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January 22, 2010

A is A

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"The greatest of your philosophers [Aristotle] has stated the formula defining the concept of existence and the rule of all knowledge: A is A. A thing is itself ... a leaf cannot be a stone at the same time , it cannot be all red and all green at the same time, it cannot freeze and burn at the same time. A is A. Or, if you wish it stated in simpler language: You cannot have your cake and eat it, too.

"All the disasters that have wrecked your world came from your leaders' attempt to evade the fact that A is A. All the secret evil you dread to face within you and all the pain you have ever endured, came from your own attempt to evade the fact that A is A. The purpose of those who taught you to evade it was to make you forget that Man is Man."

"To call sin that which is outside man's choice is a mockery of justice. To say that men are born with a free will but with a tendency toward evil is ridiculous. If the tendency is one of choice, it doesn't come at birth. If it is not a tendency of choice, then man's will is not free. You must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.

"The world will change when you are ready to pronounce this oath: I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine."-- Atlas Shrugged
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From THE SECRET ORIGINS of Steve Ditko's Mr. A.

Posted by Vanderleun at January 22, 2010 9:07 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

- Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.

- You must choose one side or the other (and it's not 'us' or 'them').

Ah - you're playing my theme song(s)!

Posted by: goy at January 22, 2010 11:39 AM

Rand was a major contributor to clarity of thought, especially as regards politics and ethics. It's a pity she allowed herself to go overboard and be encysted by a worshipful cult.

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at January 22, 2010 1:49 PM

I agree with you Mr. Porretto. But I suppose that's going to happen. Whenever lots of people grow fatigued by a certain prevalent mindset, and someone finally emerges to offer an effective voice for the sensible, oppositional mindset -- it'll always happen. In Rand's case, there is a sad irony to it. The secular types always seem to have this unspoken hunger for a replacement of that which they'd destroy. They always need a substitute.

Never would've pegged Spider Man as a cousin to Ayn Rand's creations. I always preferred Superman because the former worries w-a-a-a-y too much about whether his popularity rating is going up or down. Ends up doing a lot of whining. Maybe that all came along after Mr. Ditko's departure.

Posted by: Morgan K Freeberg at January 23, 2010 8:06 AM

"To say that men are born with a free will but with a tendency toward evil is ridiculous."

Let's say rather that being born with a free will is in and of itself no guarantee that one will use it rightly.

Posted by: Rich Fader at January 23, 2010 9:38 AM

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