As I read Ayn Rand’s protagonist, Howard Roark, go on about the problem with living through others, that people don’t “want to be great, but to be thought great,” I couldn’t help but think of where I work. My day job is for a major American corporation and at that corporation there is a board in a hallway that is filled with cards of recognition. We are told we need to put cards on the board recognizing others on the job. The board was created supposedly because employees didn’t feel they weren’t recognized enough. The thing is anyone can write a card about anything that happens during the day. A kid who has been on the job two days can recognize someone who has been around for two years for making them laugh. Where is the greatness in any of that? The cards, and the program as a whole, have no merit or value. The crazy thing is how many people buy into it, how eager and excited they are to receive a card in their name. I couldn’t help but think how disgusted Howard Roark would be. These people weren’t striving or yearning for greatness, they were striving and yearning to be seen as great.
Ayn Rand’s “philosophies” are far from perfect. Most academics don’t even except her as a philosopher. And I have to admit, I found most of her views much more palatable when I read Atlas Shrugged at 23 then reading The Fountainhead at 34. The idea that capitalism is the perfect form of government for every man to achieve his potential, while totally acceptable to a naive youth, now seems no more believable then the idea that communism being the perfect government for an equal peaceful society. History has proven that capitalism corrupts and stifles creativity and personal success just as much as any type of socialism. Every government is susceptible to tyrants and Rand’s belief that in capitalism these tyrants will be eventually trumped by man’s greatness is just too naive and idealistic for reality. The Ellsworth Toohey’s of the world have hijacked society because capitalism allows them to and as much as the Howard Roark’s try to rise above once you have the power it’s near impossible to lose. The Fountainhead seemed to down play the importance of money, that the human spirit was more important, but in capitalism, money is power and influence and once you have that you set the rules.
As far as Rand’s literary prowess goes, she falls short there as well. Although her prose is very effective and at times beautiful, she could have used a better editor. As much as I enjoy reading her descriptions and at times, get pulled into her extremely interesting characters, she tends to beat certain points to death. The Fountainhead runs 695 tiny fonted pages and I could easily remove 100 to 200 of those pages without hurting a thing. Do we really need five or six exactly the same examples of Roark being turned down for jobs? I got the point after two. How many times do we need to read about Gail Wynand worshiping Dominique Francon before we understand his feelings? Certainly not as many examples as Rand uses. Not that Rand needs more help getting her message out there, but it seems she could have been more effective if she cut more to the chase.
But back to the point I started with. As flawed as Rand’s ideas and writings may be, there is a reason her works are so popular. There is meat in the pages of The Fountainhead, things we can take out and use in our lives. As simplistic as the good vs. evil world Rand constructs is, there are lessons to be learned. There is no reason we should not strive to be more like Howard Roark, to live for ourselves and not others. If you are constantly looking for approval and validation from others you will never be satisfied. There is no reason we should not be calling out people who like Ellsworth Toohey use the idea of collectivism to gain their own power. The Jesse Jacksons, the George Bushs, the Nancy Pelosis who use and sway and mold public opinion for their own benefit. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “what is true for you is true for all mankind,” and when we wait for the media to tell us what we think or like we fall short of that ideal. At the heart of it, this is what The Fountainhead is trying to tell us. Don’t let others determine that you are doing your job with bromides written on trite cards posted on a drab corkboard. Be true to yourself, do what is right in your heart and other people’s opinions won’t matter. Idealistic and a little sappy for sure, but is it really a bad idea to guide your life by?
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