One of the most memorable quotes from my youth is a line from Tyler Durden. Leaning against a decaying building, addressing a few cultists engaged in heavy labor, his voice blaring in monotony through a megaphone, he spoke: “You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.” At the time, the quote seemed bizarre and almost comically subversive, as I was immersed in the self-esteem saturated period of the century’s dawn. But having spent a good amount of time as a humanist, the quote feels far more natural a fit for humanism than the feel-good rhetoric and “winner” mentality of the period. For once the shock and dehumanization of Durden’s statement wears off, the viewer is left with an entirely inconvenient question: supposing God doesn’t exist, if a man isn’t known by many (or any), how much value can he possibly have? (more…)