Tea at Trianon: A Randian Childhood

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Randian Childhood

A young woman describes how objectivism tore her family apart, saying:

Dad wasn't always a Rand zealot. He was raised in a Catholic family and went to church every week. After he and my mother got married in 1982, they shopped around for a church. He was looking for something to live by, but he couldn't find it in traditional organized religion.

Then he discovered objectivism. I don't know exactly why he sparked to Rand. He claimed the philosophy appealed to him because it's based solely on logic. It also conveniently quenched his lawyer's thirst to always be right. It's not uncommon for people to seek out belief systems, whether political or spiritual, that make them feel good about how they already live their lives. Ultimately, I suspect Dad was drawn to objectivism because, unlike so many altruistic faiths, it made him feel good about being selfish.

(Via The Marriage Debate) Share

4 comments:

MadMonarchist said...: As the saying goes, "Who's the more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him?" I don't think any man-made philosophy or school of thought or political theory has all the answers and I am always skeptical of those who think one does. Ayn Rand was also (we should keep in mind) reacting against the extreme collectivism of the Soviet Union. A look at her own life is also informative in understanding that objectivism might just not be the key to personal happiness. However, I agree with some (probably alot) of what she advocated concerning government and economics. I also thought the "Atlas Shrugged" movie was good (basically dealing with the dangers of crony capitalism) and I take the line of the Acton Institute: see the film, skip the book.; April 19, 2011 at 2:59:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I feel the same way about THE FOUNTAINHEAD.; April 19, 2011 at 3:03:00 PM EDT
Dymphna said...: I'm not sure if her father was so much as a Randian as a miserable jerk who used Rand as his excuse for acting like a jerk.; April 19, 2011 at 5:37:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Great point, D.; April 19, 2011 at 5:43:00 PM EDT