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My husband left me because of this book, July 22, 2005
Reviewer: Boston Babe (East Coast) - See all my reviews
Unbelievably, I actually didn't hate this book. Despite my husband's insistence upon hanging Ayn's portrait in our den and the fact that it ultimately contributed to the demise of my marriage.
When my husband at the time bought it for me so that I could try to understand and relate to his obsession with Ms. Rand's philosophy, I was a good sport. I actually enjoyed the book, and we even enjoyed the movie together. But I warn readers and potential readers: Tread cautiously. And if you meet someone claiming to LOVE Ayn Rand - run fast and don't look back.
It's not cool or noble to emulate Howard and Dominique to prove to the world and yourself just how important it is to only think of yourself and no one else. Living your life like this on a daily basis can cause destruction, pain, years of heartache and can damage the lives of those around you for years to come.
This is what my former husband did. Woke up one morning and out of the blue, told me he didn't want to be married anymore. What did he cite? Ultimately, Ayn's edict of selfishness. My inability to understand this caused my husband to leave me. Operating for himself and only for himself, he continued to disintegrate little by little - taking a married woman as his mistress, breaking up hers and our marriage, isolating himself from friends and family, and several years later - continuing to live a lie - all masked under Ayn's philosophy of selfishness.
The end of my marriage nearly killed me. If I could stop the sad reality of divorce in this country, I would. In my 31 years of existence, I've experienced nothing worse. But now I'm happy to report that I have found a partner who exhibits more selfLESSness on a daily basis than I ever thought was possible. And I've been blessed to witness the other extreme. This is how we're meant to live on earth - making the world a better place and helping those in need. I'm not saying that one's own needs aren't important - they certainly are - just not at the expense of dozens of loved ones and certainly not to appease Ms. Rand as she rots in her grave.
Read the book and see what I mean. Read the book to become well-versed in Rand's banter and atheist philosophies. Just don't read the book and become an advocate of selfishness. The world doesn't need any more of those.
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8 comments:
It sounds to me like your ex-husband took Ayn Rand's philosophy in a way which it was not meant to be taken, but which it often is.
Ms. Rand never claimed that we should all live by greed (selfishness that is harmful). No where did she advocate a life without reason where one's self is the only concern they should have.
Ayn Rand taught about treating those around you with an amount of love that directly corresponds to how much value they are to you. She advocated living according to one's values with reason. For example, if one's wife is of great value to you, then it will please you if she is pleased.
In Ayn Rand's philosophy, objectivism, you can most certainly care about others and do things for others as long as they are deserving of the effort in your eyes and you receive ample "payment" for what deed you performed.
Whoa. The intellectual conversation threw me for a minute. I like to come to this blog to do more mundane things, like attack the elderly.
From wikipedia:
In 1950 Rand moved to New York City, where in 1951 she met the young psychology student Nathaniel Branden [1], who had read her book, The Fountainhead, at the age of 14. Branden, then 19, enjoyed discussing Rand's emerging Objectivist philosophy with her. Together, Branden and some of his other friends formed a group that they dubbed the Collective, which included some participation by future Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. After several years, Rand and Branden's friendly relationship blossomed into a romantic affair, despite the fact that both were married at the time. Their spouses were both convinced to accept this affair but it eventually led to the separation and then divorce of Nathaniel Branden from his wife.
Now, what was that again about Rand's "philosophy" being taken the wrong way?
What's that have to do with her philosophy?
As a side note: Rand told her husband about the affair while it was going on. He knew that he didn't provide for the intellectual side of her, and that she needed what Branden gave her.
Hey, Anonymous, if you're still visiting.
We're not psycho raving lunatics here at Positively Unemployed. We like jokes. So feel free to give yourself a name. Otherwise I'll start confusing you with the person who wrote that footprints in the sand Jesus thing.
Also, in case you couldn't tell by the picture of Frank Sinatra shooting heroin, or Dick Cheney as Yosemite Sam, nothing here is to be taken seriously.
Rock on.
--Frankie
Howard Roark was ethically challenged in many ways. He was an eco-terrorist (My Way or No Way). He raped a rich, young woman, and then Rand gets her to say that she really needed to be raped. Now the Ayn Rand Institute is championing contemporary corporate America, just like right wing Republicans. Corporate America has never championed individualism nor has it championed objectivism. It is only interested in its bottom line, regardless of what it does to American society. The Ayn Rand Institute's theme song could be a paraphrase of the old spiritual: "It's a Me, It's a Me, It's a Me, O Lord, I'm the only one that counts." Of course, as an essentially atheist organization, they would not be happy with this characterization, accurate as it may be.
We all rot in our graves, but she deserves little attention from 21st century readers.
Howard Roark was ethically challenged in many ways. He was an eco-terrorist (My Way or No Way). He raped a rich, young woman, and then Rand gets her to say that she really needed to be raped. Now the Ayn Rand Institute is championing contemporary corporate America, just like right wing Republicans. Corporate America has never championed individualism nor has it championed objectivism. It is only interested in its bottom line, regardless of what it does to American society. The Ayn Rand Institute's theme song could be a paraphrase of the old spiritual: "It's a Me, It's a Me, It's a Me, O Lord, I'm the only one that counts." Of course, as an essentially atheist organization, they would not be happy with this characterization, accurate as it may be.
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