Friday, April 10, 2009

Quote of the Day: Ayn Rand

“When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion - when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed.” -Ayn Rand

Any Rand seems apropos these days; her "Atlas Shrugged" novel was about a United States that slipped into the grip of socialism and where capitalists took flight; fiction that has more flavor of prophecy than ever. (Capitalists fleeing high taxes, who would have thought?) I found the Ayn Rand quote posted in comments on this article, Tea Party talking points, a point-by-point on the disasters that are in the Obama budget plan and economic program.

There is another comment that pretty much 'says it all' with respect to what the Tea Partiers Hope to Change:

Al, The Villages, Fl writes: "President Obama is merely the front guy for the secular socialist agenda of the democrat party. We need a republican congress fast to repeal his agenda and, like with Clinton, put him on a more responsible footing. Beyond that, we need to take back our country by putting in office sound conservatives that appreciate the constitution, and support life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We need a fair tax system that stops taxation from being a gov’t/activist weapon and we need to stop activist judges. We need to completly rethink how we fund our schools and rid it of the secular progressive corruption. If the republicans aren’t up to the task, maybe we need a new party. This country was built on Judeo-Christian values that respect life, the constitution, individual responsibility and small government. We need to return to that or perish as a country."

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2 comments:

rtaylortitle said...

I enjoyed your post, but truly doubt that Ms. Rand would categorize herself as a "conservative" or as a product of the so-called "Judeo-Christian" ethic. I believe the theory of "natural rights" of man qua man and the writings of John Locke had a much greater effect on our system of government than from any other influence.

Anonymous said...

Your point on Ayn Rand is well-taken, she was an atheist, but she united with traditionalist conservatives in opposing moral relativism, egalitarianism and socialism. A common cause with Lockeans and conservatives in favoring liberty versus socialist big Govt.

In much the same way, it looks like a diverse group of different folks are signing up to have these TEA Parties. I quoted one man's viewpoint, but I think there is a common view among those involved in it: They (we) see liberty threatened by current trends in DC, from the Obama administration and Democrat Congress, and we see the fiscal plans of Obama as heading us towards bankruptcy of USA.