FireShield

I'm listening to podcast 1127 right now, and in it you say that you're "attacked" (by which you mean ridiculed/punished) if you don't say the pledge of allegiance in school. I went to a public school and teachers specifically told us that we didn't have to say it if we didn't want to, and quite a few people didn't say it and remained in their seats during it (or just mouthed it like I did, because I'm shy and didn't want to draw attention to myself). Some atheists who said it left out the "under God" part too. Also, my AP US History and AP US Government teacher (who also taught Practical Law and was the head of our school's chapter of the National Honor Society, and was one of the teachers who wrote my college recommendations) told us that he used to be a Republican, then a Democrat, and now was unaffiliated, but told us he considered himself to be a libertarian (he never advocated any specific positions, but rather always played devil's advocate when students brought up their perspectives on things - so at times he argued for liberal positions, other times conservative, etc.). Also, at the end of the year of AP Gov, we had to write a "manifesto" of our political beliefs, and I wrote mine based on a lot of what was in your podcasts about DROs, and used the argument from morality in the introduction and conclusion, and I got a 100 on it (which is really good considering that I wrote the entire thing the night before it was due, as I always do) and my teacher specifically told me in front of the class the next day that he really enjoyed reading it and that it was really good, and recommended a book for me to read (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress). My school was also ranked the 14th best school in Connecticut a few years ago, competing with both public and private schools (and Connecticut has some of the best schools in America). So from my experience, a lot of what you say about public schools is completely false.

I just listened to podcast 899: Stef on Writing (An Interview). I find it amazing how different my approach to writing is from yours, Stef. You say that you don't think out the entire plot before you write, that you don't know how it's going to end until you get there. I'm the complete opposite - I think up the idea for the book first, then think up the ending, then the beginning, then a few key points in the middle, then just write to fill in the gaps. Or, at times, I write an outline of all the different chapters I want to have and what will be in each chapter, then write one chapter at a time. You also said that you don't view plot as being as important as the message of the book, whereas I view plot in books, movies, TV shows, and video games to be the most important aspect (if the TV show or video game is supposed to have a plot - if it's a comedy show or a game without a plot, plot obviously is meaningless). The best example of this for me was when I wrote a plot outline to a video game. I knew exactly what the general idea of the plot was going to be, and I knew what I wanted the ending of the game to be. But I had no idea what was going to be in the middle of the game at all. So I started writing it from the beginning, telling what's going on in the multiple plot lines as they happen (there would be multiple "stories" that had their own plot but overlapped and all had significance to the overall plot, each of which you have to play through to unlock the final story), and at times I had no idea where the story was going, but I kept going with it, and the different plot lines overlapped at just the right moments in just the right ways, and everything ended up leading up to the climax and ending that I wanted when I first started writing it. Obviously there is no "correct" way to write, and I'm sure your way works perfectly well for you, but I just found it interesting how our methods are the complete opposite of each other's.

I'm debating someone right now, over private messages on YouTube. Can anyone provide me with some specific evidence for how society is better off when there's less government?

I actually changed my mind. One of the courses that I'm required to take is Introduction to Computing for Engineers, and I've found that I love programming. One of my friends also mentioned that a lot of the top students from our high school were majoring in Computer Science because it had one of the greatest pay:work ratios. So, I plan on dual majoring in Computer Science and English (and still getting that minor in math because that would help me with programming), and then get a job as a video game programmer, while writing books on the side. Work my way up in the company, and, if my books are successful, perhaps be able to write the plots for games and eventually produce my own games.

