She saw saw the future of society - quite specific to Allentown - in 1957.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Ayn Rand's NIZ Commentary
She saw saw the future of society - quite specific to Allentown - in 1957.
34 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Ayn Rand? Seriously?
ReplyDeleteCertainly more serious than you.
ReplyDeletesilly man
ReplyDeleteGreat quote. But it's not just Allentown, it's our whole country. Can you say "wall street bailout"?
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Geeting knew who Ayn Rand was. I'll bet he had to Google it.
ReplyDeleteI did not have you pegged for an Ayn Rand aficionado. But good quote.
ReplyDeleteAnd the book is an interesting read. But people like Geeting despise Rand because she called out their socialist utopian goals long ago.
ReplyDelete"...and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you..."
ReplyDeleteWhich of our fine, civilized, bi-partisan, common-grounders is out in front with a bold plan to change this?
-Clem
AMOrlando, I'm not really a fan. In the end, I think her philosophy is a tad too selfish. That quote was actually forwarded to me by someone who, despite reading and admiring Rand, rew up to be a liberal Dem.
ReplyDeleteShe wasn't selfish. She thought government denied her the right to choose how much and to whom she would give charity. She's right. Social medicine in England, for instance, caused charity hospitals to close. The same will happen here, as religious institutions are forced to surrender ethics or close. I paid the equivalent of my daughter's gross salary in state and federal taxes last year. I paid this to a government that already spent the money and is having lavish Vegas boondoggles with mimes and mind readers. Meanwhile, those requiring help get little or none. Throwing programs is not charity. It steals from the pool of individual charity dollars.
ReplyDeleteI concluded she is somewhat (not completely) selfish and that she creates a ridiculous version of government so she can scoff at it. I also find little humor in her writing. But she tells a great story and many of her ideas make sense. No system of philosophy, standing alone, is perfect.
ReplyDeleteRetired ASD teacher here.
ReplyDeleteVery appropriate quote. Sums up my concerns. Should she still be with us, her current quote would charge biased media coverage with aiding and abetting.
There was a time when we enjoyed some measure of protection from our newspaper and television watchdogs. Yes, Ayn's future is here.
Retired ASD, I disagree w/ Tony Rhodin, Deegan and the ET editorial board. I also think the MC editorially has attempted to smear Atiyeh. But the actual reporting in both papers has, in my opinion, been excellent on this issue.Let's not forget that it is Kraus and Assad who woke us all up to the EIT tax grab.
ReplyDelete"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor – He speaks in accents familiar to his victims, He wears their face and their garments, He appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men, He rots the soul of a nation, He works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, He infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
ReplyDeleteA murderer is less to fear"
Marcus Tullius Cicero 42BC
Every one of the most hated entities in American life is heavily regulated. From insurance to health care to cable companies to airlines, when the government gets involved, they serve consumers worse. Government can screw up sleeves on a vest. The early workings of the NIZ have already proven this. It'll only get worse from here.
ReplyDeleteWe act as if the story of gov't intervention in our lives is new. The story of our nation is filled with these stories. The tension is a back and forth dynamic. We act as if the Fed is a new creation, that Social Security passed without opposition or that decision outlawing segregation were popular at the time. It's good to reference history in discussing what is the appropriate role of gov't. But anybody who claims that history has been a straight-line lesson in one view point versus another is simply ignoring history.
ReplyDeleteThose, like Rand, who oppose government handouts because they cost 90 cents to administer every dollar and exacerbate the plight of those they were intended to help are somehow deemed selfish. If your form of charity doesn't go through proper government channels run by public union employees, Bernie's pretty sure you're selfish. That's the logic that says the Allentown Rescue Mission is not worthy because it may require the hungry to endure a sermon and prayer while eating their bologna sandwich.
ReplyDeleteO'Hare and his Tea Party agenda.
ReplyDeleteCrazy Tea Baggers
http://www.lvtp.org/component/content/article/43-conservative-commentary-from-around-the-country/429-ayn-rand-and-the-tea-party-a-recipe-for-cultural-change.html
"Crazy Tea Baggers"
ReplyDeleteSorry.
I just do not feel like buying tickets to Chairman Pawlowski's 220.0 million dollar Palace of Sport with MY MONEY today.
Probably not tomorrow, either.
Maybe Obama can ram another law through or something like that and make me in the future but, until then ...
"Crazy Tea Baggers"
ReplyDeleteWhere is the Civility?
JUST SAY NO TO THE NIZ
Bernie, you've been hit by conservative/libertarian Rand adherents and potty mouth flea bagger liberals for the same post. I bet you're grinning. Congratulations on a great post.
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand? Bwahahahahahaa!!
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand suckled the teat of the collectivist government welfare system like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand took government assistance while decrying others who did the same
Every one of the most hated entities in American life is heavily regulated. From insurance to health care to cable companies to airlines, when the government gets involved, they serve consumers worse. Government can screw up sleeves on a vest. The early workings of the NIZ have already proven this. It'll only get worse from here.
ReplyDeleteYes horrible! Like the interstate highway system. A disaster! Social Security insurance, a travesty! Medicare, people dying in the streets. The United States Armed Forces - a bunch of government morons!
You nailed it, love that you posted this!
ReplyDelete"Ayn Rand suckled the teat of the collectivist government welfare system like everyone else."
ReplyDeleteNot a compelling argument. Because a priest is human and sins, does that mean we should all sin? I'd rather review her philosophy on its own merits than attack her, especially since she is dead.
"Congratulations on a great post"
ReplyDeleteJust spreadin' the love.
"O'Hare and his Tea Party agenda.
ReplyDeleteCrazy Tea Baggers
http://www.lvtp.org/component/content/article/43-conservative-commentary-from-around-the-country/429-ayn-rand-and-the-tea-party-a-recipe-for-cultural-change.html"
I resented and criticized the local tea party when it attempted to have a book removed from the curriculum at EASD. It's one of the reasons they tried to excommunicate me.
But just as much, I resent phony liberals who look down their noses at books that raise intelligent questions and tell good stories.
Afraid of ideas?
"Bernie's pretty sure you're selfish."
ReplyDeleteActually, I said i thought Ayn Rand's philosophy is "somewhat" selfish. It does not rule out altruism completely. I think she'd agree.
Anon 1043
ReplyDeleteJust replace "traitor" with "career politician" and you have a perfect description of what is going on. From the lefty loonies to the righty nut jobs -all the crazies will have you believe its the other parties fault. That is incredibly naive. Both political parties and the politicians who run things only care about their own power and wealth, which is stolen from the rest of us.
To the 1043 AM -Anon....
ReplyDeleteExcellent Quote, this is presently occurring in Washington...Treason from with-in.
At present European Governments are changing weekly due to poor economys.
Nations with-out borders cannot survive.
Yes, everyone has read The Fountainhead, BOH. When they were 14 and actually were naive enough to buy it's premise. But people mature and become part of a society and realize just how ridiculous Ayn Rand's views really were. I see you are regressing.
ReplyDeleteBernie
ReplyDeleteAny Rand intentionally accessing the government benefits which she decried her entire life is the height of hypocrisy. You say this is not compelling because a priest may sin. Poor analogy, not least of which is the point that it could be a momentary weakness. The larger point is that she was the architect/leader of her movement. This is more like finding out that Jesus didn't turn the other cheek
"When they were 14 and actually were naive enough to buy it's premise."
ReplyDeleteObviously, you need to spend a little less time writing and a little more time learning basic grammar.