rationalhero

Really, people.  There is almost no difference between the two statist parties competing for office.  For my part, I actually must say I preferred Obama to the alternative, largely because of that shrewish fundamentalist Palin woman being on the other side.  They're ALL socialists and collectivists -- at least Obama has voiced a strong commitment to civil liberties and abortion rights.  That's not enough for me to get into the streets and celebrate, and his economic policies are deeply troubling, but there's something I do like about that man.  The one major problem I had with Ron Paul was his tendency to believe his irrational religious opinions (like anti-abortion beliefs) were in line with libertarianism.  They aren't, and they never will be.  I will be glad when that old guard of libertarians dies off to make room for the younger generation that believes in liberty without superstition.

Often leaves something to be desired.  There is much of the "modern" and the "postmodern," and I admit I can barely stomach it.

I wonder what it would take to have the school buy some pieces from here: www.cordair.com -- these works of art I consider to be a good representation of the ideal of man.  If you've never taken a look at Cordair's gallery, it's really remarkable.  I especially like the works of Damon Denys and Cordair himself.  They seem to truly understand men -- and women, too, which is a skill I must admit I admire.

The amount of dust in the air here is staggering, and it has my asthma all flared up.  I've used my inhaler more in the last 3 days than in the previous 3 weeks.  No one here can keep their damnable particles to themselves.

I would also like to lodge a complaint about the pathetic whining trills most of the people around here consider "music."  "Independent" music is simply music so bad that no major corporation could find enough value to consider it worthy of promotion.  I'll stick to my major labels, thank you very much.  Classic rock and classical music are the only types of music I really crave.

Player's Name/Preferred Nickname:  Jeanette

Age: 25

Time Zone: Central Time Zone (Minnesota)

Preferred Contact Method: eschewmediocrity@gmail.com

Prior RP Experience: I'm kind of a total noob, but I'm on one other mush with the aid of friends (I've been there for about 3 weeks), so I at least have people to ask if I need to be stupid.

Are you a returning Negability player? Nope.

Name: What is your character's full name? Do they have any aliases or nicknames that are more commonly used? Daniel Zebulon Rand, often called Dan, or Dan the Man (in his own mind).

Gender: Male

Previous Incarnation: Ayn Rand

Journal Name: http://rationalhero.livejournal.com/

Character Age and Birth Date: 18 years old, DOB August 15, 1990.

Played By: Chris Barrie (a.k.a. Rimmer from Red Dwarf)

Year in School: College Freshman, after a gap semester in Europe.

Major/Minor Course of Study: Political Science and Philosophy double major.  Taking Introductory Ethics, Introduction to American Government, and Baroque Art this semester.

Residence: Dormitory, super-single room paid for by parents.

Occupation: None, though intends to run for political office (of the non-student variety -- think city council types of things) later in the year.

Extracurriculars: Runs the Campus Libertarian Club, as well as participating in College Bowl.

Fraternity/Sorority/Student Affairs House affiliation: N/A

Significant Other/Important Relationships: N/A

Major Details: Daniel is absolutely prone to falling head-over-heels in love with any girl who is halfway attractive, instantly designating her as a lifetime ally and assigning her with all sorts of his own political and philosophical opinions based solely on her physical attributes.  He is, however, absolutely terrible at remaining faithful once in relationships, and so his dalliances into sex have been fleeting at best.  He is also vehemently anti-drug, to the point of refusing Novocaine for wisdom tooth extraction because he does not want to doubt the evidence of his senses.

Appearance: People often call Daniel a prig, and it's not surprising.  Much of his senior year in high school allowance was spent outfitting himself with three Brooks Brothers suits, which he presses and cares for meticulously.  His ties are conservative (though once, on a lark, he wore a novelty tie as a Halloween costume, delighted by the laughs it elicited from his classmates), his shoes shined regularly.  Daniel occasionally chooses to express himself sartorially through hats or styles of dress he believes are regarded as classy or debonair, but it often has the opposite effect he intends.

Personality: The consummate uptight libertarian, absolutely convinced of his moral righteousness and absolutely unable to convince others.  He believes in a definition of "rational" characterized by a lack of altruism and a belief in the evidence of the senses, and criticizes people strongly who do not meet his stringent criteria for "rationality."  Extremely judgmental of others, but never particularly so of himself, he ignores or rationalizes away several of the hypocrisies of his life, most notably the parents he loathes paying his way through college.

