WP: Ayn Rand-acolyte Donald Trump stacks his cabinet with fellow objectivists.
Despite this article being a hit-piece against my favorite author Ayn Rand and her fans (still bitter over the election?), it is news nonetheless that our President-Elect and many of his appointees are followers of Ms. Rand.
The president-elect said this spring that he’s a fan of Rand and identifies with Howard Roark, the main character in “The Fountainhead.” Roark, played by Gary Cooper in the film adaptation, is an architect who dynamites a housing project he designed because the builders did not precisely follow his blueprints. “It relates to business, beauty, life and inner emotions. That book relates to ... everything,” Trump told Kirsten Powers for a piece in USA Today.I take issue with the title linking Rand's Objectivism with Trump and his appointees. The author fails to make this connection. One can enjoy the most perfect of books without adopting an author's religion, rejection of religion, ideology, or any other personal attribute. Ms. Rand is my favorite author and I do not consider myself an Objectivist.
Perhaps columnist James Hohmann's smear of Ayn Rand is out of jealousy, in addition to the election results from last month. I would assume all authors envy the fan-base of Ayn Rand, whose work has gained followers over seven decades. Alas, some writers both make and change history. Others just post noise to old-media websites to avoid working a real job.
My favorite book on the planet is Atlas Shrugged.
My third favorite: The Fountainhead.
A top ten: We the Living.
2 comments:
I enjoy Rand's work too, although I've only read Atlas Shrugged and Anthem to this point. She was insightful in politics, philosophy, and economics.
Of course, being a fan of hers doesn't make me an atheist, Objectivist, or abortion supporter. The left doesn't seem to understand that it's possible to "eat the meat and spit out the bones", or take what you like from a thought leader and reject what you don't. I often wonder if the wholeheartedly swallow everything they read without question.
Exactly, Comrade Eric.
I think the only work the columnist did here was avoid mention of the Atlas Shrugged thesis: That govt exists to serve the people, and that govt dies if those who feed it choose to shrug.
I think we are in for a show with Mr. Trump and his leaders.
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