Existing Alternatives

I hate to belabour this point, especially since it does not seem to gain me any support here, but just two last points about Ayn Rand: how many other Russian-speaking authors had to be translated into Russian? and exactly how long is "very long" since she was translated (probably after '90s and likely after her death, meaning she had very little if any input into this translations)? And it is fantastic that you were able to find people to discuss these ideas with! It is extremely unfortunate for the society, but I also think that mantras do go much deeper than Communism / Socialism. If anything Russian people likely fallen into Communism because of their deep cultural notions, including Orthodoxy, communal living, and love for the Tsar-father figure. And Orthodoxy is still pretty well and alive there - I can not think of any other country in history that experienced such a strong acceptance of religion in such a short period of time as Russia did in the last 20 year. And Tsar-figure... well... Btw, when you do speak to your friends / family about ideas of philosophy and libertarianism, which Russian-language sources do you refer them to?

Ok, so let's not throw "phobic" labels around. Merely thinking that one language can be more adapt for certain concepts than the other, hardly justifies "hating all things attributable to that culture and people" label. And how can Russia (a country) do things? Btw, you would think Ayn Rand would have translated her most fundamental work for the benefit of the group (not "bunch" of course) of people who needed it most at the time, but she did not. I do not know why. My hypothesis is that she might have found it hard using the language. As I stated above, it is my hypothesis based on my personal experience and understanding. The reason why people state their hypotheses here is to have them either debunked or supported.

My last post is a response to Aleles' question about "FDR content [...] under the influence of the "russian mindset"" So, "Russian mindset" is really not my term. The concern about language, however, is all mine. I do find it extremely hard to translate into Russian concepts that are so easily explainable in English. Just like the equation above. It could be just me, but I think it is more than just my failure. Have Ayn Rand ever translated Atlas Shrugged in Russian (I actually dont know)? Of all people she would have been the best person to do the explanation of rationality, but something tells me she did not (or could not). I am very happy to hear that you are able to communicate with your family and friends and would like to learn more about it. And the only reason I "constantly" bring up Russians in this thread, is that it is the subject of this thread (kind of).

This is part of an issue with the "Russian mindset" - Russian language itself does not readily avail itself to such concepts. But this is a fantastic exercise, before one embarks on the whole "let's translate the entire UPB," it's important to check if we can translate even three words... Here is my take: разум = добродетель = счастье And, btw, to your other forum discussion, these are true "equal signs", not implications.

Thank you for stopping hitting your kids and congratulations. Unfortunately, yelling is only marginally better. One important point that helped me through similar transition was the whole mirroring concept. In case you are not familiar with it, kids learn by mirroring their parents. If you are impatient with your kids, they will be impatient; if you are violent, they will be violent; if you are yelling – so will they, and so forth. Now that you made a decision to move towards the non-violent parenting, it is important to communicate that to the kids (and ensure that your spouse is 100% on board). It is also important to ask their forgiveness for your previous trespasses against them. You are now partners in this journey and they should feel empowerment and trust. I also think you should really trust them in this. They are little angels, I am sure, they will be more than happy to help you help them. At first the transition is extremely frustrating. It takes a lot of planning, engaging your kids in planning, explanation, and tons of patience. You are turning a pretty big ship around. But the results will be surprisingly fast and extremely rewarding. All the best and please keep us posted on the progress.

Thank you for clarifying. Toren, sorry for assuming it was you (yes, I was relying simply on your response). My post had actually nothing to do with “bunching” people – far from it. It is simply a response to the OP on searching for “rational, psychologically aware Russian-speaking people out there.” As far as I can tell, the ideas of rationality and self-awareness are not particularly prevalent in either Russian or Russian-speaking communities. Would you not agree? I would love to be proven wrong. And no, Ayn Rand does not count – she is way too much of an exception, and is likely more American than Russian as far as philosophy is concerned.

Thank you for the information. And no, I don’t mind the wall of text, when it concerns my son’s well-being. There is definitely something evil about book-ending each “knots, firs-aid, camp prep” meeting with reciting pledges, oaths, and prayers. I could be wrong, but I assume that many kids pay a lip-service to most of that nonsense, which could be even worse, as most of that being unprocessed would go straight into a child’s subconscious. =========================================== Thank you all again for the information! As a follow-up, I am now fully in the “no-scout” camp. It seems like it would be so much more beneficial for all of us to learn and apply these skills together as a family.

