Friday, January 19, 2007

"New York, New York, It's a Wonderful Town"


I've often been asked why I love New York. This passage, of which I was reminded recently by my friend Rearset, written by a person I consider one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, is possibly one of the more eloquent answers there are:
"I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. Particularly when one can't see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do [they] need?"... "Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window - no, I don't feel how small I am - but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body."

-Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead, p446.

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