Thursday, January 27, 2005
Ayn Rand Centennial
Next Wednesday, February 2, will be the 100th anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth. As everyone who knows me knows, her books had a tremendous influence on me as her works have for millions of others. There is probably not a day that goes by that I fail to relate a new experience to ideas contained in her novels.
I was first exposed to this writer in 10th grade when a teacher assigned the book Anthem. At that time I was a ferocious reader and when I came across an author who interested me I would write the name down and then go find other books by the same person. It was not until the summer between high school and college that I got around to reading The Fountainhead.
I guess it is the coming anniversary that caused Andrew Stuttaford to write this piece for the New York Sun. The entire article is interesting but one paragraph stands out:
Rand lived in an era of stark ideological choices; to argue in muted, reasonable tones was to lose the debate. As a graduate of Lenin's Russia, she knew that the stakes were high, and how effective good propaganda could be.
I guess I find this comment to be important because today there are still "stark ideological choices" to be faced; in how we raise our kids, in what type of society we want our children to grow up in, and more fundamentally, the judgments in behaviors and actions we make as we live our lives.
PermaLink | 5:53 AM |
|
I was first exposed to this writer in 10th grade when a teacher assigned the book Anthem. At that time I was a ferocious reader and when I came across an author who interested me I would write the name down and then go find other books by the same person. It was not until the summer between high school and college that I got around to reading The Fountainhead.
I guess it is the coming anniversary that caused Andrew Stuttaford to write this piece for the New York Sun. The entire article is interesting but one paragraph stands out:
Rand lived in an era of stark ideological choices; to argue in muted, reasonable tones was to lose the debate. As a graduate of Lenin's Russia, she knew that the stakes were high, and how effective good propaganda could be.
I guess I find this comment to be important because today there are still "stark ideological choices" to be faced; in how we raise our kids, in what type of society we want our children to grow up in, and more fundamentally, the judgments in behaviors and actions we make as we live our lives.
PermaLink | 5:53 AM |
| 
