newsletter > March 2005

Remembering Ayn Rand

By Laura Lee

How many of us remembered Ayn Rand's 100th birthday this month? As one of the most influential thinkers and writers on individualism and freedom, she was a controversial and enigmatic woman who helped shape many of us into Libertarians. Nearly 25 years after her death, young readers are still discovering her literature, and her ideals of objectivism and self-interest. Even today, her stories and essays hold a profound impact for those who seek a life of freedom, rationality and individuality. Ayn Rand was, in a sense, the Fountainhead of her movement. Because of her dedication and work, we have an alternative view that does not insist that we must be members of and subservient to the state. Because of her, we have a vision of the future in which people are responsible for themselves, free to make their own decisions and live by them. And because of her we can strive for less government and less outside control of our lives.

We as Libertarians value her contribution to our movement because it inspired us to strive for goals that, in fact, made her reject the party. Her example led us to embrace freedom and true diversity of thought, to make up our own minds and stand for what we believe in: a world in which adults are truly free of government tyranny and regulation.

No matter how controversial she is, we are grateful for her contribution to our lives.

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