The Wrath of Ayn Rand

[marmar]

Published on Friday, November 11, 2011 by CommonDreams.org
The Wrath of Ayn Rand

by Firmin DeBrabander


Many have commented on the remarkable callousness fashioned by this Republican presidential field. Most prominently, Herman Cain maintained that the poor and unemployed are responsible for their own plight; Ron Paul claimed that people who refrain from buying health insurance but become debilitated should not be bailed out by government healthcare—they should just die instead, his audience helpfully suggested (or hollered, rather); and just about all the candidates have recommended ever harsher, ever more absurd measures to keep out poor immigrants on our border with Mexico: double fences, electric fences, even soldiers with ‘real guns and real bullets,’ as Herman Cain put it.

What’s driving this show of meanness? You might say it’s just what the electorate—or some loud part thereof—wants. It seems like there are some seriously angry voters out there these days, and I’m sure the recession is taking a toll on people’s patience and generosity. And yet, I suspect this is no fleeting trend, but something with deeper ideological roots. In short, I sense Ayn Rand.

Rand has always had a good following, but her popularity has surged in recent years as conservatives repeatedly invoked her to counter Obama’s “Socialist” agenda. She has an impressive roster of conservative devotees: Clarence Thomas, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Ron Paul. Paul’s son, Senator Rand Paul quoted Ayn Rand at length during a congressional committee meeting this past year—to argue against government mandates for energy efficient light bulbs, of all things. Congressman Paul Ryan, the rising star from Wisconsin who drafted the Republican’s celebrated plan to slash the federal budget, reportedly urges all his staffers to read her works. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/11-3

[libinnyandia]

1. What's really so funny is that so many of her followers don't

know she didn't like religion. The people who worship money allied with those who say they worship God.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. They're remarkably clueless

Newswire Atlas Shrugged producers boldly release unregulated DVD with inaccurate cover

Arriving just in time for the season of giving all the leeches in your life the fruits of your autonomous production, Atlas Shrugged Part 1 has at last made its way to DVD and Blu-ray, where its messages about Objectivism can be enjoyed by the whole family, some of whom should be ashamed. But if you’ve already picked up a copy, maybe don’t read the back cover, or else you’ll be inundated with a lie (and as everyone knows, lies force you to become the world’s slave). Fortunately, most Ayn Rand fans don't generally like to read, but if they make an exception this time, they’ll find their DVD emblazoned with a text trumpeting, “Ayn Rand’s timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life…” And of course, as anyone familiar with the book or Rand’s philosophy knows, “self-sacrifice” is the exact opposite of what Atlas Shrugged is all about, because there is nothing more important than yourself, who is totally badass, and sacrificing it in favor of people who are not as badass is a sign of weakness. We pause here to vomit profusely.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/atlas-shrugged-producers-boldly-release-unregulate,65031/

[memory]

2. Another reason for our loss of empathy

I will never understand how people can espouse this way of thinking and then proudly call themselves Christians. :shrug:

[jwirr]

3. The worship of Ayn Rand began with the election of raygun and his

welfare queen. And they have been preaching her ever since.

[russspeakeasy]

4. I wish she was still alive, so I could read about her death again.

[Lars77]

6. Ayn Rand provides a theoretical foundation for greedy rich people to feel good about themselves.

Thats all it is.

If you are rich and you dislike poor people, like for example the Kochs, you will look everywhere for anything that can justify how you feel.

Ayn Rand provides that justification with a really thin theoretical foundation which is all bullshit.

Still, its the straw they are clutching on.

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. She was a sociopath and her hero was a sadistic child kidnapper/killer

What's to worship about that, unless you worship satan.

[SharonAnn]

8. Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" vs J.R.R. Tokein's "Lord of the Rings"

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.“


- The origin of this bit of wisdom is unknown to me. But in light of the fact that Congressman Paul Ryan, the author of the Republican’s draconian Budget proposal, requires that his staffers read Atlas Shrugged, I thought it too good not to share.