Ayn Rand in the Media Phy
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lmrract -f lllovember 1995, Volume {, lllumber 7 Ayn Rand in the Media phy. We should honor Western civilization not for the ethnocentric reason that some of us happen to have European ancestorsbut be- Another Major Month for "Ayn Rand in the Media" cause it is the objectively superior culture. The Op-Ed was originally published in the Los AngelesTimes This month, there are as many items for "Ayn Rand in the and was widely reprinted in other newspapersin 1992, Media" as we used to have in a full year,The trend has be- come clear: the media has taken an increasedinterest in Ayn Ayn Rand on TV Ayn Rand was recently mentioned Rand in recent months. Sincewe last went to press-four on the following TV shows: weeks ago-we have iearned of the following items: r Camille Pagliaspoke admiringly about Ayn Rand on CNBC'S "StraightForward" (October15); Berliner's I/NYT" Letter Named Best The New r An ESPN commentatorreferenced Atlas Shruggedon Octo- Iork Press,a free, weekly newspaper,in an issuedevoted to ber 12, regardinga player'sability to carry the rest of the team the "Best of Manhattan '95" (September20-26), selecteda on his shoulders, letter by Michael Berliner to The NeusYork Tirnnsas the "Best r "Jeopardy' (October 10) featured a question relating to the Letter to the Editor of The New York Ti,mes."The letter, pub- poll which found Atlas Shruggedsecond to the Bible in influ- lished 6, 1995,was reprinted in the February issueof January encing people'slives. Impact, From the letter: Indeed [the existence of the Amazon'sArara, a barbaric, primitive "Atlas" Reviewed in "The Denver Post" The tribe] is endangered [by industrialization], the same way that disease DenrserPosf (September24) carried a favorablereview of is endangered by medicine, slaveryis endangeredby freedom, Poverlry Atlas Shrugged, is endangered by wealth, and mindlessnessis endangered by reason. seryice The letter was reprinted in its entirety by the Neu York Press, Ayn Rand in Simpson Trial Reuter'snews (October jurors the O.J. and identi{ied Dr. Berliner as executivedirector of the Ayn 2) carrieda storyprofiling the in jurors was seen Rand Institute. Simpsontrial and reported that one of the reading an Ayn Rand novel. Ayn Rand and . the Pope? The New York Times Hen- (October 1) reported the following, which we quote without Dr. Hendricks in Medical Newsletter Dr, control of comment: dricks'sspeech in Atlas Shruged denouncingstate medicine was reprinted in the newsletter of the Societyof it comes.to American culture, high and low those who know [W]hen Medical-DentalManagement Consulants (October 1995-Janu- [Pope John Paul II] are hard pressed to name a particular author or book that has impressed him, except Walt Whitman, whose poetry he ary 1996).Dr. Hendricks'sspeech came to the attention of the can recite, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which he read only be- newsletter'spublishers as a result of ARI's distribution of the cause he was fleetingly curious about her theories. speechto thousandsof medical professionalslast year, Another Voyage for "Columbus" ARI resubmitted Another Report on t'Atlas" Second to Bible Michael Berliner'sOp-Ed on "ColumbusDay: A Time to Cele- With a large headline stating "Ayn Rand's'Atlas Shrugged'2nd brate" to newspapers,in advanceof Columbus Day. The piece only to Bible," the Sf. PauI PioneerPress-Dispatrh (September was carried by the NashoilleTennessean, the Clendale (CL) 21) becameyet anothermedia source reporting on the 1991 News-Press,the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, and the Li.ma (OH) surveyconducted by the Library ofCongress and the Book-of- Neu;s, all on October 9, and there.were very likely other the-Month Club which found Arlas Shn"cggedsecond only to appearancesof which we are not aware.From the Op-Ed: the Bible in mahng a difference in people'slives, Columbus should be honored, for in so doing, we honor Western B u b The Book-of-the-Month civilization. But the critics do not want to bestow such honor, because ook-of-the-Month CI their real goal is to denigrate the values ofWestern civilization and Club has been advertisingAyn Rand heavily during the past to glorifr the primitivism, mysticism, and collectivism embodied in year-too many instancesfor us to mention individually-with the tribal cultures of American Indians, . We should, they claim, brochuresfeaturing full-page ads for her works. replace our reverence for Western civilization with multi-culturalism, wf,ich regards all cultures as morally equal. In fact, they aren't. Other Media ltems This Month A sampling: