Philosophy: Who Needs It (Ayn Rand Address to the US Military Academy)

Ayn Rand Institute ^ | 1974 | Ayn Rand

[mnehring]

I realized today I have never posted the full speech to discuss. I've quoted this often, but this paragraph jumped out to me.

There is a special reason why you, the future leaders of the United States Army, need to be philosophically armed today. You are the target of a special attack by the Kantian-Hegelian-collectivist establishment that dominates our cultural institutions at present. You are the army of the last semi-free country left on earth, yet you are accused of being a tool of imperialism--and "imperialism" is the name given to the foreign policy of this country, which has never engaged in military conquest and has never profited from the two world wars, which she did not initiate, but entered and won. (It was, incidentally, a foolishly overgenerous policy, which made this country waste her wealth on helping both her allies and her former enemies.) Something called "the military-industrial complex"--which is a myth or worse--is being blamed for all of this country's troubles. Bloody college hoodlums scream demands that R.O.T.C. units be banned from college campuses. Our defense budget is being attacked, denounced and undercut by people who claim that financial priority should be given to ecological rose gardens and to classes in esthetic self-expression for the residents of the slums.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[ConservativeMind]

Ping for later reading.

[DustyMoment]

I have often said that Ayn Rand was less an author than an architect. She fundamentally understood the direction America was embarked upon in the 50s and developed the blueprint of that direction.

We can see the culmination of her blueprints in “Atlas Shrugged”. We have almost reached the America she describes and Obama could definitely put us there.

McCain will just slow things down a bit, but his train and Obama’s train are both headed for the same station. Obama’s train is an express . . . . . . . McCain’s train is a local.

[Recovering_Democrat]

bump to read later.

When Ayn Rand got it right, she was dead on right. When she got it wrong, she got it very wrong. I can only hope she had some reason to believe at the end, because she had a brilliant mind and love for freedom.

[mnehring]

Libertarian Ping travis.
I know there is are major differences between Objectivists and Libertarians, and Rand despised Libertarians, I know that she is often used as the back up of Libertarian discussions and thus, thought you would be interested.

[alexander_busek]

Thanks for posting this!!!

[definitelynotaliberal]

ping

[hosepipe]

Pretty good essay(speech)... based on the physicality of human life and denys that the human spirit is a separate “thing”.. and is eternal.. She makes her points quite well considering her viewpoint(s).. I got from this particular discourse that even IF humans are flesh only and Not spiritual creatures at all.. that philosophy and/or even metaphysics is STILL Important.. even quality of life altering.. for survival..

Rand was indeed a thinker.. and tried to simplify human life to workable size.. from her viewpoint and observation(s).. She asks good questions.. limited by her observations as we all are.. Ayn Rand provided a good defence of philosophy here.. where some atheists eschew philosophy.. as they do metaphysics.. She was a contarian.. I liked it..

[Swiss]

Back in the 70’s it seems like the military academies got the best speakers. Here is a link to the Robert A. Heinlein speech about Patriotism to the Naval Academy in 1973.

http://www.geocities.com/knightsofherne/patriotism.html

[BenLurkin]

bookmark

[mnehring]

It seemed there really was a philosophical counterbalance going on to the ‘hippie’ leftist movements where we had some great voices, unfortunately often overlooked or far beyond the understanding of the average person.

The funny part is now how Heinlein, Rand, and others are often drastically misquoted by modern day hippies (just like Eisenhower’s ‘military-industrial complex’ statement is always misquoted by the same people.) It is almost like they just want to take anything from the past and twist it to their own philosophical purpose.

[jongaltsr]

To bad more “modern” men don’t understand the importance and shear power of philosophy. If more people were learned in this methodology there would be less “popularity contests”, “political correctness”, “Hollywood worship” and general confusion about life.

[traviskicks]

Libertarian ping! To be added or removed freepmail me or post a message here.

[traviskicks]

I don’t think there are major differences between Rand and Libertarians. I didn’t know Rand ‘loathed libertarians’, unless she was speaking of the leftist ones, the kind that vote for green party folks and obama, these folks aren’t real libertarians anyway. Atlas Shrugged, one of my favorite books epitomizes libertarian belief. I consider her one of us. :)

[mnehring]

As you probably know, there is a big disconnect between Libertarian as a party and libertarian belief. The party, not libertarian philosophy, is what she was referring to in many statements; calling them the ‘hippies of the right’, and ‘more concerned with opposing the State versus opposing Statism.’ She also mentioned how the Libertarian Party was the ‘perversion of liberty.’ (Peter Schwartz later wrote a great book building on this.)

I think Objectivist and philosophical libertarians have a lot in common, just as Conservatives and philosophical libertarians do. It is the parties who take on the mantle of the philosophy that often stray.

[Andonius_99]

bump for later

[fanfan]

Thanks for posting this.

Every graduate needs to read this.

[Jonx6]

ping for later read...

[Publius]

Ayn Rand ping.

[grey_whiskers]

Like, *PING*, dude.

Cheers!