Okay, okay,
Rand was a bad writer. She had an incredible
tendency to lecture (did she ever; the
Galt speech near the end of
Atlas Shrugged is nuts...) which pushes a lot of people away. I can't blame you for thinking this, because she was simply a bad writer of fiction.
However (and you knew it was coming)...
Her non-fiction is astoundingly good. She is one of the ONLY people in philosophy who has the guts to address things with clear, almost simple language. She didn't use rhetoric and unclear logic in her non-fiction; by and large it was clear, concise, and even interesting (which is an incredible achievement for a writer in philosophy).
Ayn Rand doesn't work for you? Fine, whatever. For me, objectivism works (and please, PLEASE note the small 'o'), and I'll be relatively happy as long as you leave me be. Call it a Mexican stand-off; I won't try to convert you, and you won't try to convert me.
Hell, I don't even know why there are so many bloody Evangelical Objectivists (big 'O', big 'O'!). It doesn't make any sense. Objectivism is about reality, right? What the hell is a better teacher than the world around you? If an Objectivist is right (as he seems to think), and the world works exactly as he thinks (as he seems pretty assured of), then let the fools wander blind. Eventually they will see, both by the proof abounding in the world, and by his own living example. The Evangelicals scare the hell out of me, as if they're trying to convince themselves of the truth of it as much as they're trying to convince other people. A true objectivist (or Objectivist) doesn't live through the thoughts and ideas of others. S/he is self-centered and selfish, not worried about what everyone else is thinking.
That's the sum of it. If I'm right, then the world works that way, and you'll either have to come around eventually or continue living in your dream-world. If I'm wrong, then I've got other things to worry about.
The only time this becomes a real issue is when my rights are being infringed upon. I'll fight that to my dying breath. I hope you can understand that much, at least.
Hell, not everyone is a Randroid. I certainly am not. Try a couple ideas on for size, see if they work. For example, the idea that the natural state of man is capable and confident and proud. It's wildly different from most philosophical ideas, the ones that say man is inherently base and sinful and corrupt. That one idea was enough to make me wade through her fiction (which was a chore) and breeze through her non-fiction (which was a pleasure).
Like I said, Mexican Stand-off. If Rand doesn't work for you, fine. I won't press the issue; I'll just be happy you know her name and the basics. However, don't assault me with other ideas and not expect to get like in return.