Shorter Ayn Rand


Objectivist Tree, cartoon about Ayn Rand

Apologies in profusion to Shel Silverstein, wherever you are

Tip of the old scrub brush to New APPS:  Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science.  That site attributes the quote to John Rogers, via Andrew Sullivan.  It may be so.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 14th, 2011 at 12:05 am and is filed under Humor, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to Shorter Ayn Rand

  1. Mr. Wonderful's avatar Mr. Wonderful says:
    May 14, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    Those who have read Atlas Shrugged and want either a) to see how Dragnie, John Glatt and the gang fare ten years later, or b) are still waiting for some recompense for their suffering..or those who seek a short, funny alternative to reading it at all, should go here:

    http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54707

    Like

  2. Jim's avatar Jim says:
    May 14, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    If the principled Atheist and the principled Theist can have anything in common, it should be the shared belief that human beings — though perhaps here because of natural selection — needn’t reckon themselves prisoners to it.

    The screaming irony, Whoopie, is that those in our culture who most oppose the teaching of scientific Darwinism (fact) are the most enthusiastic endorsers and cheerleaders for Social Darwinism.

    We (principled theists like me and, I hope, principled non-theists like you) can — if you will pardon the allusion — sing from the same page of the same hymnal on at least one count.

    We CAN rise above the sewer. If the sewer is where Rand and Beck and Limbaugh and Koch and Sowell and Keyes wish to live, we cannot stop it. But we can choose differently for ourselves. We can choose society over anarchy, community over selfishness and love over hate.

    Speaking as a Christian theist, I must admit to no small amount of shame on behalf of many of my fellows. I must also admit that, with perhaps one or two exceptions, the Atheists and Agnostics I know seem to have a much better handle on this sort of decency and compassion.

    It’s part of what I see as my calling to help my brother and sister Christians catch up to the curve.

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  3. Nick K's avatar Nick K says:
    May 14, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    And unreasoned faith in the rich and powerful isn’t merely replacing one deity with another, Whoopie?

    See here’s the problem with objectivism. There’s always someone more powerful then you. So if I were you, Whoopie, I would not be so quick to jump on the “objectivism” bandwagon…because sooner or later you or those you care about will be crushed by someone else stronger or richer or more powerful then you.

    Oh and we don’t have unreasoned faith in the state. But abject hatred of the state is just as stupid and just as dangerous as unreasonable faith in the state. Simply and bluntly put, Whoopie, you don’t exist solely unto yourself.

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  4. Ed Darrell's avatar Ed Darrell says:
    May 14, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    By the way, Whoopie, have you ever read Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree? Where is John Galt in that book, or how would he fit in anywhere?

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  5. Ed Darrell's avatar Ed Darrell says:
    May 14, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    Rand’s philosophy is not inherently atheist, and in fact I find a lot more commonality between her ideas and many of those of the religious right wing.

    What I find offensive is the idea that life is fair, and that those at the top are there because they deserve it, and those at the bottom also get what they deserve. This is rather patently anti-humanistic, and a bad way to run a corporation, a town, a nation, or any other enterprise.

    That’s real short-hand, but that’s the gist of it.

    Like

  6. whoopie's avatar whoopie says:
    May 14, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    Being an atheist I have to ask, what is it about reality (objectivism) that you can’t handle? Why do you believe there is a viable alternative to reality? Is this belief an article of faith on your part?

    Faith is just belief without reason. Subjectivism is just a new age religion. Unreasoned faith in the State is merely replacing one deity with another.

    Like

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