Reader Inspector asked about the reference to Ayn Rand's remark about hippies being laughable by definition. I had to do some scrounging, but here it is:

There are some subjects which one can discuss only sarcastically, e.g., the hippies or morgern art. There the subject gives you the necessary ground. It is a caricature in itself, and therefore you cannot evaluate it except in sarcastic terms (though you can discuss its psychological and philosophical roots seriously). For instance, in my article "The 'Inexplicable Personal Alchemy,' " when I move from the Russian rebels ot the American rebels, I am sarcastic from the outset. I write: "America, too, has a vanguard of young rebels, dissenters, and fighters for freedom. Marching down the aisle of a theater, they shout their protest to the world: 'I cannot travel without a passport! ... I am not allowed to smoke marijuana! ... I am not allowed to take my clothes off!' " I say that the hippies are "puppets in search of a master" and "exhibitionists who have nothing to exhibit, " etc., which are sarcastic metaphors. Yet there was no other way to describe them.

[emphasis in the original]

This comes from The Art of Nonfiction and is found on page 125 of my copy under the recommendation not to use inappropriate humor.

Posted by: Flibbertigibbet at 05:39 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Category: Importance of Ideas
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