By TLB contributor: Lauren Rumpler
My journey into objectivism was not an easy one; rather it was a revelation that occurred during a time in conflict. Like many individualistic kids, I wasn’t the most liked or loved and private schools were never a positive second home for me either. After 13 years of “schooling,” I took the normal route into college where the progressivism and collectivism continued, and I started to believe that the only way to join in was to conform to the intellectual boundaries that students and professors alike set forth. One professor, though, stood out from the progressive mindset and put a book into my hand that ended up changing my life. That book was “Anthem.”
Ayn Rand did for me what she did for many others. She showed me what human beings are capable of, she showed me optimism and she showed be the beauty that can come about from understanding what it means to be a virtuous human being.
Humans are capable of the most awesome feats, but only when they remove the shackles that collectivists try to confine them in. We must break from the pseudo-altruistic, self-sacrificing culture that is seeking to cast a shadow over the light of reason and individualism. It is the individual who is capable of greatness, not a culture of sacrifice but a culture which seeks to propel humanity forward by letting good men do great things.
After coming to terms with this fact and embracing it, I realized that I must spread this message to as many people who could hear it. This is why I started Objectivist Girl. It was created to propel the liberty movement forward by doing more than just stating that freedom is important, but so is the methodology by which you come to that answer. The answer to the question, “why must man be free,” can only be answered accurately when the methodology is valid. Ayn Rand presented that methodology in a logically consistent and rational manner, which has changed philosophy forever.
Objectivist Girl was developed to inspire a more intelligent liberty movement. It is great that we want people to have liberty, but I think what’s more important is to give people the tools to know how to handle liberty when they get it. Objectivism teaches people to value their own lives in a way that most philosophies don’t. Objectivism also helps you consider your decisions to come to the best conclusions. Objectivism encourages people to think, “What do I know?” and then, most importantly, “How do I know it?”
This sort of process causes people to consider what is real. One must know what is realistic to expect from their lives based on their resources and skills. If you want something outside of your resources and skills, then you need to make the effort to increase one or both of these. This allows people to always make the proper decisions for their lives.
This allows people, in a free society, to always make the proper decisions for their lives.
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