The 2012 election comes down to a battle of these philosophies.
Paul Ryan, an Ayn Rand acolyte, is the architect of the Ryan Budget. For years Paul Ryan has championed pushing the government away from helping the poor and at risk.
Ayn Rand is the Philosophical underpinning of Paul Ryan and the modern GOP.
I am challenging the moral cause of Altruism;
The precept that man's moral duty is to live for others;
That man must sacrifice himself to others.
Ayn Rand - Mike Wallace interview 1959 @ 4:48 (Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ooKsv_SX4Y)
Rand also advocates that Man’s purpose is his own happiness as gained thru using logic alone.
“(Man) has to hold reason as an absolute… his highest moral purpose is the achievement of his own happiness”.
This philosophy gives cover to those who want to take from everyone and collect everything for themselves. We see it in how GOP tax policy is working. You can call it Voodoo Econ or Trickle Down or whatever. It can be gain for the sake of gain.
Some flaws to this philosophy:
- What if the individual is crazy and feel their happiness can be achieved by picking up a gun and blowing people away? (see: Loughner, Jared)
- When has one gained enough?
- Does happiness just become the gaining things or money for the sake of gaining?
- Is the finish line when you get all the money?
- Or when you achieve global domination?
- Only have a small number of people can “WIN” in this philosophy.
At that point they have caused so much misery – those who have been dominated globally can say sardonically,
“Yeah, I’m glad YOU’RE happy”.
This is what the GOP is practicing these days.
President Obama, a Christian, is cast as the last defender of the Social Safety Net.
For purposes of this article I want to define Christianity as the Philosophy of Christ as related in the Sermon on the Mount; otherwise known as the Beatitudes. I want to separate Christ as deity from what He was saying.
Matt 5:1-12 ( King James Version – Link http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:1-12&version=KJV )
- And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him:
- And He opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
- Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
- Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
- Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
- Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
- Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
- Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
I want to boil this down to:
- You see someone in trouble – you help them.
- It doesn’t matter what people on the outside say while you are doing it - you help them.
- You get bonus points for taking lip from idiots ripping you while you are helping someone.
The self-interest is the street cred you get from being a person who lives their life properly. You become the person others want to be. You will have the right attitude to enter the next life (assuming there is one).
If you want to say this is the Christian value system that built this country – I think you are safely standing on 2nd base. The country has been cohesive because of shared sacrifice. The sacrifice part of this is what we celebrate when we honor “The Greatest Generation”; getting us through The Great Depression and WWII.
The Constitution’s purpose was “to promote the General Welfare”. The GOP wants to demote the Constitution to a private, vouchered inequity fund.
In 2012 President Obama is taking it on the chops for setting up stuff like:
- Obamacare to help those who are (and will eventually) get sick.
- TARP that kept people’s jobs to keep them fed.
- Green Energy investment so we can get off oil.
- Preserving Pell Grants so kids have a chance to think our way out of the mess we are in.
I can get the big list if you like, but it is easy to pair what the Obama Administration is attempting to the attitudes of the Beatitudes.
Will the 2012 Christian Right of the GOP be able to reconcile not Mormon Philosophy vs. Christian Values, but the slew of oxymorons called Ayn Rand-y Christians in their midst?
The 2012 Election will boil down to:
- Do you want to help other Americans or not?
- Are you Ayn Rand selfish or Jesus Christ selfless?
Please tell me how President Obama is "leading us out of the woods"? Go to the Coventry mall outside of Pottstown Pa, and you will see what President Obama has done for America...nothing. Business after business has closed it's doors. What has President Obama's "stewardship" done to stop this? You cite four "accomplishments" of the Obama administration. "Obamacare", which we cannot afford due to a terminal economy, TARP, which created temporary jobs for mostly union workers, green energy investments which are really a scam if you follow the money (hint, look at the Phoenixville School District as an example of the fraud perpetrated on the American taxpayer with regard to "green energy", that was ignored by the media) , and preserving Pell grants which is ludicrous when you consider the average high school graduate is nearly illiterate, so why pump money into higher education when K-12 is abominable? I don't believe President Bush did much better than President Obama, but in the four years Obama has been in office, the decline of America has been accelerated due, in my opinion, to the absolute failure of President Obama as a leader. Please explain your comments on President Obama's leadership, and tell me how he is making America better and stronger? I don't see it, but I am not so sure of myself that I can't be convinced otherwise.
The Phoenixville Area School District, specifically the High School, was just ranked by US News and World Report as one of the best in the state according to test scores. You are against Pell Grants and giving kids a shot at college too? Figures as based on your statements you never attended any institution of higher education.
21 People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is here with you. ”
The Coventry mall is not located within Pottstown borough, but instead is in North Coventry twp, Chester county. The many stores that have closed there have done so during the Obama administration, and serve as an example of how that administration has failed to turn things around. I blame President Obama for failing to strenghen the American economy. The Phoenixville School District aquired expensive solar panels with grant money received from the federal government...your tax dollars. The District then wanted to sell the panels to a private enterprise, in what is truly a scam on the part of our government. When State Sen. Andrew Dinniman's office (who awarded the grant) was asked if the panels, aquired through a grant, could be sold, they didn't know the answer and failed to respond with any other info. The public still doesn't know if the sale happened, as the media and government have intentionally quelled this information, but this scam has taken place all over the country, and the Obama administration perpetrated this scam. And finally, citing the preservation of Pell grants as an accomplishment, is laughable as our children are nearly illiterate. Tax dollars spent on K-12 are being wasted...how could you believe tax money spent on Higher Ed would be effective? Little wonder your richard hurtz, from being yanked by the gov't.
