Deke

This statement manifests total ignorance of the political reality of the world in which we live. You must be a 20 something newbie Objectivist that has no life experience if you do not understand the hegemony that the Left has on the culture. Conservatives play second banana to the Left and Objectivism isn't really even on the radar screen yet.(Well, maybe just starting.) The Left's main aim is to eliminate non-Leftist opposition. That some Democrats are not on board with this does not change the reality of the nature of today's Leftism. We are fortunate in a way that Americans tend to be myopic and uninterested in world events. The Norway massacre might not turn into the Next Leftist media obsession. But rest assured when there is a true "right-wing" mass murderer in America - and that does not include Jared Loughner or Timothy McVeigh who were more in line with anarchism - the Left will milk it for all its worth in an attempt to discredit any opposition to them; whether from white nationalists or Classical Liberals / libertarians / Objectivists. And there WILL be a pissed off Conservative at some point that takes out his gun collection and mows down Leftists just like this Norwegian did (notice he targeted a group of Left-Liberal college age kids). When that day comes (and it will), then we will see the Left move for total censorship of all non-leftist thought. Guaranteed. Get some more life experience in the real world and understand the culture in which you live. You will do a greater service to yourself and to Objectivism.

This is a big propaganda victory for the Left. Now they can equate anyone who disagrees with the socialist/multiculturalist/egalitarian agenda of the Left with being a "far right extremist". With this incident they can say that anti-Left advocates are all potentially violent and thus should be monitored. The true aim of all consistent Leftists is to criminalize non-Leftist thought. This is the totalitarian nature of Leftism becoming more blatant. This is a dark day for the West in many ways. The Left is stronger because of this atrocity and it will be harder to oppose them.

I am going to digest the responses given so far and post my thoughts. But for now, here is more from this same Conservative essayist. Does Ayn Rand deny the reality of nature apart from man? This Conservative says this: As I understand Objectivism, this is all wrong. The non-living world has a reality all its own regardless of man. I believe for Objectivism, all living things have values, but only man has volitionaly chosen values. So the sea lion has values apart from man. Objectivism does not deny that man is part of nature. That's its starting point, yet this Conservative has placed Objectivism "at war with the structure of reality."

Here is a critique of Objectivism that I have seen made by both Communitarian Leftists and by the more collectivist Cultural Conservatives. It argues that Rand's philosophy destroys society because it does not acknowledge the existence of "things outside the self". Here is the link: http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/019141.html I think this is a variation of the Communitarian Critique of individualism. I am looking for the best way to counter this argument. Thanks