I'm not really sure what has happened to me in the past year but I feel I've gotten a bit more callous. And I absolutely love it. And part of it has to do with reading Ayn Rand.
I was speaking to someone the other day about affirmative action. And boy oh boy I know I'm opening up a can of "bring it on" right now but here goes nothing....
For me affirmative action is one of the most repulsive and disgusting ideas in existence. I'm very aware that the United States has more blood and gaffes on its resume than we should. Ok. Move on. Other countries do and have to to survive. And let me tell you that if we don't make some drastic changes to our society and economy we won't be having beer pub debates about what is wrong and right with affirmative action or why or why not poverty should exist...we'll be wondering what happened and why we're not the super powerhouse we once were economically. And why we don't have any money for the kids, vacation or a healthcare.
On an individual level for me the secret to happiness is knowing yourself, knowing your strengths and identifying the negative and positive energy clouds in your life. For a country its sort of the same. What is our perennial strength? Innovation, creativity and hard work. We have to optimize those strengths to stay on top. Affirmative action impedes the flow of ideas and ingenuity by making room for mediocrity over excellence. Those people that can't fit in the room or office or classroom because less qualified people are allowed in their spot are being given the biggest first class A grade slap in the face this world can offer.
Your life, this country, the world and humanity is about advancement. Let's see how advanced and humane we can get. The only way to do that is by creating a system that allows for those who will make the changes and theories and doctrines and cures to speed on potential's autobahn to optimize their human advancement path.