Another poster on SI just wrote this and it reflects my sentiments exactly. Very well said, IMO/.
"Ayn was a really damaged gal. I guess we're lucky she didn't become a serial killer, but the emotional damage she's managed to do to people has been pretty bad. We are a social species, and people who militate against the social network, and who champion an isolationist "superiority", basically kill one of the best things about our species. For all the greatness of our geniuses and superstars, contemplate this- would you rather have one strong man, or 35 six year olds, to move 350 pounds up a hill? I'd rather have the six year olds. They could easily move five 10 pounds each, but even a strong man is going to have a hard time hauling 350 pounds up a hill. And that's little six year olds. We live in a world society that is incredibly
complex- so complex it's impossible to perfectly model. We really do not understand all the connections in our society, and we certainly don't understand man's connection to the planet. But I think most healthy people understand that no man is an island, and all of those people can easily understand why Ayn is wrong- Ayn who really was a tiny little island, an island that died unloved and alone.
You don't need to be religious to realize what a moron Ayn was, you only need to understand social biology. Everything Ayn stood for is against the social evolution of animals. The path of Ayn is the path of social destruction. And those maroons who whine and wring their hands about atheists and agnostics, should be more worried about Ayniacs. Because atheists and agnostics can be very social, very moral, and very connected- it's the disconnected, and basically sociopathic selfish- who want all the advantages of living in a social society, without "giving" anything, who destroy human society. People who are social, and who realize they are members of something that is called humanity (a collective, after all), make investments of good will, flesh, and money- and they give. They give their children to the collective, so that humanity will continue. They give of their good works, so that humans now may be comfortable, and the world can be a better place. And they support good works with their cash- seeking out the needy, the worthy, and the beautiful for support. People who do not do these things are parasites. And the species can function with parasites- most living things can carry parasites, but you don't want to exalt the parasite, and exalting Ayn is to exalt the parasite. Ironically, in a sweet example of projection, Ayn saw other people as parasites- but in reality she was a huge parasite on the human species, and even though she's dead, the poison of her parasitism lingers. |