Yeah, I've decided to just stop watching TYT. I'll get my news from other online sources (though they're not as entertaining and don't cover as wide of a variety of news). I can't help but debate people when I notice a mistake in what they're saying, and so desperately want to convince them that I'm right or be convinced that they're right. One guy asked me to debate him in private messages on YouTube, and I agreed to since I'd be able to argue my points more effectively, and he seems more rational than most people I debate online (he's not using emotional attacks). And now it's time for a rant. I'm at college, and every once in a while, these Christian fundamentalists come to the campus with signs like "evolution is a lie" and talk to the crowd about how we need to "repent or go to hell." So today, I tried debating with some of the people who weren't talking to the crowd. After a bit, I asked them if they were open to the possibility that they were wrong, and they said no... so I realized that it was pointless to continue debating with them, but I did it anyway. I think this is because, as I said earlier, throughout my childhood I debated with my parents over the rules that they made, first asking them why they made those rules, then providing contradictions to their reasons if there were any (which, most of the time, there were), and asking them why they said so if their reason was "because I said so." Of course, it never ended with them saying "you know, you're right," and rarely ended with me saying "oh, okay, I understand now," but most of the time ended with them saying "we're not discussing this anymore." Want to know what's funny (in a cruelly ironic kind of way)? I never once broke my parents rules, yet I got punished more than my brothers did. I got punished for questioning the rules they made, or pointing out their hypocrisies. They would never punish me immediately, but usually the argument would escalate to yelling, and they would punish me for yelling at them (and then I point out that they're yelling at me and they say "we're your parents, we can talk to you in whatever way we want but you have to treat us with respect"; also it's funny: my dad claimed that I always raised my voice first, but in later arguments, I was able to control my emotions and remain calm the entire time, and my parents ended up yelling louder and getting even more enraged than usual, so it's evident that he was the one who escalated it), or they would say something like "this discussion is over" or "we don't owe you an explanation" (which they would ALWAYS do as soon as I said something that they didn't have an answer to), and, realizing how unfair this was, I would push the debate and would end up being punished for doing so (and then would continue trying to debate with them, and would end up just getting a more severe punishment, until I just ended up running to my room crying out of hopelessness). Anyway, this explains why I feel the need to debate with people, even when they say that they aren't even open to the possibility that they're wrong - I think that subconsciously I feel like if I was just able to convince one irrational person that they're wrong, and get them to listen to reason, I would be able to do the same with my parents. The feeling of "if I make this argument, then they'll understand" keeps me debating, even when it's hopeless. I felt really sorry for these people - I could tell that they genuinely believed in what they were saying, and that's why I wanted to get them to understand that they're wrong (as opposed to someone who uses their religion as an excuse to keep their bigotry). But here's one thing that enraged me: one student watching me debate one of the guys said something like, "if there's no god, then what's keeping him from punching you in the face, like I want to do from listening to you speak. God's giving him the patience to not punch you in the face." And then someone else watching the debate said to him something like "Why would you want to punch him?" and he said to me "You're telling this guy that there is no god, why not just let him believe what he believes," and I replied with, "I'm not the one standing out here in public yelling out to people that there is no god, I'm just responding to what he's saying." And then the guy who I was debating gave a little card that he was handing out to people to that guy and that guy said thanks and left. But what I felt like saying afterwards was "WHAT?! You want to punch me in the face for simply asking this guy how he knows that god is real and refuting his arguments? He's out here, telling people that they need to believe what he believes or else they'll be tortured for eternity after they die, and you say that I deserve to be punched in the face, just for asking him how he knows what he's saying is true and pointing out the flaws in what he's saying?! What kind of sick, twisted, vile piece of filth are you to be able to think something as horrid as that?!" And to make it worse, he had a pleasant, vaguely happy expression on his face. Of course, I know why what I was saying made him want to punch me in the face, as do all of you I'm sure, but it still enrages me to think about what that scumbag said. The person I was debating most of the time I was there was kinder than the others, which I why I chose to talk to him, since I'm extremely susceptible to emotional attacks - even though I'm aware of what they're doing, it invokes the memories of my older brother making fun of me when I was younger, and my parents cutting me off and talking over me Bill O'Reilly style (which is what the apparent "leader" of these people did when debating with others). Debates with irrational people... if I don't debate, I feel like I'm letting them win, and get depressed; if I debate but give up out of hopelessness, I feel like I've lost, and get depressed; if I debate until the other person ends the debate because I've logically cornered them, I feel manipulated, and get depressed. I guess the only solution is to avoid irrational people as a whole as much as possible, otherwise I'll end up feeling depressed.

