My Ayn Rand Fan

When I was your age fifteen dollars could really get you something. Which, is why, two days ago when I made a passing offer of fifteen such dollars to a man in an Ayn Rand tee shirt I was surprised at what bounty such an offer would wrought.

My naïvety astound even myself. How could I have expected when giving an older gentleman in an white tee shirt which read Ayn Rand Fan an opening like "nice shirt" that it wouldn't have draged me into a conversation I was not prepared to have in the middle of my work day. For me the most difficult part of discussing Ayn Rand with a stranger is hiding my disgust with her- as much as I may enjoy a fraction of her work the over arching philosophy which she began and her group of fanatical followers have since perpetuated is just too much for me. If you don't know about Rand's ideas I will not get into them here and leave you siting through my own ranting and ravings over her. I will only say I agree with her as much as any other animal might; in the state of nature Ayn Rand would have been the first and only Queen.

I digress. Upon complimenting my A.R. fan's shirt he made me an excellent capitalistic offer- my very own Ayn Rand tee shirt. After several minutes (twenty) of listening to the fan's stories about his personal Rand experience, his communist brother working for Castro, the 25 part book sets he's bought for each of his twelve grandchildren and the monetary bribery with which he encourages them to read her work (home grown capitalism if I've ever seen it) he left with plans to return the next day with a shirt of me.

I had no idea what I was in for. Here, I give you, what fifteen dollars of Ayn Rand looks like-

1. Two Ayn Rand Fan tee shirts:

He gave me two shirts with the promise that one would fade and the other would flake. As you can see the front of the shirt read Ayn Rand Fan- Reason/Egoism/Capitalism/Life on Earth. The back of the shirt carries a length quote from Rand's 1939 novella, Anthem: "At first, man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he stood on the threshold of freedom for which the blood of the centuries behind him had been spilled."

2. Ayn Rand: Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (book):

The book is a classic Rand work and fully thought out explanation of her philosophy which doubles as a bible.  The copy I received is severely worn, with tattered edges and beautifully worn pages.  On the inside cover the fan gave me his contact information.

3. Health Care is NOT a Right by Leonard Peikoff (pamphlet):

I read through this pamphlet with gritted teeth.  Here, in its purest form, is the problem with Rand- the death of altruism.  The death of altruism in modern, civilized, society.  The pamphlet does make some good points though about constitutional law but nothing which could cure my liberal fever backed brain.  The inside cover information about the pamphlet says that it is a transcript of a talk delivered "under the auspices of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine as a Town Hall Meeting on Health Care. Red Lion Hotel, Costa Mesa, California, December 11, 1993." Merry christmas 1993.

4. 22 pages of propaganda (group ads, information, reading lists, articles):

This gathering of leafs includes an Objectivist Summer Conference booklet, an article from The Undercurrent about free speech (accompanied by that cartoon of Allah which got so many people killed,) The Twilight on Freedom on Speech,  and Ayn Rand institute book list,  Take a hard Look at the Nazis, Harry Binswanger's Must Memorize Definition List, and a free trial offer for HBL, which as I gather is a mail order set up where they send you Harry Binswanger in a box like a Russian bride.

One gem among the pages and pages of propaganda is a single simple sheet entitled 'Introducing Objectivism.' Along with a picture of Rand and and an easy explanation of her works philosophy there is a quote by her which I can, for the most part, agree with- it in many ways embodies the best parts of her life's works- "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productivity achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

And that's it.  Pretty good deal huh?   I feel as if I really lucked out on this chance encounter, I met a nice man, I got some cool swag, and a good story.  I just hope when I wear the shirt I'm not mistaken as an Ayn Rand fan, but what are the chances of that?

Looking back on that quote though, I have to say, when it's all said and done my more prefered Rand quote is not by her but about her-

"Atlas shrugged... and said 'Who the fuck cares?'" -Carroll, my mother

Liberal Media Bias

I have always stayed away from politics here, and I’m not sure why… it’s not because I’m scared of stirring up controversy or driving readers away. I don’t really care, and I’ve always spoken my mind about everything else here. Maybe it’s just the fact that politics really annoy the fuck out of me. They are exciting at times, I suppose, but only if you get to the root of the matter, not the smoke that the media and politicians are trying to blow up everybody’s ass. It’s really hard for me to care about a candidate when I don’t ever feel like I know their real views, just what they think will get them elected. I guess I can’t even blame them; honestly, it’s simply the political culture that America has fostered. But before this turns into a rant about a different subject, I’m not going to move away from “politics, and just ramble on about “political science”.

What no one seems to get is that “liberalism” isn’t just a political buzz word. I’m not even sure how it gained the negative connotations, but every time I hear it used as such, a little part of me dies. Liberalism is an idea, an ideal, a philosophy… it is what The United States was founded upon, everything that it stands for and one of the greatest achievements in human history. It is “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, “We the People” and “Give me liberty or give me death”. It is the topic of every great speech in American history, and everything that is great about America. Most of all, it is all those freedoms, those “inalienable rights”, and the progress towards something better.

When my grandfather mentioned how one of my cousins was, “too liberal” the other day, I asked him what exactly he meant. His response was pretty amazing, and honestly hurt me. “She’s just against everything that I am for.” He went on to complain how colleges warp people’s minds and he wouldn’t want his children learning that sort of stuff. I never really even found out what he meant, but when we actually discussed it thoroughly, I found that his beliefs weren’t really very far off my own. I’m not even sure who to blame for this insanity… The media? The Republicans for villainizing one the founding principle of the nation? The Democrats for not doing anything about it? The average citizen for being an idiot? It’s probably too late to even recover from it, but it’s just a shame.

Liberalism really is everything that makes America great. It is simply the belief in progress, individualism, the goodness of humanity and civil liberties. Do you really want to argue with me about whether that is right, because I will fight for it to my death bed. Because that is what I think of when I see the American flag, not all the dumb shit that the U.S. has done over the years. It is the principles that make this country great, it is freedom and progress and the little guy standing up for what he believes in because that is all he has and overcoming everything to achieve what he knows is right. It is Locke and Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Henry and so many more. It’s Madison’s federalism, the Anti-Federalists, and Athenian democracy. I’m not sure if the public perception of liberalism will ever change, but I’ll yell from my soapbox, try to be patient and listen to the great Thomas Paine.

He wrote at the beginning of Common Sense that “a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”