Personalizing Philosophy

In the Ayn Rand post, I went a little off the deep end explaining why I read it, what I thought about it, and how it affected me. I was thinking about that post, and wondering why I felt like I needed to say all that stuff, and not just cut to the chase: I really like the Rationalist part of Objectivism, but I haven't quite bought in completely to all of it.

But if that's all I say, someone reading it has no idea what to make of that. Why do I feel that way? What's my involvement with the book? I always feel like context sets the stage. Sometimes the context is the big part! I think it helps me when I understand where someone is coming from. You can find almost any opinion on any subject out there. But which ones do you respect? Which ones hit home? Well, I think it's the ones you can relate to. So for that, I give you context.