I get my news from The Young Turks on YouTube, which, for those who don't know about them, are EXTREMELY liberal and devote more time to bashing conservatives than giving actual news (and even when they're making fun of social conservatives and religious people, I'm still disgusted by their hatred). Anyway, whenever they talk about how people who are economically conservative have no empathy are don't care about others and are just selfish and greedy, and see people in the comments section doing the same thing, I always try making a comment poimting out how we're against being FORCED to support others, not against supporting others itself. This inevitably leads to others replying to me, making mostly emotion based arguments that have little to no thought put into them and are clearly just their biased opinions trying to seem like absolute morals. I reply back to them, not returning their attacks back on them, hoping I'll get through to them and change their mind, but they just heap more and more emotional attacks on me, but of course, I never succeed. I recognize these attacks and consciously know that they're not true, but they still affect me on an emotional level. Being called selfish, unempathetic, immoral, irrational, etc. combined with the hopelessness that comes from not being able to change anyone's mind puts me in a really bad mood and ruins the rest of my day. I'm aware that this occurs because of my childhood (the emotional attacks against me and others hurting me because of my older brother speaking in similar ways to me, my younger brother, and my parents to a lesser degree, and the hopelessness coming from never being able to logically convince my parents of their irrationality and hypocrisy), but I'm wondering, should I try to debate anyway? If I shouldn't since it will just make me kinda depressed, then I'll have to just stop watching TYT, since I can't help but point out other people's irrationality and hypocrisy when I see it, but then I won't be able to get as much news (despite their annoying bias, they're a good news source).

I guess I just will use moral arguments. An easy way to win would be: "Well okay, if the policies you're advocating are better for everyone, then clearly we don't need a government to enforce them."

Yes I know. However, whenever I debate people, they all already get the argument from morality, but they say that sure, anarchist ideas sound good in theory, but would never work in the real world. They want evidence to show that they do work. It's easy to come up with evidence against social conservatism, but I've never found any evidence for or against economic liberalism. I try using the argument from morality, but they're more concerned about the practical aspects, so the argument from effect is needed, but I don't have any evidence to use to support my position.

This is similar to a thread I made earlier, only for a slightly different purpose. While the anarchist position remains more logical to me than anything else, both conservatives and liberals claim that their economic policies are better for the economy, and both make historical arguments to back that up. But I have yet to see any specific evidence to back up either side. I made a thread on The Young Turks forums asking people to provide me with evidence in support of government intervention in the economy and evidence in support of global warming/climate change, and now I'm asking the same thing here. Can anyone provide me with links to websites showing evidence that less/no government intervention in the economy is better for the economy, and evidence against global warming/climate change? Edit: Oh, and facts on the effects of gun control too.

I get into debates with liberals a lot on the internet (particularly in YouTube comments), but I never have any specific sources to back up the claims I make. Could anyone provide me with a few links that show how the free market works and how government interference is bad (with statistics and stuff - oh, and information on climate change)? A few .edu sites would be appreciated, since one liberal (and I'm sure there are others) refused to read anything that wasn't from a .edu site. Also, though I debate them less frequently, could anyone provide some specific links for debating with conservatives (mainly on issues of immigration, war, drugs, and prison)?

Yeah that's what I think I'll do. And I think I realized what the problem is (why I haven't written it yet): I've felt like I need to do it, and so it automatically becomes less fun. If I don't pressure myself to do it and just do it for fun, I'll probably be much more willing to do it.

My parents are paying for it entirely. It's UConn, and I live in Connecticut, so it's really cheap compared to other colleges - the agreement was that my parents would pay for the price of UConn regardless of what college I go to, and if I went to one that was more expensive, I would have to pay for the rest (I also got a $5000/year scholarship from UConn, so with the money they're saving from that, my parents are going to buy me my own car). I know you don't need a major in English to write (which is why I was originally planning to major in chemical engineering and write on the side). I think I'll continue doing what I'm currently planning on doing. I'll just try to devote more time to writing (rather than playing video games).

