There is a lot to talk about, a lot I want to get out, get down on 'paper'. My wife bought me a book, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. This spurred me to research him a little more. I've heard of him, have a couple of his books that I've intended to read, but haven't got around to it. This motivated me to look for the video that was shown in England and isn't available in the US.

I found an interview by Mike Wallace, talking to Ayn Rand. It is this I have to get to first before I forget what I want to say. She explains her philosophy, which I want to comment on. She says living for the common good is wrong. Altruism is wrong at it's foundation. It is wrong because an altruistic ideal forces a person to be bound to another person's welfare. In her opinion, this is a form of slavery, because people should be working for themselves. Anything else binds a person to another. A man must lead his life by his reason, and not force others to work for his own interests. Altruism assumes others expect a person to sacrifice themselves to others. Self-sacrifice is evil, is the precept that man needs to serve others in order to justify his existence, it is a moral duty, which leads back to a person being bound to others, which any reasonable person would agree is wrong. I guess the flaw is that it would be evil if it forces one to altruism, but what about the person that does this willingly. She says it makes a man a sacrificial object, the purpose or role of which is to serve others. We are taught to live this way, but it is in conflict with another tenet that a person should be free from any and all forms of bondage. Man is entitled to his own happiness, and nobody can expect another to give up their own happiness for another's, shouldn't subjugate his well being for that of another. Altruism is impossible because love of others indiscriminately doesn't hold to a certain standard. Love for others should be based on worthiness. She does say that very few people are truly worthy of the consideration of others. Altruism leads to everyone enslaved to everyone, which is socialism.