1) Blaming the President for local businesses closing is a joke! Period. Downtown Phoenixville, Limerick, and Oaks all seem to be doing decent. Should Obama get "credit" for that? PLEASE! The Coventry Mall is a dump and it has lost a significant number of customers to the "Philadelphia Outlets" just down 422 which is the main reason for their closings. The fact that you made this moronic claim ruins the credibility of all the comments that follow it. 2) I am unaware of any solar panel "scam" regarding the Phoenixville High School. I will look into it and make my own conclusions. Again based on your simple minded notion that Obama caused stores to close in the Coventry Mall, I have serious doubts about anything else you have to say. 3) Maybe YOU and YOUR kids are "nearly illterate" but what does that have to do with other kids or even adults returning to school getting a chance to get a college degree? Pell Grants are a drop in the bucket regarding our overall budget. How about we cut more useless military spending instead (over 20% of our total budget). You know what....vote for Romney. Your uninformed vote will end up canceled out my the many informed ones. If ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest man in America. You should try to hook up with "Rosemary" from this forum. You two would get along great.
if he is a proud rich guy he should show the pride that comes with gaming the system.
it is about how people think who follow different philosophies.
1 - There are a number of religions that say there needs to be a choice when a mother's life is at stake - including Judiasm (I am throwing that out there because Jesus is Jewish). Please reconcile who's religion takes precedence here.
i got 3 kids thru the public school system that i would say are probably more literate than you are. you want to rip the education system up so it can become yet another inefficient profit center? sorry dude - ain't happening.
Now you claim that your children have received a better education than I have. Where is proof of that claim? Submit something they wrote for me to read, and if they can spell, and construct a coherent paragraph, I will concede that they at least learned some skills in public school, but I remain skeptical, based on all the children and young adults I have seen who are woefully uneducated. All I see from the Obama supporters are insults, attacks, inferences, namecalling, etc., and no sustantive evidence of anything Obama has done to rebuild America. Sorry "Dude", but neither you nor Hurtz have said anything that shows me you are thoughtful, intelligent people, with any factual evidence to support President Obama in his bid for four more years. I am asking you to convince me that you are correct in your beliefs, but you are going to have to do more than belittle me, or the republicans, in order to do that. Here is your chance to show me the error of my ways. I'm waiting.
Let all of us enjoy in the warmth of the Lord and everyone rejoice & Lets fu.k some whor.s. Ronnie Mund Vol 69 ver.69. God bless Ronnie Mund btw Mr Richard Hurtz cannot be included in the fun because his richard is hurting. Let us pray for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTPCWWvYDk&feature=player_embedded
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php/ or do i have to cut and paste everything for you?
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/selfishness.html Read that and see if you can still raise objections about crazy people with guns and what they "feel" (as if rational philosophy were going to guide a crazy person, anyway).
Please correct me if I am wrong... "The Objectivist ethics holds that human good does not require human sacrifices and cannot be achieved by the sacrifice of anyone to anyone. It holds that the rational interests of men do not clash—that there is no conflict of interests among men who do not desire the unearned, who do not make sacrifices nor accept them, who deal with one another as traders, giving value for value." Are you talking about human sacrifices like throwing virgins into a volcano? Or are we talking about the human sacrifices (physical or economic) a parent makes for their child? Or are we talking about the human sacrifices (physical or economic) a uniformed citizen who protects us and our country? Somewhere along the line you may be asked to make a sacrifice for someone else. You will get nothing in return. The sacrifice may even hurt you or even kill you. The choice you make defines you. - A mother trading her life for her child’s after a difficult pregnancy. She loses everything. - A guy breaking up a street fight who gets clocked. - A Marine (or other service guy) giving it up for their platoon. Enough of these people offering to sacrifice for one another makes our society better. There is a reason some states are called Commonwealths. We need to get back to that.
So what happens when you are worn out and cannot negotiate anymore? Are you fair game for the next hoarder to pick over your carcass? What happens when our society runs out of resources? You will have nothing to trade and you will become worthless. What will we devolve to – I guess you liked the Mad Max movies… Later on in your link you talk about rational. Who defines ‘rational’? Rand likes to construct a world based on logic. Logic isn’t a strong enough tool to construct a universe. There are too many inherent flaws. You can hide behind this warped form of ‘Philosophy’ of the Selfish. It just gives cover for you to act in a small manner and do nothing but take. You are given the OK to hoard. Go collect your crap.
Where I am getting this wrong? Everything she is doing flows from this. I am saying she is axiomatically wrong. If she wants a philosophy based on rational logic, she is done at the starting gate because she has no axioms to build on. She does not require extra study of the rabbit hole she has created. The damage she has done to this society is immense. At some point quid pro quo breaks down, because there is no more quid. Then what do you do?
she was a psychological basketcase who turned her mind towards justifying evil.
when you are tapped out you are worthless. just look at the attitudes of the GOP towards healthcare or government help. It all stems from "what can you do" or "people who can't produce are inferior" it gives them the justification withhold what is needed from those really in need. I will take Christ's attitudes on this any day of the week.
Capitalism = Ayn Rand = Paul Ryan = Anti-Christ That's like saying; Keynesian = Carl Marx = Barack Hussein Obama II = International Planned Parenthood (the human sacrifice of millions babes world wide because Obama funding) = what = what = ? Christ ??? You got to be kidding me. Say it ain't so Joe. Well, as you Saul Alinsky "Rules for Radicals" book followers say, Shame, Shame, Shame. Speaking of Saul let's not forget his dedication to said book. Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins -- or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer. -- Saul Alinsky
I will ask you how Ayn Rand is like Christ? Paul Ryan is the guy running around saying how much He loves Her for years. I am saying that Paul Ryan cannot serve 2 masters. Is it Rand or Christ? I am saying it is mutually exclusive.