Howard Roark's Existence Of Selflessness Or Selfless?

Selflessness is a misleading word. It has two distinct meanings that are often mistakenly interchanged. While one is being able to put other people's needs above one's own whims, the other is being without the ego or the self. While the first is arguably commendable, the other is indubitably contemptible. Being without the self implies being unable to independently judge, act, think or feel. It also implies having to rely on others for every thought, for every idea. Therefore, altruism makes people dependent, unoriginal, average. Selflessness kills the individual and glorifies the mob. It is what Howard Roark spent his life trying to understand; it is the drooling beast which Steven Mallory could not name; it is what Henry Cameron died fighting. It suppresses the Howard Roarks and praises the Peter Keatings. Selflessness may masquerade as the only virtue today's world needs, but, ironically, is gradually annihilating everything that is great and heroic about mankind. …show more content…
If you are self-sufficient and need no accolade or acknowledgment from the people around you, then you automatically become a self-respecting, satisfied individual. Self-respect is what makes us believe that human beings are more than just insignificant specks on a minuscule planet. It is the only thing which believes in the divinity of the human spirit and the sheer vastness of the human mind. Roark's Temple of the Human Spirit only had the statue of Dominique, with her head up, arms by her side- a posture reminiscent of exaltation, of reverence for one's self, one's potential. Without an ego, you become a 'second-hander', while with it, you become a 'creator'. A creator or an innovator contributes much more to society than any altruist ever