Coming Out Of The Ayn Rand Closet

I am an admirer of the novels and the philosophy of Ayn Rand. I think her insights are profound and her presentation of them poignant. I argue that, if people took her ideas seriously, the world will be a much better place.

There. I said it. I am coming out of the Ayn Rand closet.

I do so with a clear understanding that many people will find my Ayn Rand lifestyle to be vile, immoral, and disgusting. People will judge me and shun me and actively attempt to bully and discredit me simply because I find John Galt to be an ultimately admirable character. They will sneer at me, label me heartless, and call me the worst kind of mean and demeaning names, even though they knew nothing about why I find her work admirable.

I understand: they will not attack and revile me because of anything that I believe or do not believe, but merely because they have been taught that Ayn Rand is evil – hence, if I admire her work, I must be evil as well. In fact, most of the time, they will not have read any of her books (or even an essay), and have absolutely no idea of what Ayn Rand’s philosophy consists. They will be satisfied with some quote of hers obviously taken out of context and presented by people who are clearly attempting to defame her as a baby-hating monster. AND, they won’t even feel any need to understand her ideas, to do any real research into her views whatsoever, because they have been brought up in a culture in which blatant prejudice against Ayn Rand is a badge of moral righteousness – period.

However, I am tired of hiding the truth of who I am. I am sick of keeping my philosophy secret as a way of protecting my career aspirations. I am tired of biting my tongue in social situations so that I am not labeled as a moral pervert and degenerate. I refuse to accept the confined, isolated world of fearing rejection because of my love of Ayn Rand’s work.

So, I will state my truth, clearly and unapologetically:

• I stand by the key ideas of Ayn Rand’s philosophy and strive to be like her heroes;
• I declare the axiom that Existence Exists – That REALITY is real; that it has a nature independent of human consciousness;
• I argue that REASON is valid – that we can use science and logic to understand, describe, and work with Reality with ever-increasing depth and power;
• I stand for the values of Self-RESPONSIBILITY – that it is right and good that we each pursue happiness according to our own rational conscience and Integrity through proactive work;
• I promote mutual RESPECT between people – that justice involves honoring the equal rights of other people to pursue their values according to their conscience through voluntary association and trade to mutual benefit;
• I proclaim the REALIZATION of human potential to be Beautiful – that the creation of our Self and our life is the highest form of art and ought be accorded the greatest admiration and appreciation.

In coming out of the Ayn Rand closet, I hope BOTH to encourage others who live by a rational code of morality to stand tall and proud, AND to invite others who have a knee-jerk reaction to the name of Ayn Rand to examine the life-style of her admirers and judge them, not on the novels that they love, but on the content of their character and their commitment to human freedom, realization, and thriving!

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