The Best Within Us

“I love your closing salutation on all of your newsletters. The one that says, ‘In the name of the best within us.’ But I was curious, how did you come up with that? Thanks in advance, Steven T., Paso Robles, California, a loyal reader.”

First off, thank you, Steven, for your question, for the loyal readership and also for knowing the virtue of living in one of the most beautiful and picturesque areas of California, especially if you are a wine nut like me. And I also expect to see you this year at the Whale Rock Music Festival.

Now, to your question, “In the name of the best within us” is the title of Chapter 10, Part III of what I consider to be the greatest novel ever written, “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand.

The novel is an epic tale of adventure, marvelously wide in scope and yet intimately profound. Indeed, it’s no wonder that the novel is cited by so many as one of the most influential books of their lives, and one of the most important novels ever written.

Case in point is my Eagle Financial Publications colleague George Gilder, who called “Atlas Shrugged,” “the most important novel of ideas since War and Peace.” Writing in The Washington Post in 1986, Gilder explained, “Rand flung her gigantic books into the teeth of an intelligentsia still intoxicated by state power, during an era when even Dwight Eisenhower maintained tax rates of 90% and confessed his inability to answer Nikita Khrushchev’s assertion that capitalism was immoral because it was based on greed.”

Now you know one of the many reasons why I consider it an honor to share publishers with George Gilder.

The theme of “Atlas Shrugged” is the role of man’s reasoning mind in achieving all the values of his existence. Its complex and intricately woven plot is driven by a central and seemingly contradictory question. That question, explains Ayn Rand Institute scholar Onkar Ghate, can be summed up as the following:

“If the men of the mind are the creators and sustainers of man’s life, why do they continually lose their battles and witness their achievements siphoned off and destroyed by men who have abandoned their minds? The story focuses on how the men of the mind learn to ask and to answer this question, thereby putting a stop to their own exploitation.”

Now, a complete analysis of “Atlas Shrugged” is way beyond the scope of this column; however, I assure you that over the course her magnum opus, Rand demonstrates what happens when those who move the world decide they’ve had enough of being the victims of a society with warped ideas designed to demonize their effort.

I strongly encourage you to read what I consider to be the greatest work of fiction ever written. And yes, I know that at 1,192 pages the novel is a beast to commit to; however, it’s a beast that could possibly alter your life in profound ways. I know that it did for me. And as an aside, I found that listening to the audiobook of “Atlas Shrugged,” as read by the great Scott Brick, was an amazing and immersive experience that was nearly as profound, and dare I say even more dramatic than my first read of the novel in the summer of 1984.

Now, back to the use of “In the name of the best within us,” as my close. The reason I use that is because of what it means to me, and what it signifies in the novel. I consider it a motto in life, one that I strive to live by literally every moment.

You see, in any given moment, or in any given decision, or at any moment when we can make a conscious decision, we have the ability to put our best effort into that moment. Indeed, we have the ability to (or not to) give that moment the very best within us.

Put more colloquially, we can choose to do our best, or we can choose to make a modest and half-hearted effort. When we choose to do things in the name of the best within us, that means we choose our best selves.

In the novel, as Ghate writes, “The only reason man has ascended from cave and foot to skyscrapers and locomotives is that there have been individuals like Dagny [one of the novel’s protagonists], who knew what the best within them was and who never let it go — and now these individuals know the meaning and the glory of that which they had been dedicated to.”

Perhaps a passage from the novel’s chief protagonist, John Galt, will provide you with the deeply emotional answer to the question of why I chose “In the name of the best within us” as my closing salutation:

“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man’s proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it’s yours.”

**************************************************************

Elderberry Wine

But everybody gets along just fine
’Cause the champagne tastes like elderberry wine
And your eyes are the green of tornado sky
’Cause even the best champagne still tastes like elderberry wine

–Wednesday, “Elderberry Wine”

No matter what your stature in life, no matter what you have or how well educated you might be, it’s important to remember that at our fundamental core we really are all the same. We are all primates trying to navigate a world replete with danger, challenges and opportunities. If you want to be a credit to your species, help yourself and everyone else to become just a little bit better each day. And always remember that even the best champagne still tastes like elderberry wine.

Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.

In the name of the best within us,

Jim Woods