Thank you for the objective view of the “Tea Party” vis á vis objectivism and religiosity, theism, whatever.
I must take issue with some proclamations however:
Rand: “Since man is a rational being, his morality must be individualistic, for the mind is an attribute of the individual and there is no collective brain.”
Morality has become “individualistic”, which is part of the problem. “What feels good, do it!” Homo Sapiens-Sapiens flourished because of a “social contract” – that includes a collective “morality” in order to survive (as well as a division of labor). If Americans did NOT share morality, would our country even exist? Of course not.
QUOTE: “Why then vet political relationships with a religous test? What end does that serve?”
It DOES help to weed out the dregs, obnoxious preachers and cultists, does it not?
THAT is only one variable however, but an important one IMHO.
As for the Tea Party, eschewing Ayn Rand, it’s a good thing as she is very much overrated. To be sure, Ayn Rand was a pioneer, her ideas make people think. Espousing atheism was, and still is, a losing campaign plank.
Just a Thawt
~(Ä)~
