{"id":3398,"date":"2011-04-28T10:54:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T10:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/04\/michael-shermer-says-it-better-than-i-ever-could.html"},"modified":"2011-04-28T10:54:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T10:54:00","slug":"michael-shermer-says-it-better-than-i-ever-could","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/04\/michael-shermer-says-it-better-than-i-ever-could.html","title":{"rendered":"Michael Shermer says it better than I ever could"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Why we should go see Atlas Shrugged<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 He lays it out pretty clearly:<\/p>\n

Ayn Rand, who was a champion of individual rights, was outspoken against racism and bigotry and discrimination against minorities, and most notably was way ahead of her time in championing women\u2019s rights and demonstrating through her novels (and now the film) that women are as smart as men, as clever as men, as hard working as men, as ambitious as men, as moral as men (well, okay, more moral than men), and can accomplish any task, achieve any goal, and even run an industrial enterprise as good as if not better than men. What\u2019s not to like about that?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that\u2019s when it hit me.\u00a0 You see, from a Catholic, Christian, or even common decency approach to living, there\u2019s much to loathe about Atlas Shrugged<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve read many reviews of the book, particularly from those who love it.\u00a0 I also notice many on the Right championing the cause.\u00a0 Shermer\u2019s appeal to liberals to see the movie indicates there could be common ground between all who see the film or manage to plow through the pages of the book.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

And I\u2019m afraid that\u2019s true.\u00a0\u00a0 One thing I know from reading reviews, analysis and discussions about her book, Rand was an atheist who did her best to merge all the finer points of a Marxist style disregard for religious morality with a capitalist lust for individualism based on greed to the exclusion of any other consideration.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where Shermer gets it right, even if he didn\u2019t intend to get it right.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The problem today, and it goes beyond Right\/Left or Conservative\/Liberal or Republican\/Conservative, is that we live in an age that focuses on me, me, me.\u00a0 Gimme, gimme, gimme.\u00a0 Get, get, get.\u00a0 The holy trinity of me, myself, and I.\u00a0 There are two things in this world, me and everything else that is less important than me.\u00a0 Many things of worthy cause and noble ideals, such as women\u2019s rights, pluralism, the free market, and even civil rights, have been corrupted by this focus on myself to the exclusion of any other consideration.\u00a0 Folks who have a hard time seeing it need only listen to your pop-psychiatrists telling you that you are what matters in any relationship, the other person not so much.\u00a0 Or listen to the right wing radio host jettison all those pesky religious values to focus on making money as the only thing that matters.<\/p>\n

I fear Shermer is right.\u00a0 There is much in Rand\u2019s works that modern liberals and modern conservatives can love.\u00a0 The promise that a life focused on self, because there is nothing ultimately beyond this life, is the way nature intended for us to live.\u00a0 More worrisome, I fear that many on both sides of the aisle will believe it.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why we should go see Atlas Shrugged.\u00a0 He lays it out pretty clearly: Ayn Rand, who was a champion of individual rights, was outspoken against racism and bigotry and discrimination against minorities, and most notably was way ahead of her time in championing women\u2019s rights and demonstrating through her novels (and now the film) that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Shermer says it better than I ever could<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why we should go see Atlas Shrugged.  He lays it out pretty clearly:Ayn Rand, who was a champion of individual rights, was outspoken against racism\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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