As if we didn't have enough evidence of Obama's anti-American, socialistic, altruistic philosophy, he has recently added a phrasing that strikes terror in me as to the state and possibly the depths of his understanding of philosophy.
"...John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic," Obama continued. "You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/obamas-new-atta.html
Could it be that Obama is keenly aware of Rand's book? It seems hard to fathom that a politician would invent this phrasing unless they were aware of its history, particularly with regard to its connection to politics. Regardless of my speculation about this knowledge of Rand, this statement shows that Obama understands the link between politics and morality and that he clearly, unequivocally stands with altruism. Whether or not he has read Atlas Shrugged, he wants to be one of her villains. I truly can't imagine a worse candidate for president.
Just came across your blog. Look forward to reading more of your words.
ReplyDelete"I truly can't imagine a worse candidate for president."
ReplyDeleteWhen I am faced with unalterable facts, I try to find something in the situation to my advantage. One advantage of having Barak Obama as President is that issues may be clearer precisely because he is more articulate than his predecessor, at least in some ways.
Obama appears to be a conventional Democratic Socialist. I mean "democratic" in the ideological, not the partisan, sense alone. His ideology has been around for decades. It has left a track record in academic papers, governmental programs (especially in Europe), and other activities. It is an easy target.
This situation may in fact be a sort of "perfect storm" for advocates of reason.
We can articulate issues even more clearly. We can plumb the depths of our opponents' positions. We can make the choices stark and real.
At 64, for the first time in my life, I have an inkling of hope--not just because of the election of an easy target like Obama (whom I supported at the ballot box) but mainly by the absence of any major Big New Thing coming up onto our cultural radar screen. We have seen over the last forty-five years pacificism, the hippy movement, environmentalism, multiculturalism, post-modernism, and others. I know of nothing new, on that scale, coming out. That foul river is finally drying up.
Instead we are seeing the surfacing into politics (which is the end of the road of transmission) of the old, tired "principles" of the Left, though wrapped in a shiny, smiling package.
Bring it on!
Burgess,
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point. It does make make for easier target practice and that could be good for spreading Objectivist ideas. On the other hand, I still worry that the culture may be more be more difficult to change because so many people either willingly accepted Obama's beliefs or they are too apathetic to care or think about it.