Objectivist Gay Guy
Posted by Elliot 11 years, 7 months ago to The Gulch: General
Hello all.
I have struggled all my life with something deep down inside, a secret that my friends would never tolerate. However there comes a time when you just have to take a deep breath and come out of the closet.
Everyone...I'm a capitalist.
*Gasp!* *Shriek of terror!*
I know, I know, but honestly, I just couldn't take it anymore. I grew up in the public school system, the only son of two Christian parents (although as they've committed to reason, little by little they're heading towards recovery) and throughout my childhood, with programs like "Captain Planet" among others, I was on track to being a greenie, vegan, altruist liberal.
Then, my sophomore year...9/11 happened.
It was as if the world I'd lived in, the world I'd wanted to explore all my life, had just cracked and exploded into millions of pieces. I didn't understand what was going on geopolitically, I only knew that my country had been attacked. We were going to unite, we were going to find out who did this and track them down and seek justice, right? Right?
I didn't understand how the left could simply view it as a "tragedy" when "outrage" was more appropriate. It angered me that so many people died that day, and the left was more intent on forgiving the attackers and defending Islam rather than avenging the innocent people who were killed that day. In my senior year, I labeled myself a conservative, and I followed that philosophy...for a little while.
Conservatism has a lot of things about it I admired, but there were a lot of things that left me scratching my head. I discovered that I was gay in high school, and as my twenties commenced, I struggled more and more to square away the contradiction of a gay man who wants to be married and raise a family and be a productive member of society by starting my own business with the conservative view that marriage is between a man and a woman because it's what the Bible says. I kept questioning this view, because even if the majority of Americans identify as Christians, that doesn't mean everyone. I didn't - and do not - believe that religion should enter into the national discussion on the issue. I went through several religions, from Buddhism to Wicca to non-denominational Christianity, but by this time the contradiction was sharper and I couldn't marry my commitment to reason (though I didn't fully understand what I meant by that) and my belief in the supernatural. Eventually, I had to make a choice...but I didn't know where to go.
Then came Ayn Rand.
The conservative talk radio pundits were extolling the virtues of "Atlas Shrugged" and of its fierce defense of individual rights and of capitalism, and my father insisted on seeing the movie. I felt only slightly intrigued, but I watched it with him...and I left feeling completely rejuvenated. Shortly after, I bought "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead", tearing through both of them at a lightning-quick pace. I couldn't get enough; I started after Rand's non-fictional, philosophical writings, beginning with "The Voice of Reason", followed by the book that solidified me as an Objectivist, "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology". Rand's description of concept formation was EXACTLY what I'd done all my life, but I'd never had a name for it. I didn't even know what epistemology was, much less the Objectivist theory of knowledge. More than anything else, that book set me on the path to Objectivism.
I followed that up with "The Romantic Manifesto", "The Virtue of Selfishness", and "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal." On my Nook I got a copy of "Philosophy: Who Needs It", and studied every word of it on my breaks at work.
I am now, at 28 years old, fully conscious of my philosophy and follow the philosophy of Objectivism. Am I perfect? No. But at least now I know if I make a mistake I can check my premises to discover where I went wrong.
Do I agree with Rand on everything? No. But I know, and I think she would agree, that rational minds can debate and disagree so long as their important premises are matched. On that, I feel that Rand and I are very matched, even if we might disagree on a couple of things.
So that's my plane ride of how I arrived in the Gulch. Nice to meet all of you!
I have struggled all my life with something deep down inside, a secret that my friends would never tolerate. However there comes a time when you just have to take a deep breath and come out of the closet.
Everyone...I'm a capitalist.
*Gasp!* *Shriek of terror!*
I know, I know, but honestly, I just couldn't take it anymore. I grew up in the public school system, the only son of two Christian parents (although as they've committed to reason, little by little they're heading towards recovery) and throughout my childhood, with programs like "Captain Planet" among others, I was on track to being a greenie, vegan, altruist liberal.
Then, my sophomore year...9/11 happened.
It was as if the world I'd lived in, the world I'd wanted to explore all my life, had just cracked and exploded into millions of pieces. I didn't understand what was going on geopolitically, I only knew that my country had been attacked. We were going to unite, we were going to find out who did this and track them down and seek justice, right? Right?
I didn't understand how the left could simply view it as a "tragedy" when "outrage" was more appropriate. It angered me that so many people died that day, and the left was more intent on forgiving the attackers and defending Islam rather than avenging the innocent people who were killed that day. In my senior year, I labeled myself a conservative, and I followed that philosophy...for a little while.
Conservatism has a lot of things about it I admired, but there were a lot of things that left me scratching my head. I discovered that I was gay in high school, and as my twenties commenced, I struggled more and more to square away the contradiction of a gay man who wants to be married and raise a family and be a productive member of society by starting my own business with the conservative view that marriage is between a man and a woman because it's what the Bible says. I kept questioning this view, because even if the majority of Americans identify as Christians, that doesn't mean everyone. I didn't - and do not - believe that religion should enter into the national discussion on the issue. I went through several religions, from Buddhism to Wicca to non-denominational Christianity, but by this time the contradiction was sharper and I couldn't marry my commitment to reason (though I didn't fully understand what I meant by that) and my belief in the supernatural. Eventually, I had to make a choice...but I didn't know where to go.
Then came Ayn Rand.
The conservative talk radio pundits were extolling the virtues of "Atlas Shrugged" and of its fierce defense of individual rights and of capitalism, and my father insisted on seeing the movie. I felt only slightly intrigued, but I watched it with him...and I left feeling completely rejuvenated. Shortly after, I bought "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead", tearing through both of them at a lightning-quick pace. I couldn't get enough; I started after Rand's non-fictional, philosophical writings, beginning with "The Voice of Reason", followed by the book that solidified me as an Objectivist, "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology". Rand's description of concept formation was EXACTLY what I'd done all my life, but I'd never had a name for it. I didn't even know what epistemology was, much less the Objectivist theory of knowledge. More than anything else, that book set me on the path to Objectivism.
I followed that up with "The Romantic Manifesto", "The Virtue of Selfishness", and "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal." On my Nook I got a copy of "Philosophy: Who Needs It", and studied every word of it on my breaks at work.
I am now, at 28 years old, fully conscious of my philosophy and follow the philosophy of Objectivism. Am I perfect? No. But at least now I know if I make a mistake I can check my premises to discover where I went wrong.
Do I agree with Rand on everything? No. But I know, and I think she would agree, that rational minds can debate and disagree so long as their important premises are matched. On that, I feel that Rand and I are very matched, even if we might disagree on a couple of things.
So that's my plane ride of how I arrived in the Gulch. Nice to meet all of you!
Welcome aboard, and yes there are many gay men who are students of the philosophy of AR, and feel comfortable about seeking to marry. I know, I'm one of them.
Best to you,
Ray