The Fountainhead - Howard Roark's defense

King Vidor's The Fountainhead - Howard Roark's defense

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• king
• vidor
• foutainhead
• gary
• cooper

[312howard]

@Ashiman12 The best way to help others in this world is by letting them be free and independent and give them the freedom to practice their independence in a moral and respectable way. Like Howard Roark said in the book: "Don't work for my happiness, instead, show me yours, and that will give me the courage for mine."

[MrDeppness]

The best courtroom speech ever put into a movie. PERIOD.

[AnubisEye009]

I'm a fan of Ayn Rand, but to those denouncing charity, consider this...

Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it.

-John D. Rockefeller

[lladnarg]

@Chaaarge - I'll give it a shot...to do a thing in which you are not in support of would be evil since it is contrary to your own self preservation. However, a soldier falling on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers would not be contrary since it usually is a decision that men make in the heat of battle. "Doing for others" to make yourself feel good, is a benefit that only an individual can decide. Charity is a perfect example of this, but it is not "Altruism". Something like that : )

[Chaaarge]

one thing I would like to know is how ayn rand arrives at the conclusion that sacrificing yourself for others is evil (as she said in an old interview). I understand the "live and let live principle" where you can't sacrifice others for yourself (like stalin for example). But why would self sacrifice be such an evil thing? it doesn't affect me if someone sacrifices themselves (not that i want them to), it only affects me if they sacrifice me for themselves.

[RedTulie1]

@Ashiman12 The point to me is that we must have the choice to aid others. We should never be forced to do so. If it is YOUR choice to help a particular individual then you should do so. True freedom is making our own choices as we see fit and NOT infringing on others right to do the same, respecting their lives & property.

[Ashiman12]

@312howard There's something to be said for letting people be independent. But it's easy to take that thinking and make it into an excuse to disregard others, leading down a path of apathy that's already done enough harm to our society. Obviously we shouldn't force ourselves into people's lives if we aren't welcome, and we can't hold them upright if they're unwilling to stand on their own, but we should never withhold a helping hand just because offering it is inconveniant.

[Ashiman12]

@Solverwiz I agree, we should be free to make the choice. Goodness is not goodness if we don't have the choice to do harm.

[Solverwiz]

@Ashiman12 Why not help others if we can? No reason at all. But it must be by free choice not by yoke. We use to be wiser and actually care more for others in the past. Now we take the lazy way and foolishly let others care for others, using force. And their promise of this extra "security" only costs our liberty.

[Ashiman12]

I'm torn. On one hand, I agree, that it's wrong to be coerced and pressured to sacrifice one's self for the so-called "greater good" and to become part of a flock - we do have a right to live, to be ourselves, to use our own minds. But I also think that this kind of thinking leads to an overly divisionistic society built on distrust and alienation. We are all connected, and to deny that is foolishnish. We should have a choice, but why NOT choose to help others if we can?