Ayn Rand is much in the news right now as her philosophy is being tied to Congressman Paul Ryan who was selected by Mitt Romney to be the vice presidential nominee. Ryan now says he disavows her atheistic philosophy but he’s clearly found some merit in much she had written as he’s been quoted many times praising her.
This has caused great concern among many Christians. But not me. I am a Catholic who was heavily influenced by Ayn Rand. I understand many of Ryan’s remarks concerning Rand because I’ve probably said similar things about her. Many years ago, I read everything Ayn Rand wrote and believed her to be brilliant. I wouldn’t have called myself an atheist at the time. But only because I thought atheists were just as illogical as Christians.
Simply put, I would’ve thought I was better than you if I’d thought about anyone but myself for a moment. Thankfully, those occasions didn’t arise often. But I thought I was brilliant because I saw the futility in pondering life. I was just going to soak up the day to day. It’s funny in looking back, for someone soaking up my days, my mind can’t seem to remember much about my nights.
I was working as a security guard — the job funded my drinking at neighborhood bars and road trips. Road trips were where I went and drank in someone else’s neighborhood.
