This year marks the hundredth since the birth of Ayn Rand. A number of libertarian publications, such as Reason, marked the event earlier this year around her birthday in March.I have mixed feelings about Rand and her heritage. It would be generous to say that she had feet of clay. Rand was a fierce atheist who regarded all religion as an insult to the dignity of mankind. Her love of the individual reached the extreme level of saying that selfishness is not only a virtue, but the highest virtue. Objectivism, therefore is fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith. She was arguable a cult leader and was more of a pseudointellectual than a genuine one.
Yet in a century that embraced the ideological disease of collectivism, leading to slaughter of hundreds of millions of people, Rand was a voice for the basic human right to be left alone in peace.
She articulated so coherently the predatory menace that is the state, writing consistently and loudly on behalf of freedom and the value of each and every human life. So in a time rampant ideological evil translated into active industrialized murder, Rand stood up for liberty. In the balance, I'd say that she was on the side of the angels, even though Rand would be insulted by the notion.
So I'll raise a glass to the memory of Ayn Rand. On the whole, the world was better with her than without her.
4 comments:
I have to throw my two bits in the ring. Ayn Rand is one of my all time favorite writers. Atlas Shrugged is my now second favorite book, but held the title for nearly fifteen of my 30 years on this earth. She helped me shape my faith nearly as much as the Bible (yes, I did say the Bible and will welcome those who want to press me on it). The thing with her writing was that for the first time I had to examine why I believed, more than just the beliefs themselves, and so shaped my beliefs and helped me to give reason to my thoughts. For that I definitely give her thanks.
Oh, the current #1 favorite book...
LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff (Christ's Childhood Pal) by Christopher Moore.
Peace,
DC
right after i graduated hight school and before i entered my first year of college i read the fountainhead. I WAS OBSESSED with that book. i absolutely loved it. to this day it is still one of my favorite books of all time.
I've only read one book by Rand, Anthem and it had a quality of making me glad I'm human. She instilled in her characters a certain nobility.
David, I read Lamb a little while back And I had a feeling the whole time I was reading it that there was something semi-sacreligious about it.
Anthem is my favorite. It's had a profound impact on me.
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