The Alarming Revival of Ayn Rand: The Right's Weirdest Idol of Them All

[marmar]

via AlterNet:




Progressive Populist / By Hal Crowther

The Alarming Revival of Ayn Rand: The Right's Weirdest Idol of Them All
A passion for the prose and philosophy of Ayn Rand tells us a great deal about an individual, none of it good.

July 18, 2011 |


The Republican Party’s slapstick search for a leader would be heartwarming and sidesplitting, but for the tragic knowledge that one of these scrambling midgets will collect tens of millions of votes in the presidential election of 2012. Never have so many amounted to so little, talked so much rubbish, dreamed of an office so far above their abilities. Blood pressures rose among party elders when Donald Trump, marginally Republican and one of the greatest fools in the solar system, momentarily tossed his hairpiece into the ring and became the instant favorite.

The GOP dilemma — a golden opportunity to rule but nothing to say and no one to say it — is so desperate that my instinct is to help them sort it out. Could we make a start, at least, by dismissing candidates who called for President Obama’s birth certificate or raised the specter of Sharia law in America, followed briskly off the stage by lunatics who dismiss global warming as a socialist plot?

That would leave plenty of unbalanced extremists still in the running, yet reduce the stench of sheer evil and madness. The “birther” and Sharia cults reek of cheesy talk-radio racism; climate-change denial is a stranger faith yet, a political assault on basic science that insults a ground squirrel’s intelligence and casually threatens the survival of life on earth.

The party that produces birthers and global-warming deniers no doubt harbors End-of-the-Worlders, too, Christians who packed their bags for heaven with the senile prophet Harold Camping on May 21. Though none of them, I suppose, would commit to the time and expense of a presidential campaign just to preside over a nation of sinners expiring in fire and pestilence. Leo Rangell, the prominent Freudian analyst whose obituary is in this morning’s Times, once lamented that the American public is “gullible or easily seduced, and susceptible to leaders of questionable character.” ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/151674/the_alarming_revival_of_ayn_rand%3A_the_right%27s_weirdest_idol_of_them_all/

[Gman]

1. Don't just read this this excerpt. Read the entire article

Bravo! Very well said.

[Mnemosyne]

2. Excellent article, I agree, read it in its entirety. K&R n/t

[truth2power]

3. Yes, read the entire article AND the comments section if you have the time...

The comments section seems to be overrun by Rand followers, but there's someone named "nekora" who's doing an awesome job of pointing out what it means to live in a civilized community . :)

As Crowther says, "Any Rand was the patron saint of narcissists."

[MisterP]

4. it's like "Mein Kampf" had a baby with Twilight

[Agony]

5. You talking about Alisa Rosenbloom? I hear she loves the Social Security cuz she paid for it yaknow

[Enthusiast]

6. I like this.

"So adamantly did she denounce the altruism and self-sacrifice at the center of the Christian message, it’s no exaggeration to call her the intellectual Antichrist.

It’s no great exaggeration to say that praising her is like spitting in Christ’s face."

[SkyDaddy7]

7. WOW! Excellent Article! But...

I do have one thing to say about the article that I think the author puts a bit too much "faith" in...I know several Tea Baggers who ran out & bought one or more of Ayn Rand's books & every time I see one of them I always ask if they have read their prized books yet...The answer so far has been, "No, I just can't seem to find the time". Which is understandable as many of them are working one or more jobs in a desperate attempt to save their home from going into foreclosure. So, the hopes of the author that Republicans/Tea Baggers like Beck & Limbaugh who encourage their listeners to read Ayn Rand might actually backfire in their face are futile in my opinion.

It is VERY SAD yet VERY DISTURBING the disconnect these people have when it comes to the reality of American politics! They have NO CLUE how they are being used & if they start to realize it their ego will not let them admit they have been so wrong all these years & they fall right back into the same old funk! They have been led to believe that anything a "Liberal" believes or even the run of the mill Democrat believes is correct is extremely bad! I swear the worst fear the Republicans/Tea Baggers I know is being labeled a "LIBERAL" so they refuse to even consider the evidence that shows clearly how wrong their current views are!

"There must be something, optimists insist, that could drive a wedge between the exploiters and the exploited — some irresistible revelation, some fraud or contradiction so flagrant that the most obtuse voter could see how callously and criminally he’s being used."

...THERE MUST BE, RIGHT????????????

[MedicalAdmin]

9. In my experience the mentally challenged are slow to realize ...

... when they are being played for chumps and may never realize it. But when they do realize it, their anger is a thing of massive fury.

I can only hope that something happens that opens some eyes...

[Enthusiast]

8. K&R

Great article! Really a great article.