Monday, April 6, 2009

Mission Statement

Good day to all.

I am TK and have decided to start a blog. I am a person who is generally against facebook, myspace, twitter, texting and anything else that tries to disguise itself as a digital social network forum. Therefore it was very difficult for me to accept the idea of starting a blog.

Like any goal or business I thought it would be a good idea to start off with a mission statement of The TK Lounge...

1. My main objective in this blog is to become a better writer. I am very scientifically educated and therefore slanted towards my left brain. Recently, I have realized that it is becoming more and more necessary for educated, rational people to voice their opinions and philosophies to the general public in hopes of changing the direction of our society. One of the best ways to do this is through written word. I am forcing myself to write with the hopes of helping the causes of individual rights and liberty. Any person that comes across my blog is therefore urged to offer constructive criticism on my writing style and/or grammar. Those are also encouraged to leave their remarks on the content of my entries. A warning to those disagreeing with me and who choose to do so ... keep your remarks (1st) well written and (2nd) well reasoned. If you choose to leave a ranting comment that contains swear words or is an e-motional outburst, save us both the time and don't write anything; it won't be read. I encourage differing opinions and engaging conversations but not soap boxes.

A note to my above order of remarks: I picked well written to be first because it is easiest to see if someone has spent time to write the message. Like most arguments, it takes longer to see the solid reasoning behind a comment than the quality of its writing.

2. Although I have been exposed to Ayn Rand's philosophies and objectivism for about three years, I am finding that recently I have been making leaps and bounds intellectually. My mind is usually in some form of thought and/or reasoning and I would like to use this blog to track my philosophical journey. I will post on things going on in my life (books read, trips taken, conversations participated in) in hopes of keeping track of my ever evolving and clarifying thoughts.

3. The first two parts of the mission statement are the overwhelming reason that I am starting this blog. Another reason, however minor, is so that friends and family can keep up with my thoughts at their own convenience. I find that in my busy life, reading blogs is an easy way to find out how people are doing when I only have a few minutes to spend.

I will probably post quite a bit this first week or two and then things will taper off to one or two a week. I am also going to try to keep my name out of this blog for professional reasons. I am a young graduate student who will eventually be seeking employment in industry somewhere. I realize that the internet is an easy way for employers to search their applicants. Even though I am a smart and hard working person, political and religious biases are a factor in the modern workplace. Whereas I believe that my ideas and beliefs would be an asset to most businesses (excluding the church and government who I would probably try to cripple) the reality is that they could hinder my future career. Feel free to call me paranoid (or just TK) but this is something that I would like to avoid even if it is a remote possibility.

Thanks for reading my first post.

--TK

1 comment:

  1. 1. > "My main objective in this blog is to become a better writer."

    Congratulations on writing clearly and directly. That is a major accomplishment in itself.

    2. > ". . . offer constructive criticism on my writing style and/or grammar."

    One point of capitalization arises here: ". . . Ayn Rand's philosophies and objectivism . . ."

    Perhaps this is a simple typo. However, for the record, the proper capitalization of the name of Ayn Rand's one and only philosophy is "Objectivism." In my experience, the term "objectivism" in the history of philosophy refers to either of the following:

    (a) In metaphysics, it is the single tenet (not a whole philosophy) that holds that there is a reality independent of consciousness. Of course, Objectivists (whether masters or students of it) agree with this tenet, but it is not their whole philosophy.

    (b) In traditional ethics, "objectivism" refers to the notion that values are external to consciousness, that is, they are intrinsic in things rather than being formed by the human mind (through evaluation). Of course, Objectivists radically oppose this position and thus are not "objectivists."

    3. I wish you well and admire your drive in your field. You appear to have defined your central purpose in life as involving science.

    Perhaps you might consider in-line activism as your form of working for a better world.

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