I'm a freshman in college and currently majoring in chemical engineering. The jobs typically pay well and are in high demand, and I'd probably be pretty good at it and not too bored. However... what I really want to do is write for a living. Books, movies, TV shows, video games - anything that would allow me to come up with an interesting, complex plot. But I can't guarantee that I'll be successful doing that - I have so many good ideas for books, movies, etc. but I have a hard time getting around to actually writing them (I prefer thinking them, visualizing them, and perfecting the idea). So what I was planning to do is get a job in the field of chemical engineering and write books on the side, and if the books sell well, I'd write for a living. But I was talking with one of my friends earlier about the ideas I have for some of my books, and he said I should major in English since I seemed so interested in it and disinterested in engineering (and he's not one for rash decisions). My problem is that I have so many things I want to do and so many things I'm good at (I'm good at and am interested in everything except the fine arts, basically), so it's hard for me to choose. I am interested in EVERY field of engineering, and there are dreams that I have of things I'd like to accomplish in each, as well as in other fields of study. I wish I could live forever so I could accomplish everything I want to accomplish, but that's obviously impossible. The thing I'm worried about if majoring in English is making money. I could make money writing on a blog or writing articles online, and maybe read those articles on YouTube and monetize my videos, but that wouldn't make much money. I guess I could work for some company in some writing position but... this gets to what I think is the real problem: I'm extremely shy, and not only am I worried about eventually going for an interview or working at a business, but also I don't think I'll be able to make myself try to make connections and develop relationships with professors or join clubs, or do things to distinguish myself in college to be able to get good jobs later. I think that by wanting to just write independently for a living, I'm just trying to avoid having to do this . Don't get me wrong, I really do want to write (or make movies, TV shows, or video games), but I'm not sure that pursuing that dream is the smartest thing for me to do. Should I continue majoring in chemical engineering, and maybe minor in English and write on the side? Or should I switch to a major in English and do everything I can to make money starting now so I can afford to live (I plan on living in a mini-house, since that would be much cheaper and, since I'm so shy, I will probably be single my whole life, and I'm also extremely introverted so I doubt I'd have company very often)? Oh yeah, as for minors, I'm currently going to get a minor in math by the end of my sophomore year since I'm taking an Advanced Calculus sequence for the first four semesters that fulfills all requirements for a math minor. If I major in chemical engineering, I'll minor in both English and math. However, if I choose to major in English, I'll still minor in math, but should I get a minor in something else, or maybe get a double major?

Hi, my name's Dan (or Danny, either one, though I prefer both to Daniel because that sounds to formal) - FireShield is the username I use almost everywhere on the internet, so please feel free to call me Dan, Danny, or FireShield (or FS, as some people abbreviate my username on other forums). I'm 18 years old, I live and grew up in Connecticut, and am a freshman in college, and the university I'm going to is also in Connecticut. I discovered Freedomain Radio through its iPhone app last December, while searching for libertarian related apps (I wasn't an anarchist at the time, I was only a libertarian/minarchist). I scrolled through the topics and saw anarchy, which interested me since I had never heard anarchist arguments before. I listened to all the podcasts on the app, and enjoyed them so much that I subscribed to all the podcast volumes on the podcast app and am currently listening to all of them in order (I've listened to over 600 at this point). I originally listened to them at 3x the normal speed, but then that ability was removed from the app with an update, so now I listen to them at 2x speed. I'm also subscribed to Stefan's YouTube channel and watch most of the videos he uploads. I found the arguments so logical that I became an anarchist after only a few of the podcasts. As for more personal things about me, I like skiing, hiking, running, listening to music (anything in the rock genre), writing (well, more thinking than actually writing), and playing video games (you may be able to tell from my username and picture that I'm a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog). I'm majoring in chemical engineering, though what I really want to do is to write books, movies, TV shows, and video games. However, I know that I won't necessarily be successful at that, so I plan on getting a job in the field of chemical engineering (which pays well, is something I'd be pretty good at, and not something that would bore me) and write books on the side. If the books sell well, I'll write for a living. For those who know about MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), I'm an INTJ (for those who don't know what that means, it's Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging). Look it up if you want to know more about it. As for enneagram, my tritype with wings and variant (I realize most people would have no idea what I'm saying here) is 1w9-5w4-3w4 sp/sx. Other info: I'm a strong atheist and weak adeist (as in, I am 100% certain that there is no theistic god/gods, but as for a deistic god, there is no evidence for one so I don't believe in any, but I don't think it's necessarily impossible for one to exist - not that it matters either way). I'm also a heteroromantic asexual (meaning that I'm emotionally attracted to girls, but not sexually attracted to either gender - or I might be demisexual meaning that I can only be sexually attracted to someone once I'm extremely close to them emotionally, but I wouldn't know since I've never been in a relationship). I also have severe social anxiety disorder (despite this enormous, personal introduction), but it's not that bad considering that I'm extremely introverted and like to spend time by myself anyway - I do have a few, really close friends, and that's all I really need anyway. Anyway, I look forward to having discussions on the forums.