Setzer leads two Florida groups

Luther "Luke" Setzer runs two different Objectivist groups in the central Florida area. The first is Space Coast Objectivism Promoters and Explorers (SCOPE). The second is the Objectivist Club at the University of Central Florida (OCUCF) group.

Setzer really is a rocket scientist. He grew up on a farm in North Carolina and decided that he didn't want to do the back-breaking and mindless labor necessary for farm work. He applied himself in school and qualified for the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, which is reserved for high-achieving students in that state. He then matriculated at North Carolina State University and graduated with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering. While at North Carolina State he took a cooperative education job at the Kennedy Space Center. That led to his job with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The shuttle catastrophe of 1986 happened during Setzer's internship at NASA. In his search to make sense of this disaster, he says that he "joined a cult called the Baptists." Later he became dissatisfied with religion. During that period he read The Virtue of Selfishness and became interested in Objectivism. As a result of this interest he later founded the two Objectivist discussion groups that he now leads.

SCOPE is a regular discussion group—but with a twist. Setzer combines Mortimer Adler's "Great Books" series with Objectivist readings as a basis for many of the meetings. Adler's series includes summaries and excerpts from many of the great works of Western civilization. The participants discuss the Adler material, but each of the summaries is supplemented by an Objectivist writing. For example, the group discussed Sophocles' Antigone recently, but evaluated it in conjunction with Ayn Rand's essay "What Is Romanticism?" from The Romantic Manifesto.

The group meets at a local Barnes and Noble and employs a structure similar to that of a Toastmasters International group. Setzer has been involved in Toastmasters for many years. That organization teaches its members speaking and leadership skills, and Setzer uses Toastmasters leadership principles in running his own group.

The University of Central Florida group is much more active than the average campus club. Most of their meetings are online chat sessions based on discussions of individual Rand essays. Having a chat session allows the members to participate from their dorm rooms, homes, or almost anywhere they can hook up a computer.

Both groups use essays and reading materials as bases for discussion. This is often a good tool for local group meetings. Having a speaker prepare a one-hour speech involves significant preparation time, whereas having someone read and summarize an essay allows that person to lead a discussion without such a demanding time commitment. This also encourages the participants to read and think about the topics on their own, which leads to better discussions.

Setzer uses a Web site to promote the groups. Among the many different items on the site, Setzer's lists are especially fascinating. He lists the club's dreams, values, goals, action plans, and daily activities. Of the club's dreams, he writes: "If our club had unlimited time, talent, money, knowledge, self-confidence and support from our culture, here is a list of everything we would like to do with our club." He then details dreams ranging from a half-million-dollar cash flow and a 3,000-square-foot house for the group to simpler matters that are easy to achieve immediately. The Web site is at http://widescope.tripod.com.

To make announcements to members, Setzer turns to Yahoo Groups. The announcements include upcoming club events, as well as various other events in and out of the central Florida area that might be of interest to his members.

Group organizers and people considering starting a group can learn quite a bit from Luke Setzer's approach, both from the tools that he uses and from the passion that he displays for advancing the ideas of Objectivism.

The Objectivist Center is committed to assisting local Objectivist groups. We will feature a different Objectivist discussion group every month in Logbook. For assistance in starting or sustaining a local group please contact Bill Perry at wperry@objectivistcenter.org or 800-374-1776.