AYN RAND: UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU READ

Following Paul Ryan’s nomination for VP, several people have mentioned Ayn Rand’s books The Atlas Shrugged and Fountain Head. The ones they do not mention are more telling: The Virtues of Selfishness and a Rand biography written by Jennifer Burns Goddess if the Market: Ayn Rand and the America Right.

The theme of these two books is simple; people who work hard and get rich create an idolized society. Notice that I did not say, “will live in an idolized society” but that they “create an idolized society” in their minds, a society of their creation. It would be like living in a very rich family. There is no down side. No one matters but those in the family. Those who wash their cars, pave the streets they drive on, or actually build the buildings the build or finance the projects with their pension plans, do not matter. If they were not there to do these things, someone else would do them for the “successful”. If the workers are not able to feed their families or afford health care, it is of no concern to the rich as long as the workers are there to fulfill their needs—at the lowest wage possible. Workers are neither successful nor are they failures; they just do not matter.

Ayn Rand and her books title are appearing on the front page because Paul Ryan idolizes her. He said her ideas were why he went into politics. He thinks everyone should read The Atlas Shrugged. Can you understand why he wants to cut Medicare, Obama Care, Social Security, destroy welfare programs, and what he calls “entailment programs”?  Why he wants citizen solders to fight for their rights to Mid East oil? Can you understand why he and the Koch brothers are friends? Can you understand why he wants Romney to be president?

Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse through 11^th century Coventry in protest to high taxes. She, unlike Ayn Rand, was protesting the oppressiveness of taxes on the poor and not on the rich as Paul Ryan is doing. This makes them both ideologues. She rode sidesaddle; modern media like Google, Facebook, etc. have mounted Ayn Rand and her surrogates such as Paul Ryan sidesaddle as well, which means they are exposed so at least those on our side of the street can see what they are. Hurray for the Lady and our side and a pox on the Rand-Ryan ticket.