http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:28:35 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/12/132111.php#comment-234629 Ayn Rand is mindless pop philosophy for ineffectual, introverted white males who don't know anything about philosophy or literature -- it's a shortcut to ideology for sheep who want to worship the status quo as a transgressive act (oooh, selfishness and capitalism!). No serious academic takes her horrible books and fascist fiction seriously. I've written far too much on this site already about why Rand and Objectivism are silly tripe. Why are there so many Ayn Rand libertarian douchebags on this site? I guess it has something to do with the Internet-ness of it all, that's my brilliant theory. That is all. 234629@blogcritics.org Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:28:35 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/12/132111.php#comment-232031 Ordinarily I would let a flippant reference to Ayn Rand pass, but I must comment on the half-century-old slander that interest in Ayn Rand is a phase that the young pass through and grow out of. There certainly are people who have dealt with Ayn Rand that way. They are initially thrilled by the novels, they think they understand what she is talking about, but they are eventually disillusioned when they fail to learn how to apply these challenging ideas to their lives. Ayn Rand's philosophy -- called Objectivism -- is not for dilettantes. It requires study and thought over a period of time -- probably years -- to fully grasp how Ayn Rand arrived at her conclusions, why they apply to all mankind, why you should make these discoveries part of your life, and why our culture desperately needs Ayn Rand's philosophy. And those who fail to understand should not blame Ayn Rand. I agree it helps to be young when you start studying Objectivism (since there is that much less to first unlearn), but youth is by no means a prerequisite. For those who commit to reality and reason as their guiding principles, the door is always open at any age. But don't stop with the novels! There is much more to be learned. At least I am glad that the post included the Ayn Rand Institute's URL www.aynrand.org. I recommend it to anyone interested in seeing how Objectivism is growing and why it is crucial that it does. 232031@blogcritics.org Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:52:35 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/12/132111.php#comment-231660 Hi, Here's Toral's answer to the final question that was taken off the NBC site: Who would you rather be stranded on desert island, Donald, Geroge or Carolyn? I WOULD TAKE MY CHANCES FLOATING IN THE SEA. 231660@blogcritics.org Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:34:55 EDT