Some cultures are better than others: a free society is better than sThe ChicagoTribune Magazine (October 8) printed a quo- slavery; reason is better than brute force as a way to deal with other tation from Ayn Rand on the role of intellectuals. men; productivity is better than stagnation. In fact, Western civiliza- t The HollyrooodReporter (October 13-15) stated that Turner tion stands for man at his best. It stands for the values that make Picturesis remahng "The Fountainhead"movie, (The Estate human life possible: reason, science, self-reliance, individualism, am- bition, productive achievement. The values of Western cMlization of Ayn Rand has no involvementin or control over any remake are values for all men; they cut acrossgender, ethnicity, and geogra- of "The Fountainhead.") Pubflsher: The Ayn Rand Institute,46/;0 Admiralty Way, Suite 715, Marina del Rey,CA 90292,(310) 306-9232,fa:i (310) 3064925 Editor: David Bombardier.ell rights reserved@f995. lrryact is publishedmonthly and is complimentaryto all curent contributors r USA Tod,oy(September 29), reporting that the movie "Love Upcoming Euents Letters" is now availableon video, noted that Ayn Rand was Touring Regional Lyceum International the screenwriter. Conference is holding a touring conferencefeaturing Andrew Bernstein, r A letter to The Orange County Register(September 3) names Gary Hull, Ellen Kenner and Richard Salsman.Locations and Ayn Rand as the thinker who properly defined a rational ethics, datesare: Meadowlands,NJ, November 11-12; Tampa, providing an alternativeto altruism and welfare statism, Janu- ary 26-28; Houston, February 16-18; Chicago, March I5-I7; A Request to Readers Pleasesend or fa:rus any men- Los Angeles,April 5-7. For details, call (360) 876-5868. tions of Ayn Rand in the press.Most items we learn about 1995 Summer Conference SecondRenaissance Con- only from readers.Our thanks to those of you who have sent ferenceswill hold a summer conference 29-July 14 in clippings. June Mclean, Virginia (just outside of Washington,D.C.). Principal Universities faculty membersare Leonard Peikoff and Harry Binswanger. Other faculty include Andrew Bernstein, M. Northrup Buech- ARl-assisted Campus Talks For details,contact ner, Gary Hull, Edwin Locke, John Ridpath, Peter Schwartz, JasonSwihart at (612)673-9192. and Mary Ann Sures,Brochures will be mailed in January,For Date Speaker School Topic details,call (203) 79I-I755, Nov15 Bernstein SantaClara U TheRight to Abortion Nov 28 Hull U-Michigan The New Puritanism Contributing to ARI Bernstein Receives Teaching Award Andrew Electronic Funds Transfer ARI is pleasedto an- Bernsteinreceived an OutstandingTeacher Award for 1995at nounce the availabilityof Electronic Funds transfer (EFT) for MaryrnountCollege. From a publicationof the school: U.S. donorsand for Canadiandonors with U.S. dollar accounts. A lecturer for the Ayn Rand Institute, [Dr. Bernstein] gives talks Through EFT donors may have their contributions to ARI all over the country on Rand'swork, He has spoken at many univer- transferredautomatically from their chechng accountseach sities, including Harvard, Stanford, the University of Chicago, the would University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin. Among the month. If you have not receivedour EFT mailing and talks he has given are "Rational Egoism in The Fountainhead," and like information about the advantagesof this method of contri- "Mind as Hero in Atlas Shrugged." bution, pleasecontact Kathy Cross at ARI. General News Naming ARI As a Beneficiary We would like to thank the many ARI donorswho have named the Institute as Ayn Rand Archive in Progress Twonew employees a beneffciaryin their wills and/or life insurancepolicies. We at ARI, Jeff Britting and ScottMcConnell, are worhng part very much appreciatesuch gifts and also appreciateyour time on the catalogingand preservation of itemsfrom Ayn letting us hrow if you have so named ARL FoT information Rand's estate. about different types of bequestsand how testamentarygifts can reduce estatetaxes, please contact Kathy Cross at ARL ARI Seeks Used Computer Equipment We would greatly appreciatedonations of used (or new) computersor Double Your Support of ARI at No Cost Many peripherals,We are interestedin both PCs (386/33or better) employerswill match donationsmade by their employees. and Macintosh(II or better),Such donations are tax-deductible. Pleasecheck with your employer regarding such a matching- Pleasecontact Ronen Nakashat ARI. gifts program. pelsenbeg uolpeJJoC ssaJql 0299'z6z06Y) o A3d 't3CIYNIUVW. Eu. 3JIDS. AV/\\Al]VUIWcv ot WSI^II)3IEO JO IN3W3)NVAAV EHI UOJ d3IN3) 3I EIDIIISNI ANVU NAV gH..