Posted on 04/16/2011 5:27:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Let me get one thing out of the way: I have never read Ayn Rand. In fact, until recently I was one of those uneducated boors who thought the author's first name was pronounced Ann. A few of her readers have corrected me over the years, but for some reason, I assumed they were joking — which is also what I assumed when they told me they'd just read a great book about government intervention in the railroad industry. (That book is now a movie, Atlas Shrugged: Part I, opening Friday, April 15, in the U.S.)
But then my editor asked me to look into the dating website the Atlasphere, on which Randians can search for their soul mate among fellow objectivists. I didn't have time to read all 1,200 pages of Atlas Shrugged or even the 680-page The Fountainhead beforehand, so I did what any self-respecting journalist would do: I called up a friend. "Quick, can you explain Ayn Rand's personal philosophy to me in one sentence?" I asked Fahad Siadat, a professional musician who'd just finished reading Atlas Shrugged. I know this because he'd cornered me at a dinner party and told me all about it. Which is what people tend to do when they've just discovered Ayn Rand.
"O.K., it's like this," Siadat said. "According to Rand, it's your moral obligation to manifest in the world the best that you have in yourself. In other words, do whatever it is that makes you great." That greatness has nothing to do with public opinion of you. "Think of Kanye West," he said. "He's a total douche bag, but he writes good music. According to Rand, that's what counts."
And isn't everyone who follows Rand supposed to be selfish? "They are selfish," Siadat said.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
DrC - I forgot to thank you for the correction of my error, and the addition of proof final that the correct pronunciation was indeed “Eyen/ine”
My wife walked in with a critical question about her cousin who is a mental case under 24x7care, and I lost track of where I was in the post. I learned long ago that even if I’m in the middle of a post on the forum, she needs my full attention when she walks in my study - which she did again even as I’m writing this post!
When I am wrong or make a mistake, I value highly being corrected - because I don’t like being wrong!
So, “Thank you!”
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