Sometimes Pain Is Easier To Bear Alone

... There Is An Irrational, Cultish Tendency In Many Intellectual Movements, And Objectivism, Alas, Is No Exception. Ayn Rand's Personal Obsession With Loyalty Did Little To Discourage This Trend.... Rand Had Often Protested, 'protect Me From My Followers!'

We Are Anxious When There Is A Dissonance Between Our "knowledge" And The Perceivable Facts. Since Our "knowledge" Is Not To Be Doubted Or Questioned, It Is The Facts That Have To Be Altered.

Out Of Fear, Out Of The Desire For Approval, Out Of The Misguided Notions Of Duty, People Surrender Themselves-their Convictions And Their Aspirations-every Day. There Is Nothing Noble About It. It Takes Far More Courage To Fight For Your Values Than To Relinquish Them.

Self-acceptance Is My Refusal To Be In An Adversarial Relationship To Myself.

Integrity Is The Integration Of Ideals, Convictions, Standards, Beliefs-and Behavior. When Our Behavior Is Congruent With Our Professed Values, When Ideals And Practice Match Up, We Have Integrity.