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LOVE IS EXCEPTION MAKING 237
of being gay, always reminding myself that gay was ‘irrational.’ ” 54 If
Objectivism was a religion to some people, it was a notably dogmatic
and confi ning one. Led to Rand by a quest for answers and a need for
certainty, her followers could fi nd themselves locked into the system she
had created.
The presence of Rand, a charismatic personality, was enough to tip
Objectivism into quasi-religious territory, but Objectivism was also easy
to abuse because of its very totalizing structure. There were elements
deep within the philosophy that encouraged its dogmatic and coercive
tendencies. Although Rand celebrated independence, the content of her
thought became subsumed by its structure, which demanded consistency
and excluded any contradictory data deriving from experience or
emotion. Rand denied any pathway of knowledge that did not derive
from rational, conscious thought and did not lead to the conclusions
she had syllogistically derived. Thus Objectivism could translate quickly
into blind obeisance to Rand. One former Objectivist remembered, “If
you think to yourself, I have to be able to go by rational arguments, and
you’re unable to refute them, then you’re really in a bind, which is where
we all were.” At NBI balls dozens of women appeared in slinky, oneshouldered
gowns, like Dagny wore in Atlas Shrugged. When Ayn and
Frank purchased a new piece of furniture, the Objectivist dining table
became all the rage. 55
Roy Childs, an active Objectivist and later advocate for anarchocapitalism,
remembered that many did not simply read Atlas Shrugged but
were “dominated” by it. Rand’s fan letters refl ected this truth. “Your philosophy
has affected me to such a depth that I can longer think outside
its context, nor can I picture myself in any other activity, save the discussion
of it,” one man wrote to her. Another college student reported
cheerfully, “About a month ago I noticed how much I was talking about
your books to my teachers and classmates. As a result of my enthusiasm
I have lost two friends. I am beginning to realize how unimportant
these people are. 56 Just as her fans mimicked Rand’s language and
rhetorical structures, so too could they come to imitate her psychology,
including the rejection of friends who did not measure up to Objectivist
standards. Principled schisms and breaks were commonplace in the
Objectivist subculture as fans followed Rand’s cues about proper human
relationships.
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