This is very strange, the original post received virtually no responses for over a year, and now there are four within one day! I guess rationality is winning in the Russian-speaking circles. Toren, it sounds like you are agreeing with me, that Russians in general aren’t really receptive to the ideas of rational thinking. Especially, given the history of communism, royalty-worshiping, orthodoxy and general communal way of thinking. Clearly, there would be exceptions, like, perhaps, ourselves and even Ayn Rand. If it is so, why downvote?

Unfortunately, you are right @Rainbow Jamz, it does not look like it was made up... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabina_Spielrein

That movie really made me sick. Especially, the very beginning. So, this little girl was brought up in a household, where a father had a special “little room,” where he would beat his children. And the girl got wet because of the “excitement” of being beat at the age of… (I forgot what it was, but it was in single digits). Surprise, she now cannot function properly. But the most sickening part is that after learning all that and realising that it was her father who paid for the treatment, Jung does a quick calculation and proceeds with the normal course not even once recalling that perhaps her father did something wrong. Oh, and he also screws her while beating, re-enacting her early childhood trauma. I sure hope it’s made up.

Thank you all for these insights. Based on what I am hearing I will hold off getting him to join in just yet. At this stage it is simply me looking for ways to get my little one engaged in outdoorsy, survival-type of activities. I guess, we'll keep looking. @QueechoFeecho, I almost feel that the energy spent trying to talk him through the "god and country stuff" could be much better applied towards me learning and teaching him all the good things that scouts may have. As far as navigating the enemy territory - perhaps, too young... @tasmlab, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I want him to grow up being able to respect his own word. If you give an oath, you might as well mean it. If he pays lip service to half of the obligation, why would he take the rest seriously. At the same time, ranking, if I am not mistaken, is more merit-based, which is something I am ok with. @AustinJames, I did not even want to get into the whole sexual abuse stuff. How prevalent do you think it is? I particularly like your point on family being the best organisation to go camping and learning skills. We actually do have a fairly large extended family and we do get to camp maybe once a year. It has nothing to do with skills, but the foundation is already there. He is by no means adamant to join scouts, if anything he is somewhat ignorant of the organisation itself. I am afraid that I myself push him towards it too much. @omegahero09, I am not looking for respect of atheists. It sounds more like "special accommodation." My biggest concern is indoctrination. If anything, I would consider it even worse, if the scoutmaster (or whatever they are called) would have to do things differently "because little Johnny is special." That won't score him any friends. @LanceD, did you try just one troop, or any kind of comparison shopping? Or do you find the entire approach faulty? Thank you for recommending the book. I looked it up, sounds like a step in the right direction. Btw, here is what it says in the Amazon's description of the Canadian edition... "It includes stories of famous battles, such as the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and features legendary Canadians such as Francis Pegahmagabow, the heroic Ojibway sniper who fought bravely in World War I." I hope that's not all that's in there

I cannot seem to find any actual stats, but isn't the answer self-evident. If men on average have higher incomes, in the progressive taxation environment, they will pay disproportionately higher % of taxes. Although, that number will be muddled by the fact that in most jurisdictions the taxes are assessed based on a household / family, in which case it will be impossible to attribute the actual tax paid to a particular member of the household.

Thank you all, this is very instructive. I kind of suspected most of it, but was hoping for some shining light that would instantly outweigh all the nonesense. Perhaps, my other question is whether they do anything else, besides camping and reciting oaths. Is there actual instruction on how to survive in the woods? Outside the scouting is there a book or a guide I can use to teach all this stuff by myself that you may recommend? I live in Ontario, I just started the search and Scouts was the first place I looked. Mountaneering and Wilderness Awareness sound like something I'd be interested in. I found a school here in Toronto that sort of looks like Wilderness one - called Gradale Academy The piece that I am missing as a parent, that I hope something like scouting would provide, is the skillset. I don't know much about life in the woods and such. And scouting sounds just like and easy, as you said - a pre-made group. Most troops I see here are tied to churches, which clearly is a red flag. But now I see that they could simply be renting space from them. So, based on your experience, they don't seem to be that bad. And if I can either shop around or maybe even mold it into something more outdoorsy and less "god and country" So, once again, not a complete write-off? As long as I find the right troop, right? Btw, how do they actually push obedience (patriotism part is clear to me)?

