GREED
From the author of GREED,
By Julian Edney
Ayn Rand
"Ayn Rand carried the torch for laissez-faire capitalism in America from the 1930s to the 1980s. She published two books of essays, Capitalism and The Virtue of Selfishness. She roiled the public’s imagination with two novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged (30-33). Many American baby boomers have copies of her books on their bookshelves. Rand actually sold over three million books in America, more than any philosopher. One of her biographers estimates books written by her and her followers are still selling at 400,000 a year worldwide (34).
Rand was short, argumentative, vitriolic and charismatic. She was militantly capitalistic. Her works are saturated in Social Darwinism (35). She influenced some major government policy-makers (the Reagan Administration was largely Randian). Alan Greenspan, ex-Chief of the Federal Treasury, was one of her followers (he contributed three essays to Capitalism). Over the years Rand’s books have influenced in the life, and faith, of millions of readers. Some of these books are now taught in schools and universities.
Rand excoriated communism, which deeply satisfied America of the ‘40s and ‘50s.
But some of her shouted-up public speeches were beyond antisocial, they were quite poisonous – in general, she urged against compromise, because it was a sign of weakness. With her public rhetoric she scrambled to establish herself as a philosopher with a work she called Objectivism. Philosophers have rejected her. Economists have not.
Her work endlessly promotes selfishness. “It is only on the basis of selfishness . . . that men can live together in. . . . society”(36). And it indefatigably puts down altruism as a vice.
Rand’s work is perniciously inegalitarian and profoundly undemocratic. It contradicts all major religions which hold selfishness to be evil, and which promote selflessness, charity and self sacrifice as the highest virtues.
Her biographer, Jeff Walker, researching her personal journals, found an entry written when she was 30. “ One puts oneself above all and crushes everything in one’s way to get the best for oneself. Fine!” (37).
All this toxicity in the pursuit of happiness."
"Some critics dismiss Rand as a historical footnote, since she was trained in film school and worked as a scriptwriter. But she was an effective demagogue (40). The damage Rand has done to this society, I argue, may be enormous. Following her demolitions, we have in fact witnessed, over the last 30 years, the disappearance of the concept of the common good. Nobody talks about it any more. Modern Libertarians embrace her (41). Modern Americans now care less about morality, more about strength. And many young readers still find her message inspiring.
I believe we can throw Objectivism under the bus."
Ink Stained Wretch,
Do you have any substantiation for your assertion that "Now the NRA and the gun lobby want to push kids to carry in schools."? I have never, ever heard of such a policy initiative by any group, and particularly not by the NRA.
Besides Hunter Safety Education -- which is about 80% gun safety and education (and the balance about hunting laws and hunter ethics) -- the only NRA youth program I am aware of is "Eddie Eagle" which teaches kids who find guns to 1) don't touch it, 2) leave the area, and 3) tell an adult.
Frankly, I think your assertion is a canard of the first order. You are obviously a gun control advocate, but to make up (or pass along) false stories just to feign outrage ("This is lunacy") is itself outrageous.
Again, I look forward to seeing any reference or documentation for your allegations.
June 11, 2007
Well here you go!
This is a good one for starters: NO Gun Left Behind
"The gun lobby is pushing legislation that would allow 18-year-old kids to carry handguns to class, and kids even younger than 18 could possess AK-47 assault rifles with high-capacity magazines on campus. The gun lobby also wants to arm K-12 teachers."
Brady Report Online:
Gun-rights advocates call for arming students
By New York Daily News
NEW YORK — "A gun-rights advocate said Tuesday that if Virginia Tech students and employees had been armed they would have been able to defend themselves in the rampage.
"The only person who is responsible to defend you is you - the police are incapable of defending each and every one of us all the time," said Mike Stollenwerk, 44, co-founder of Open Carry.org, a Virginia-based gun-rights networking group."
Or how about this letter objecting to campuses in Maine regulating guns on their property:
NRA Letter
Or this newpaper commentary: Maybe They Can Wear White Hats Too!
"The smoke was still hanging over Blacksburg when Gun Owners of America thundered, "It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they may not have guns at schools."
Then there was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, by no means a voice in the wilderness in his political realm, declaring that every "law-abiding" citizen has the right to carry a concealed weapon anywhere, including schools.
Syndicated columnist Michael Barone, appearing in The Star, noted -- with approval -- that concealed-weapons restrictions are not fashionable among the states. While Virginia Tech boasted of a gun-free campus, he intoned, "Tragically, they were not safe." Not safe, inasmuch as no professor or student -- who needs the cops? -- could whip out his or her piece and drop that punk.
National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, writing in USAToday, denounced "anti-gun schemes" and advocated a distinctive brand of school choice.
"Every option should be put on the table and available to fit the needs of a particular district or school," he said. "All Americans -- parents, teachers, administrators, law enforcement and military personnel -- must come together and unite to secure our schoolchildren."
Actually, the NRA has a record of far more explicit support for allowing guns on campus and even for prohibiting educators from "opting" to ban them."
Another Newpaper Commentary:
"Several recent letters by National Rifle Association supporters in the Tribune didn't mention the real reason for the NRA's push to get guns in parking lots and to what lengths the NRA is willing to go to get them there.
Most everyone realized this is simply about the NRA's continued push to get guns in yet another place, since the NRA has forced legalizing them, with few if any controls, on your person, in your home, in public places, in our state forests, in your car and even tried to get them into our schools. Little wonder they would now push to get them into parking lots.
This current bill would bring them into parking lots and right up to the front door of every business in Florida!"
Just Say YES (Youth Education Summits ) to guns. An NRA program.
State Youth Summits
"The state Youth Education Summit (YES) program began in 2002. Its purpose is to introduce rising high school freshmen, sophmores and juniors to their state government and the roles that future generations of voters will play. A special emphasis is also placed on the benefits of firearms ownership."
To be fair to your criticism, The NRA does have a positive role to play in responsible gun ownership and the Eddie Eagle program is probably a good example.
My original statement did not mention the NRA alone but the Gun Lobby including the "No Compromise On Gun Regulation. Gun Owners of America