Backstory: Daniel spent most of his childhood and adolescence on the internet, particularly websites like Reddit.  It was while on Reddit that he saw a libertarian discussing the supreme rationality of libertarianism and recommending Economics in One Lesson.  Upon reading it, Daniel was hooked, much to the dismay of his parents, who consider themselves progressives.  Daniel's parents consider his current philosophical leanings to be a harmless phase, and refuse to engage him in debate about it, choosing instead to ignore his outbursts of criticism and torrential insults.  They believe that engaging will only cause the phase to last longer, so they looked on helplessly as a Ron Paul sign joined their Dennis Kucinich sign in the primary season.

Skills, Talents, and Likes: Daniel has always been extremely academically gifted.  He does not need to try very hard to succeed in academics, and had a 99th percentile score on all standardized tests from the time he was a young child.  He has an excellent memory, and likes to hold forth on topics of interest to him.  He enjoys volunteering in political campaigns for candidates whose belief systems he supports and has political ambitions of his own, which he believes will be easily obtained because of his (admittedly vast) intellect.

Flaws, Drawbacks, and Dislikes: To put it mildly, Daniel is not a people person.  He has a nasty habit of making friends, then alienating them completely and with no chance for reconciliation weeks or months later.  Daniel dislikes liberals and anyone he classifies as a "hippie," which seems to include most people not wearing Brooks Brothers or a classic sheath dress.

Journal-Entry RP Sample: http://rationalhero.livejournal.com/535.html

I feel I have already made the acquaintance of several people who may become friends, and impressed many others with my intellect to a point where it is unlikely they will attempt argument with me again.  I know now that I was right in my inclination to simply speak my mind, bluntly, because now I can find those I will really enjoy discussion with, rather than people who will merely drag me down.

There are also some lovely women on this campus, several of whom have already stopped by.  Daniel, you ladies' man, you, they're not going to know what hit them when they meet you.  Stay cool, stay charming, and they'll be unable to resist.  Yes.  That's the ticket.

College is merely High School Part II, complete with in-groups, in-jokes, and people laughing behind my back.  I should have gone to trade school.  At least there, people would have been more involved in trying to better themselves and their futures.  "Porn and chicken club"?  For students who are here by grace of the college endowment, they certainly seem intent upon wasting their years here with irrelevant and even disgusting activities.

of a philosophy enshrining life and freedom as its basic tenets, I plan to start a Libertarian Club on campus.  All of you who ridicule me but are unwilling to actually argue on my level are invited to come.  Our first week's topic for discussion will be Economics in One Lesson, which, provided you're functionally literate, shouldn't be too hard even for those of you studying...shall we say, less rigorous fields.  All are welcome to attend.  There will be...cookies.  And milk.  And lactose-free milk.  That is all.

Having been here a scant few hours, I believe it necessary to discuss the issues that I have already seen on campus here.  I hope that this list can be constructive for those considering a degree in the university system.

1) It does appear that they'll let just about anybody in, here.  I could not believe the students I saw.  Filthy, some of them, in torn rags of clothing.  My suits are hung neatly in my closet, and I can only hope that my positive fashion example is enlightening to some of my classmates with less sartorial sense.  Then again, a number of them are most likely sucking at the governmental teat for loan and grant monies that they intend to pay back only after being chased by increasingly insistent debt collectors.

2) This was unbelievable to me.  Did you know that the campus has clubs where people discuss their ingestion of illegal, mind-altering substances?  I cannot fathom that professors and administrators would allow such a thing to occur.  Do they not wish for their students to be sharp and brilliant, rather than dull-witted from making swiss-cheese holes in their brains?  These substance abusers disgust me, and all the more for their pride in destroying their rational faculties.  I plan to create a club in opposition to these mindless freaks.

3) The number of absolutely useless majors in the university catalog is stunning.  "Medieval Studies?" Who wants to know what a bunch of useless idiots hindered by Christianity thought about the world?  None of it was true.  If they limited themselves to Thomas Aquinas, perhaps they'd learn something, but I doubt they leave the subject at that.

4) The number of faculty with foreign names is not, in and of itself, problematic.  The number who teach courses obviously related to their country of origin IS.  This is the best nation in the world, bar none, else why would they be here?  They need to learn to leave their old allegiances back in the old country, or GO HOME.  My own grandparents were immigrants, but you don't see me majoring in Norwegian and British studies, now, do you?

