The end of Cox & Forkum
By Andrew Medworth @ 21:00 | Filed under: PersonalThis is sad, but understandable. Thank you so much, both of you, for years of fun and creativity, and very best wishes for the future.
This is sad, but understandable. Thank you so much, both of you, for years of fun and creativity, and very best wishes for the future.
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October 8th, 2007 at 03:42
Greetings,
In case you are unaware of us, I’d like to introduce you to The Undercurrent. The Undercurrent is an Objectivist student publication mainly intended to be distributed on universities campuses to make more students aware of Ayn Rand. Non-students also distribute our paper, and other good places to distribute are coffee shops (some Starbucks have bulletin boards), bookstores (some have areas for free publications), gyms, and other places.
For more information, please visit our website, http://the-undercurrent.com/
We are now taking orders for our upcoming issue. To order, please go to this link:
http://the-undercurrent.com/?s=distribute or visit our site and click “distribute”.
Articles in the upcoming issue will include:
*an article arguing that the War in Iraq is not, though it should be,
guided by the goal of self-defense.
*an article arguing that medicine is not an entitlement, but a
commodity that should be bought and sold like any other good.
*an article arguing that people put too much weight on statistical
surveys as a guide for action.
*an article discussing and defending the value of corporations
*an article discussing the clash between religion and rational thought
*Two Ayn Rand Institute Op-Eds still to be selected
We will also list your campus club’s or community group’s event or contact info on our calendar. The service is free, just enter information by clicking the “calendar” link on our site, or by clicking http://www.the-undercurrent.com/?s=calendar
Please contact us if you wish to write an article in the future and consider joining our email list.
Distributing The Undercurrent is not a major time commitment. All you need to do is take a few minutes once or twice a week to drop off the paper at a campus newsstand or coffee shop. If cost is an issue, let us know and we will work with you to find a sponsor in your area to pay for your copies.
Please also consider:
(1) Adding our site to your blogroll.
(2) Blogging your thoughts about The Undercurrent, positive or negative. If you feel strongly about the value of the Undercurrent, encourage your readers to get involved with the paper, whether as distributors, officers, or donors.
We also suspect that there are Objectivists who do not think that the Undercurrent is an effective tool for promoting Objectivism. If so, we’d like to hear why. Does it have something to do with TU’s content in particular? Is it more a general issue of the effectiveness of a campus paper as a medium for spreading Objectivism? Or is it the whole activity of campus activism in general that these Objectivists view as ineffective? Whether or not you personally hold any of these views, by starting a discussion on this issue, you can help bring out such arguments, and help us figure out the best possible way to promote Objectivism on college campuses.
(3) Even if you do not have the time or inclination to blog about the Undercurrent, send us a quick private email of your overall impression of our efforts. Are you generally impressed, indifferent, too busy to notice, or disappointed? We are very open to criticism, and sincerely want to hear your thoughts. Private emails can be sent to mail(AT)the-undercurrent.com
Thank you very much,
Eric
The Undercurrent
Distribution Officer
October 8th, 2007 at 13:00
Eric,
Thank you for the link to The Undercurrent. I copied the Ghate interview to a doc file and read and annotated it closely. It concisely, clearly, and with plenty of examples defines and defends freedom of speech. Most advocates of free speech need that knowledge but don’t have it.
As for The Undercurrent itself, I have several comments, which you have solicited. First, the title, for me, connotes something dark, hidden, cold, oily, and deadly. Why pick that title rather than something positive, something that denotes, in effect, a voice of reason, a voice for individual liberty, or a voice for a free society?
Second, I am unsure what the main purpose of the paper is. Is it to provide a channel by which university students will persuade other students (and perhaps faculty) to adopt Objectivist ideas? If so, I question whether it is appropriate for students to be, in effect, teaching others. Isn’t a student’s job to study rather to teach?
Third, I like the simplicity of the layout and the straightforward presentation. Having been a writer, editor, and publications manager in industry, before retiring, I understand the difficulty of assembling a publication such as yours. The complexity is great, and the problems, I would imagine, are compounded by needing to work with a loose volunteer network.
Also, free publications flood the “market.” I see them pile up at my local, lavishly tax-funded central library. Hardly anyone reads them, though a few do browse the many titles on display. One thing I learned in business is to avoid the “publisher’s pitfall,” which is a publisher’s desire to publish something — even when there is no demand for it from readers. A classic example is the slick corporate magazine which piles up in reception rooms at corporate headquarters — but almost no one reads.
My hope is that articles such as the interview with Dr. Ghate will be widely read, but I have doubts about a free handout being the best form of delivery. I wonder if an approach such as single-issue brochure combined with open discussion meetings on campus might be more provocative (though probably much less pleasant too).
Often, students are in the most difficult time of their lives. Today’s culture makes that experience even worse. I wish you and your associates the best,
Burgess Laughlin
http://www.aristotleadventure.com
P. S. — How sad it is for me to see that we live in a world so threatening that the distributor of a student paper must use only his first name!