Summary
Rejecting societal norms to assert personal liberty is in many ways the essence of freedom, and from what I can tell Heinlein leaned toward libertarian philosophy and politics, at least later in life.
Highlights
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When you take gender and snark out of it, gossip is not so very different from ‘back-channel communication’ — something I found particularly valuable back when I was teaching. After a principal makes an announcement, teachers often test the waters by sharing their unfiltered opinions in a safer, more private context. ‘Gossipy’ conversations serve a purpose; they let teachers align, strategize, and build consensus on which new mandates make sense and which are worth pushing back on, without burning valuable political capital on things there’s no collective will to accomplish.
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Having the safety net of family obligation to catch you if you fail is critical for being willing to take risks — the cooperation between resource hunters, the willingness (nay, obligation!) to share, is what has allowed humanity to gather enough resources to fuel our big brains, build our complex cities, and dream of putting members of our species on other planets.