5) I have surmised by seeing posters about that recently there has been casting for the musical "RENT," which I once saw on Broadway due to a then-girlfriend I now recognize for what she was: odious and beneath me.  This musical romanticizes people refusing to pay for lodging, singing horrific songs involving near-bestiality with cow udders, and, worst of all, espousing a personal philosophy denying the reality of the future in favor of doing things for an immediate benefit.  The only true capitalist in the musical is portrayed not as heroic, but as an absolute villain for simply asking fair market value on his property.  While I am not opposed to dramatic productions in general, this play is without redeeming value, and I certainly hope that the college has not sponsored such a spectacularly morally bankrupt production with MY student fees.

6) Speaking of what my hard-earned money (well, my parents' hard-earned money, but it is theirs to do with as they wish) is paying for, the dormitory rooms here are atrocious.  Thin walls, thin mattresses, and my desk is held together with as much duct tape as wood.  What ever happened to the good old days of dormitories with fireplaces and comfortable beds?  If I could have convinced Harvard to let me off the wait list, surely I would be in better company than I am here.

I am sure I will think of more after I actually begin my coursework and meet some of these...ugh....fine specimens the administration has let into this university.  I may make some sort of anthropological expedition to one of their "hang outs" tomorrow or the next day to see their interactions from a first-hand point of view.  I will report back on their inanities.

EDITED: Removed an error.  Thank you to the kind person who pointed it out.  Perhaps you are not all worthy of my ridicule.

[[OOC NOTE: All comments from JB deleted.]]

The more I think about it, the more I am certain that my parents are endeavoring to pull me down into their steaming mass of liberal, parasitic thought.  I am starting this journal so that I can keep my sanity.  If the only sane person I can speak to is myself, very well, I will talk to myself.

Upon returning home from my semester-long trip around Europe (which they thought would convince me of the error of my ways -- hah!), I found my room absolutely different from how I left it.  It would have been bad enough if they'd just thrown out all my Ron Paul 2008 campaign memorabilia ("The campaign is over," they said, by way of explanation, which is bullshit, because they hated all those bumper stickers about the Revolution from the VERY beginning, I knew I shouldn't have trusted them around it, I should have taken it with me, stupid, stupid).  It would have been bad enough if they'd just packed up my books (because I'd been wanting to re-read some of them after my exposure to actual socialist states like England and France).

But no.

That wasn't all.

Instead of my bed, there was a blasted sewing machine.  Where my desk had been, in perfect order, there was now a rack of fabrics.  A half-finished quilt lay on the floor in the dead center of the room.  I nearly doubted my own senses for the first time in my life.

"Mother," I said, calling out of my room, "I believe I may have forgotten the layout of the house.  This appears very much to be a sewing room.  Where is MY room?"

And the old bitch said, as cheerily as if she was a damned songbird, "Your room is at college now.  When you come home, you can sleep in the guest room."

Our guest room is cramped, and its only furnishings are a small bed and a nightstand.  This would not do.  I require space, and I require my books to be arranged in the manner of my choosing.  I attempted to reason with her, but of course, the pathetic shrew conceded nothing.  I may have taught her too well from my "no compromises" school of argument.  In the hopes that my father, who is, by virtue of his sex, less inclined toward emotional responses and more likely to listen to reason, I wrote a letter (ostensibly to both of them), which read as follows.

"Dear Mother and Father:

I believe a grave mistake has been made.  I was not told to expect my room to become a sewing room in my absence.  I find it difficult to believe that you would put quilting (which is, of course, merely the parasitic reuse of good fabrics to become bad blankets) ahead of your own son's comfort and well-being.  Because I plan to one day be important enough that you will seek my favor, I trust that you will understand that this rearrangement was a strategic misstep for both of you.  However, I may be entreatied to forgive your misdeed if you assist me in putting things in my room back where they belong (I will forgive, as a concession to your feeding and housing me these many years, your disposal of my political souvenirs).  If this is not completed within seven (7) days, I will be forced to conclude that you have no desire to be in my favor.  The ball, as they say, is in your court.

Yours truly,

Daniel."

I was issued no reply, although I heard their absurd, shrieking laughter late in the night, accompanied by a mention of my name.  They may laugh, but when my plans have come to fruition, they will crawl on their knees and beg for forgiveness.  When they drove me to campus, I said nothing to them, merely looked out the window at this new world which will be my home for the next four years.  It may not be the best of homes, but at least it is free of these freakish beasts I somehow share genetic material with.

I owe them no allegiance.  When my next allowance check arrives, I will have enough to purchase an inexpensive computer for my room and will no longer have to chafe under the cow-like eyes of the morons in this computer lab.  I eagerly await the day.