ANTHEM (BLOG #2)

A.
Leonard Peikoff wrote in the Introduction of Anthem, "But reason is a property of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain." I completely agree with what Peikoff was saying. You, as an individual, were born with the skill of reasoning and solving problems independently. And since you were born with reasoning, there should be no one who can tell you what to do and how to do it. That is what collectism is. Other people tell you what you should believe and how you should believe it. You can't make decisions for yourself, even though they make hurt or destory you as a human being. That is why, as an individual, you are to believe what you want, when you want, how you want.
As for the super-computer theory, I agree with that. I feel that in the future, a computer will make major decisions for you. Do I think that this is a good think? No! Possibly because that computer doesn't weigh out all of the options of how that decision will effect you in life. Whether that decision will make you sick, make you dispressed, or even worse, kill you in the end. A super-computer, with even more brain power then the smartest person on Earth, will make these decisions, and we will be so depended on them that we fully give up on our own thoughts of reasoning.
So, in conclusion, I completely agree with the statement that Peikoff made.

B.
When Ayn Rand said "I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals , and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities.", she meant, in my opinion, that those who make decisions for themselves as an individual, she worships. However, those who depend on the opinons of others and what they find is right or wrong, she feels are not on the same level as those who make decisions as an individual. You can live up to these possibilites because you are your own person, with your own brain, and your own well.

D.

I feel that America gives us the chance to be individualist, but we take it for granted. We given the right to vote, but we don't because we are infunced by others, and just because they don't vote, you don't. Or you go to the movies with your friends, and you watch the movie they want to watch because they are watching it and you don't want to voice your opinion. These examples, are in a way, that of a collective society, and not an individual society. America isn't like China though. China's whole culture is collective. The Ruler tells you when to pray, and who to pray to, and what to do. If he says "JUMP", you had better say "HOW HIGH?" or you are done with. I don't think that America will ever get like this. I feel that there will always be those who believe that a collective society would help America become stronger, and grow, but these people are uneducated and extremely lazy individuals who are not only a disgrace to their country, but to the world. A country of individualism means that everyone makes the decisions for themselves, and no one person, makes a decision for everyone, i.e. CHINA. Individualism is freedom, it is what America should be based on. Individualism is life; it is how you should live your life every moment of every day.