Thank you, Tyler! I am thinking of going with this bit by Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living [and] ethical virtue is the only thing that matters" Maybe I'll use the Aristotle one as a backup...

I’ve never been a boyscout (different culture, different time), but I was always fascinated with them: campfires, surviving skills, pocket knives, and even uniforms (yes, I know, para-military). At the same time I am quite concerned about the whole “God and country” and yes, uniforms. Weighing these for my own kid, are the benefits worth it? What was your personal experience? Is there an alternative that teaches kids all the good stuff without brainwashing them?

You do of course realise that every corporation is “shielded by state power,” and not just in the oil industry. Therefore, pretty much every job out there is somehow involved in the system. That’s the unfortunate reality of today’s life. Until you come up with a fantastic and profitable business idea you will have to work within the system in some capacity. So, why not do it in such a way that makes the most of your talents and education while compensating you the most? On top of that, there is nothing inherently bad with oil. I mean, it fuels the car that I drive to work, which allows me to provide food for my family. It is also the main ingredient in half the things that surround me in my house. So, go and find some more of it! Just don’t become one of those as***les in charge that pretend like spills don’t happen.

Realising that you are ready to make changes in life and publicly declare that and ask for mentorship is a great first step that most people never take. Congratulations! Now that you set out areas of improvement, it may be beneficial for your perspective mentors to understand where you are at now. Also, sharing your geographic location may help as well.

I am looking for a quote about pursuit of knowledge that will end up on a permanent display in a library of a mid-size American university. Can you help me? Something along our libertarian beliefs. It should be a "single-sentence quote from an author or historic figure on topics relevant to the pursuit of knowledge." Stefan counts as an author. Keep in mind, the library has the last word on the quote.

There is pretty heated discussion going on right now on Wikipedia on whether or not Stefan can be called a philosopher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Stefan_Molyneux#rfc_8186ED0 If you are an active Wikipedia editor, you might want to chime in.

I'm very sorry you feel this way. Just to clarify, when you say “ruin,” do you mean like, you "don't deserve to be happy", you "should not show (i.e. brag) about your happiness", "if you are too happy now, you'd be that much unhappy in the future" or something else. I believe some of this could be cultural influences, that require conscious analysis and overcoming. For example, personally, I tend not to share my happiness with anyone, because they may not be this happy, so why upset them. Consciously, I do recognize that being happy with others is better, but still… Would not your comfort zone be a happy (or at least content) place? So, you would purposefully leave the familiar “happy” comfort zone, to challenge yourself to become happier? Just curious as to why would you do that?

The points are not a reflection of the truth value of the poster. Having one post severely down-voted does not mean that the poster is generally wrong or altogether non-virtuous. As far as the posts being hidden, well… at least they are not being deleted or blocked. Ultimately, this is the way the board is set up – it's not perfect, nor will it ever be. From what I can tell, enormous amounts of the board's resources go to ensure capacity and stability of the system. These types of improvements possibly (and understandably) take a lower priority. At the same time, it looks like the feedback has been received and, hopefully, will be taken into consideration during the next upgrade.

We are here not to “earn” reputation points, but rather bring up and discuss topics that are important to us. Voting is a mechanism to provide quick feedback on a given post (and not the poster) without actually engaging in a debate. Ultimately, I don't think members get banned for low scores (I hope not), but rather for violating the board's rules. When you talk with your friends in real life, I am sure they often express their disagreement, whether rational, constructive, or not. Here we do it by clicking a button. Take it as is, while being curious as to why people voting your post up or down.

Unlike the cake analogy, in a relationship two people need to decide, and, as a result, both must be able to make a decision. Indeed, there is probably very little difference between a 16- and an 18-y.o. However, the maturity gap between a 16 y.o. girl and a 35 y.o. man is pretty great. But then again, there are exceptions and age itself is not the most reliable predictor of maturity.

Of course. In Nuremberg there were clear winners and losers. Despite the fact that both sides committed horrendous crimes, only criminals on the losing side was prosecuted.

Thanks for the explanation! This was just a hypothetical example that popped into my mind.