Letter: Ayn Rand Institute not a cult, promotes independent thought

04/25/08 - To the Cigar, The letter from Mr. Colin Giblin published on March 23 absurdly calls the Ayn Rand Institute a cult. The Institute is explicitly opposed to religion, as was Ayn Rand. So, to call it a cult, which is a type of religious organization, is patently dishonest and obviously false. While cult leaders demand absolute unthinking obedience, no matter how crazy their edicts, Ayn Rand advocated independence as a key virtue.

In fact, the theme of "The Fountainhead," one of her novels, was that each individual has the responsibility to use one's own mind to figure out how best to properly live, as opposed to blindly following others.

This is precisely the opposite of what a cult leader (or any religious leader) would say - they tell you to unthinkingly obey their commandments (or God's).

If anyone is interested in learning more about Ayn Rand, I suggest you check out her books and the Ayn Rand Institute's Web site: www.aynrand.org



Guy Barnett