Comments on: Ayn Rand and the Tea Party Protests

By: Objectivist_Heaven

Objectivist_Heaven — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:37:44 +0000

I have a lot of astounding insights into the great Ayn Rand and her books, but you’ll have to pay me to get them.

By: The Liberty Bracelet

The Liberty Bracelet — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:57:05 +0000

Hi, great write-up. We are bigtime fans of Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged here too – so much that we made the chain link bracelet that Hank Rearden gave to his wife. It’s called the Liberty Bracelet and you can check it out at http://www.libertybracelet.com. Proceeds will go to the Campaign For Liberty so we thought you’d be interested.

If you’re interested in blogging about it or let us post an entry for you, we’re happy to send you the “Friends and Family” discount for them! Please send an e-mail if you like that, we would really appreciate it.

Anyway, nice site… we joined your feed now so we’ll check in more often!

By: Jerry M.

Jerry M. — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:31:08 +0000

The majority of my problems with Ayn Rand stem from the fact that she uses words in ways that are contrary to the way they are understood by most English speakers. When John Gault has been captured by the collectivists and is being tortured, the vast majority of people would understand the ‘selfish’ action would be to take the bribe and say to hell with your ideals. But that is not what the character does, because I assume Ayn Rand would say that John Gault values his individual freedoms MORE than any amount of money. The problem is, that is essentially ALTRUISM as most of us would understand it. He is actually sacrificing himself for the common good. The point is, that if you are smart enough, you realize that self-interest and the common good are in harmony, but unfortunately, far too many people just read self-interest as the sort of short-sighted for of greed that ultimately leads to disaster for the people who engage in it. Ayn Rand stands for ‘greed is good’ but greed is specifically taking wealth that you did not EARN. It doesn’t mean that you can’t want to be rich, it just means you should actually EARN the money you make rather than just taking it because you can. So, it is wrong to say that ‘greed is good’, but perhaps we should have a debate about what greed actually means.

By: The OBVIOUS

The OBVIOUS — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:40:52 +0000

I am a recent college graduate released into this economy. I have always been a hard worker and was raised to understand cause and effect. I was taught that if you work hard you will prosper, if you do not work hard you will not, and there is no chance for help because it is unjust for another to suffer due to your lack of hard work. Many disagree with some or all things Ayn Rand says and at some points i feel uneasy about things she says but i do not disagree, i am unbiased and able to properly evaluate her statements.

Many people bring emotions into life, emotions are weak and not concrete things, they are a sign of instability. When it comes to the country you must understand in order to have opinions and make decisions you must actually have an economy. It is fair to say if we make wrong decisions we will lose this choice to have opinions or make decisions.

Now back to her statements. Ayn is not here to lie to you or make you feel dumb. She is clearly stating that everything in history has proved that the only thing that is guaranteed is cause and effect not emotions of treating your neighbor as your brother. She is telling you that IF YOU DO NOT follow her system, it can not possible work. As far as all things concrete, no one can make an argument against what she says, you make think its “wrong” but that is not what is important for a long term strategy.

I do not want to see people starving in the street, its horrible BUT IT MUST HAPPEN, it can not go any other way im sorry to tell you this, you must accept it. Can we help a little? YES through private charity….well your saying but that’s just bs no one will donate… Maybe you are right but still, you HAVE NO OTHER OPTION. If you are one day poor you can not help your neighbor anyway and this is something that everyone will soon understand from this soon to be destructed country.

The problem with the country and its upcoming members of society around my age is they are too far away from the roots of what built this country. In order to go forward you must understand the past. You can not simply say i feel bad for someone so lets take from others and give to them, you can not say my leg hurts so i want government help. They do not understand cause and effect. You did not get where you are through this system, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to make that decision, it is sad to see people like this even have the ability of free speech. If younger people had to start from nothing, a blank turf while other countries were opposite them on another blank turf, they would HAVE to go by cause and effect in order to survive and prosper.

