HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYN RAND!

[Ed Hudgins]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYN RAND!

by Ed Hudgins, The Atlas Society/Objectivist Center

February 2, 2007 -- Ayn Rand was born on February 2, 1905; in 2007 we celebrate her great achievements and the legacy that she left us all!

Rand has had a significant influence on today's world:

Her strong moral defense of freedom and capitalism inspired many who have fought over the years for limited government, individual liberty and free markets.

Her great novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, show the terrible consequences of the wrong philosophy on both individuals and societies and present the vision of happy, joyous lives in a benevolent society that is the consequence of human achievement, good will and the right philosophy.

And her development of the philosophy of Objectivism offers us a guide for such lives in such a world.

Much of the progress towards freedom in recent decades can be traced to Rand's influence. But today we still face many serious problems -- Islamo-fascism, the collapse of the nominally limited-government Republicans in America, the worldwide rise of the cult of environmentalism. The antidote to these problems can be found in a commitment to the objective reality of this world; to reason as our guide to understanding it; to our own lives and rational, responsible, principled self-interest as our highest goal; to a culture that celebrates human achievement; and to governments that respect and protect the lives, liberty and property of citizens. In other words, Objectivism!

Ayn Rand's books continue to sell hundreds of thousands of copies and 2007 also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Atlas.

Thus we should mark this occasion by recommitting ourselves to the best within us, to the realization of our own potential and to the creation of a benevolent society in which we all can prosper, flourish and enjoy the benefits of each others' achievements -- an Atlas society!

----

We offer here the link to our "Rand Fan" issue of The New Individualist. It contains a wealth of material about Rand and her influence.

Note specifically the articles on "Celebrity Rand Fans" by that publication's Editor Robert Bidinotto and on "Ayn Rand's Stamp on American Culture" by Edward Hudgins, the magazine's publisher.

You also might want to check out the Ed Hudgins-Fred Smith discussion of "Ayn Rand at 100: When Will Businessmen Learn Her Lessons About Politicians?" from the last issue of Navigator, before we changed its name to The New Individualist, marking Rand's centenary. You can check out the other articles in that issue as well.

And finally, you might want to order from The Objectivism Store the three CD audio set of our Ayn Rand Centenary Celebration, which includes a bonus forth disc of photos of the event.

That birthday bash was held on February 2, 2005 in the Member's Room at the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Speakers and panelists included: Rep. Paul Ryan; Cato President Ed Crane: CEO head honcho Fred Smith: Reason Foundation founder and now Atlas Society Trustee Bob Poole; Howard Dickman, now of the Wall Street Journal; Aristos editor Michelle Kamhi; the late, irrepressible Madeline Cosman; and, of course, Atlas Society Founder David Kelley and Executive Director Edward Hudgins. Experience the excitement and enlightenment at this extraordinary event that shows how far Rand's words have reached!

[Charles R. Anderson]

Hard to believe I read Atlas Shrugged early in its 8th year of publication!

Anna and I greatly enjoyed being at the Washington, D.C. Library of Congress celebration of Ayn Rand's 100th birthday sponsored by The Objectivist Center. Sometimes it is nice to live in the Washington, D.C. area, despite the poor local politics. We will be similarly fortunate when the Atlas Society holds its summer seminar this summer in Towson at Towson University, just north of Baltimore.