Ayn Rand, Pure Evil, and the End of my Patience

     Well, OK, I can see that Ayn Rand makes me upset.  Perhaps this means I should just avoid reading the rest of this book for awhile.  I mean, I enjoy a good rant as much as the next person, but is it really productive?  There are plenty of sites on the internet devoted to hating Ayn Rand's philosophy and everything it stands for.  On the one hand I could say to myself, "There can never be enough!" on the other hand "What's the point?" 

   I'm basically a mild-manered, peace-loving guy.  I try to understand where others are coming from, even if they are completely out of their minds, reality impaired if you will.  I mean, it's not their fault, really.  They can't help it.

    And as for pure evil...well, yes the philosophy is pure evil -- sorry, I can't take that one back.  But the people who follow it are just misguided, that's all.  I feel sorry for them...well, no I don't.  Everyone is misguided about something.  I mean, if these people really think it's OK to allow discrimination on the basis of race or gender, to get rid of worker protections, get rid of public education, get rid of food stamps, antitrust laws, environmental protections, help for the elderly, to get rid of child labor laws so the kids are getting their wee hands caught in the big machines, well... that's just evil.  See? I'm doing it again.

   So, next time I'm going to take on Sam Harris's book on Free Will.  Harris is actually a neurobiologist and I have a feeling he may have some good insights into this issue.