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"I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters." - Ayn Rand

Posted by GaltsGulch 9 years, 5 months ago to The Gulch: General
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"I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. And I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obey. And we shall join our hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire." - Ayn Rand

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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Are you asking or preaching? But in the end you got there. At the time written terms like mankind were generally inclusive since PC has dirtied the language the best thing is don't use a dictionary printed after 1980.

    I wonder why we are the only language that has this difficulty. In Spanish speaking countries they would laugh you out of the conversation. Imagine they still routinely use the term negro.

    Back to Ayn Rand. Seen objectively it is a great quote that supports the supremacy of individualism over all else. Freedom of Choice not enslaved or doomed to be a collective non-entity.

    I see someone else didn't agree but it only went back up to zero.
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  • Posted by $ puzzlelady 9 years, 5 months ago
    Does she mean she would have no friends among women? Or is "men" an umbrella term for humans in general? And what would people have to do to "please" her? She is the harshest of judges, and she scorns "second-handers". Yet most humans have earmarks of second-handedness, since they imitate each other and take on others' preferences, if only to please them. In social settings all participants have to give a little to fit in, of only by observing communal protocols that evolved for group cohesion. Like it or not, that is how humans behave for mutual survival. It is a rare human who can maintain a free and unconstrained self while part of an interdependent society. Just look at how some members of the Gulch compete in criticizing and condemning those among themselves with whom they don't agree. Yet the Gulch was envisioned to be a place where one could find the kind of compatible spirits that one would call a friend.

    By the way, I do not see any sexual innuendoes in this quote. In other contexts Ayn did declare herself to be a man-worshipper. It's quite a trick to worship without being submissive.

    Seen objectively, this quote is a great formula for free and equal relationships among individuals, a direct application of Galt's oath.
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  • Posted by TheRealBill 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Frankly given her current situation, I'd imagine I would mostly just freak out for a bit before regaining my wits enough to ask how exactly it is she came a callin without given a second thought to what she came a callin for.
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  • Posted by gaiagal 9 years, 5 months ago
    I shake my head to think there are so many who read words such as these...and...don't get it.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    5$
    You would need a great sense of self and a large intellectual capacity. But, I'm curious. What prompts you to insert such off the subject query?
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 5 months ago
    Absolutely perfect. It boils down to my two guidepost rules: The right to say no, and MYOB, mind your own business.
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  • Posted by fosterj717 9 years, 5 months ago
    It is a creed for individualism that all who wish to walk on their hindlegs and be beholding to no one should follow with head up and character intact!
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