Now do you think because we are more civilized this rule has changed? Sorry to tell you it has not and never will.

Ayn Rand is unbiased, she simple is stating what MUST happen in order for things to work, and you can not argue concrete facts with non concrete facts, what is so hard to understand about that? Faith will not save you, being rational and using cause and effect thinking is the only way. I have not even tapped into the wrongs with socialism, i will not even go there it is irrelevant, simply think in terms of what works and what does not.

I watched many family members make huge sacrifices with no guarantees to get where they are today, to now have to feel guilty about it because of another mans laziness. I now watch many of them losing what they have worked so hard for due to this socialist economy we are entering. I and many others are worried about our future security and protection. If this does not stop we will all be in great danger of our neighbors and other countries, if you think man is greedy now watch how bad it is when he has no food or shelter. I as many others are willing to put ourselves in the public eye and stand up for our beliefs. At the end of the day if you care about your safety and well being you want leaders in front of you with Ayn Rand’s beliefs or you will simply perish. I am not a highly intelligent person nor do i think i am above anyone else, i just believe so strongly in taking responsibility for your actions. Please before you go against Ayn Rand’s beliefs, get in an unbiased state of mind and debate her ideas with yourself, and you will see you have no real concrete standing against her. Thank you.

By: Starchild

Starchild — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:29:39 +0000

This is not good advice for most people. Achieving peaceful social/political change usually means demonstrating mass support, which requires visibility. Publicly protesting not only makes *you* feel empowered and emboldened, it makes *others* feel more empowered and emboldened as well. Thus it begets more activism. Unless you are facing severe penalties such as for having already done something “illegal” that should not be illegal (i.e. they really ARE out to get you) it’s better not to be paranoid. One way that police states function is by keeping ordinary people in fear of what potentially *could* happen to them if they get on the government’s radar. But there is safety in numbers — they have neither the resources nor the competence to keep track of everyone who is against their system. As one wag noted, “Thank god we don’t get all the government we pay for.” At this point, I’m concerned enough about the loss of freedom that I like to see protesters engaging in civil disobedience *even when I don’t particularly agree with their cause*. Just seeing people out in the streets in opposition to government shows the people flexing their muscles. Free speech, like many other types of freedom, comes down to this — use it or lose it.

By: Rich

Rich — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:55:09 +0000

I don’t agree with Rand on all things, but I think her book would be an excellent read.

Of course, she did *not* anticipate that the next FDR would be equipped the ability to make any dissenter into a “unlawful enemy combatant” just by saying he is, or with a concentration camp in Cuba for dissenters, or with the Patriot Act to strip away the rule of law, or with the Military Commissions act to authorize torture.

I think our future will be much darker than what she wrote.

By: solicitr

solicitr — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:03:06 +0000

Lia:

“Read Toffler’s latest book “Revolutionary Wealth” and realize that our “industrial age and educational programming” is coming to a not-so-dignified end.”

What was that about toting certain books labeling one a loon?

I suppose Paul Ehrlich is on your bookshelf as well.

By: Tracey Burger

Tracey Burger — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:25:23 +0000

http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/9137331

By: Noesis Noeseos

Noesis Noeseos — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:13:34 +0000

Poster #39 makes some good points. There are aspects of Rand’s novels that show human relationships in a sterile, frigid light. It is also true that she was personally rather intolerant and tyrannical. But today, when “the world is perishing from an excess of self-sacrifice” and the moochers and looters have subverted the Constitution, Randian insistence on self-reliance, the rule of reason, and limited, classically liberal government might serve as a kind of antidote. But they will only become effective if they can convince a large number of the citizenry to forsake the entitlements to which they have become accustomed in the last seventy years, for in a democracy people get the kind of government and politicians they deserve.

By: njcommuter

njcommuter — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:31:32 +0000

“There is no native American criminal class, except Congress.” —Mark Twain