To Be a Man

[The Anthem]

To Be a Man

What does it mean to be a man? The question refers not to gender but a state of being, an identity within which a person may live. The aspects of a man are not found in most people you may find walking down the street. To be a real man, one must maintain a self sustaining ego, the ability to choose rather than obey, and above all, the use of reason as their primary method of grasping reality and achieving knowledge.

In today’s world, the word ego carries with it a burden of insult. Someone who is egocentric is generally considered a “bad person”. This is completely wrong. A man is someone with a large self esteem, a.k.a., an ego. If one doesn’t think highly of oneself, nothing can be accomplished. However, there are those that feel their self esteem rises when others compliment them. This is not actual self respect. Those people are merely parasites on other people’s beliefs and feelings. You cannot let others control how you feel about yourself. If someone allows their self respect to be warped by others, that only proves they had none to begin with. A true ego is self sustaining. The only true judge of yourself is you because only you know you. Thus, the only one that can correctly judge yourself is you.

An all important aspect of humanity is the existence of free will. Every human being has the power to choose, whether it is used, defines men and animals. “Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.” (Ayn Rand). Free will defines the three castes of humanity: parasites, slaves, and men. Parasites, horribly common people in today’s world, live off of people’s words. They live for others. They listen to orders, they do what other people want, and they do their best to blend into society. These parasites are merely reflections of what other people think, say, feel, and believe. Slaves work not for themselves but for others, for the furthering of society. They erase themselves by destroying their individuality. The slave offers his happiness to the world, expecting nothing in return. If everything was taken away, the parasites and the slaves will have nothing. If the same thing occurs with a man, he will retain the same ideals and thoughts because his existence does not hinge on the existence of any others. The world is full of parasites and slaves, which means that the true men will encounter opposition to their ideas. Slaves and parasites combat men with cynicism and patronization. A true man will not back down from his beliefs when he knows he is right. He will ignore the fact that he may stand alone and he will ignore the power of the people he stands against.

A man must exist through reason. Reason is the way we perceive reality and is the way through which men live their lives. Reason must follow every choice and action a man takes. Men follow their desires with reason. Men must base their knowledge on their own observations and experience. The more experiences we have, the more information there is that reason can draw on. Reason is far more important than emotion. Emotion is not necessarily based on facts, where reason is. Emotions have their place, but only when they can follow the undeniable reason of men. A true man follows reason to the end. And reason, leads to every ideal described above. “From the smallest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from one attribute of man - the function of his reasoning mind.” (Ayn Rand)

Being a man is the ultimate fulfillment of human existence. However, the world is slipping in the opposite direction. The belief incongruent to a man is altruism. Altruism is the belief that society should be put forth in front of the individual. This is a man’s nightmare. The world of the altruist has emerged in places like North Korea and Soviet Russia. Communism is the system of government that is based on altruism. The nightmare that is altruism truly emerges when one reads novels such as 1984, We, and Brave New World. In 1984, ego is destroyed and every person lives like every other. When a true individual emerges, society destroys his thoughts and renders him a slave. “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” (George Orwell). George Orwell said this as he prophesized the altruistic future of the world. In We, the word individual has been erased. Humans run on a clockwork schedule, never deviating, and never thinking. Eventually, the weight of society crushes an emerging individual, forcing him to sacrifice his imagination, and thusly, return himself to the status of a slave. In Brave New World, each person works not for themselves, but for the benefit of society. When a man reads this prophetic novel, all he may see is the hell that altruism generates. “That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane human being has ever given his assent.” (Aldous Huxley). Aldous Huxley states this, knowing full well that there are plenty of insane people who do believe this, that are driving this world to hell. Altruism is humanity’s greatest lie, and the tool with which all evil in this world has been perpetrated with. "Whenever anyone wants others to do their work they call upon their Altruism.’Never mind your own needs,' they say, 'think of the needs of... of whoever. Of the state. Of the poor. Of the Army, of the King. Of God.' The list goes on and on. How many catastrophes were launched with the words 'Think of yourself?' It's the king and country crowd who light the torch of destruction." (Andrew Ryan).

To be a man, the highest of ideals, is a goal that every human should seek. It promises happiness and fulfillment. If one reads Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead, one can truly see the happiness and fulfillment that comes from being a man. The main character, Howard Roark, is the epitome of every man’s ideal. He is, by no stretching of the word, a perfect man. Becoming a man is not an instantaneous process and even if one agrees with everything a man believes, a change will not occur over night. To be a man, should be the dream and end goal of everyone. It is truly the best state of being and the highest ideal we must strive to reach.

Bibliography:

The Ayn Rand Institute - http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index

The Ayn Rand Lexicon - http://www.aynrandlexicon.com/

Bioshock – Xbox 360

We, Yevgeny Zamyatin

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

1984, George Orwell

The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand.

[AMirvish]

Wouldn't that really cover "to be a human", man being taken to mean the universal individual human being? I'm curious as to what Objectivism holds about wha it means to actually be a man i.e. a male human being? Or, a woman? Is there any meaningful difference beyond physiology? Is gender essentially constructed as the feminists say? Are there any "oughts" that follow from various biological "is's"?

[EC]

It looks like he means being a man qua man or a man as he should be and ought to be. Using the male conotations is just the stardard English way of representing Man-- the rational animal as opposed to being politically correct, i.e., he/she, etc.

[The Anthem]

It looks like he means being a man qua man or a man as he should be and ought to be. Using the male conotations is just the stardard English way of representing Man-- the rational animal as opposed to being politically correct, i.e., he/she, etc.

Right.

[AMirvish]

Yes, I understand the sense man was meant in the original post. I was asking a different, more specific question based on the narrow, gender specific sense of the term, and I'd be curious to hear anyone's thoughts on that should they care to present them.

[eriatarka]

The nightmare that is altruism truly emerges when one reads novels such as 1984, We, and Brave New World. In 1984, ego is destroyed and every person lives like every other.

Orwell was a lifelong socialist: 1984 isnt about 'the evils of altruism'. Orwell was deeply committed to the belief that socialism could be implemented while avoiding the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union, which is why he spent most of his life advocating socialist principles while simultaneously opposing those on the left who defended Soviet communism (Homage to Catalonia being an example).

[The Anthem]

You're right. I shouldn't have included 1984 in that list.