The sad truth is that 99 out of 100 Americans' response today to seeing this bumper sticker would be, "Huh? Who dey?". And then back to American Idol...
There is a strong current of criticism of Rand wherein she and her supporters are dismissed as crazy and immature - Ayn Rand as "a phase people grow out of after high school". Heard it many times.
The justification for this is that Rand's protagonist are cartoonish, and her sense of reality distorted. Well, fair enough. I don't argue this with people.
I don't defend Howard Roark as worthy and realistic. I submit to people that Ellsworth Toohey is everywhere, and is dead on. Almost nobody knows a Roark or a Galt or a Rearden; but everybody knows the petty, turf defending, backstabbing apparatchiks that permeate government, academia, and corporate life.
As for cartoonish rendering and mawkish polemic - how does that not describe Orwell's 1984? Why is it necessarily a bad thing?
And then I tell people that contra Orwell - whose totalitarians are industrious and hard working - today's "inner party" has crowd-sourced tyranny - they contrive to have the people oppress each other!
In fact, I tell them, by slamming people who like Rand, they're doing just that - working for the craven mediocrities who indisputably rule way too much of our lives right now.
The sad truth is that 99 out of 100 Americans' response today to seeing this bumper sticker would be, "Huh? Who dey?". And then back to American Idol...
ReplyDelete/would be a great ticket, BTB
There is a strong current of criticism of Rand wherein she and her supporters are dismissed as crazy and immature - Ayn Rand as "a phase people grow out of after high school". Heard it many times.
ReplyDeleteThe justification for this is that Rand's protagonist are cartoonish, and her sense of reality distorted. Well, fair enough. I don't argue this with people.
I don't defend Howard Roark as worthy and realistic. I submit to people that Ellsworth Toohey is everywhere, and is dead on. Almost nobody knows a Roark or a Galt or a Rearden; but everybody knows the petty, turf defending, backstabbing apparatchiks that permeate government, academia, and corporate life.
As for cartoonish rendering and mawkish polemic - how does that not describe Orwell's 1984? Why is it necessarily a bad thing?
And then I tell people that contra Orwell - whose totalitarians are industrious and hard working - today's "inner party" has crowd-sourced tyranny - they contrive to have the people oppress each other!
In fact, I tell them, by slamming people who like Rand, they're doing just that - working for the craven mediocrities who indisputably rule way too much of our lives right now.
Are we there yet?
ReplyDeleteimgw:"http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1391/32390224739287864569710.jpg"
Yes. Sadly, we're there.
ReplyDeleteGreat definition.
Everybody can get their own sticker HERE
ReplyDeleteMore items at Cafe Press
imgw:"http://images0.cpcache.com/product/596525090v2_350x350_Front_Color-BlackWhite.jpg"
Don't be the last in line, eh?! :D