: SPOILERS***

I essentially wrote The Dormant Age as a way to praise and commemorate my lifelong hobby as well as a critique on modern ballet and its destructive ways.

Madame Roberts is clearly the good foil to the bad Madame Angulaire. She teaches her students not only ballet but how to live with grace throughout life—from youth (Dawn) to old age (Natalie).

The main launching point for the conflict came from a college course (of course) called, Meaning and Purpose of the Arts, where I was introduced for the first time to Martha Graham’s work. I will never forget the day when I watched that video of her thrusting herself to and fro in that ridiculous and ugly purple tube of fabric to the choppy, sporadic sounds of the piano (Lamentation, 1930). Ballet requires music, otherwise it is just pantomime or without movement it is no longer dance. But even the music deteriorated into irrational bits, screeching out with no rhyme or reason. The whole scene felt like some sick charade. I wanted to scream in the middle of class I was so angry. My body shook as if I had been slapped violently across the face, or as if my professor had spit on me for daring to believe that classical ballet was beautiful, something above the rest, when I should be wriggling in the ground like a worm.

The way I knew ballet was as a set of purposeful movements aimed at ennobling Man. Dance was not meant to show him ugly and weak and utterly irrational. Yet, here before me was a dancer trying to turn the art I knew and loved and honored into garbage.

So, I wrote about how our “modern art” movement is destroying the simple line. There is nothing wrong with this line. People just want to be different and get their doctorates based off of lies. The post-modern movement in art means doing the exact opposite of anything classical. It is upholding death over life.

Already being a staunch Objectivist, I could feel the evil in that classroom that day. The book idea was clear to me then, only earning my degree and then earning enough money pushed back the writing work until recently.

Classical ballet is all about growing up learning to refine one’s movements, to take hold of the subtle changes in the body. A child has minor control over their mind and body, but an adult controls both. The ideal Man has grace and poise—utter control—over his entire being. (Remember Tolstoy’s line about how bad families are equivalent to how many bad philosophies there are out there versus the few good ones). Classical ballet upholds a good, rational culture, while modern ballet seeks to destroy it and leaves nothing in its place.

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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.