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Ayn Rand: The Virtue of Selfishness Photo:New York Times Co./Getty Images
“Her psychopathic ideas made billionaires feel like victims and turned millions of followers into their doormats.”
And now the Darling of the Tea Party, Paul Ryan, who 'grew up on Ayn Rand' is planning to fire the last shot of Randism: Destruction of the so-called “Promised Land”
"It has a fair claim to be the ugliest philosophy the postwar world has produced. Selfishness, it contends, is good, altruism evil, empathy and compassion are irrational and destructive. The poor deserve to die; the rich deserve unmediated power. It has already been tested, and has failed spectacularly and catastrophically.”
Rand was a Russian from a prosperous family who emigrated to the United States. Through her novels (such as Atlas Shrugged) and her nonfiction (such as The Virtue of Selfishness) she explained a philosophy she called Objectivism. This holds that the only moral course is pure self-interest. We owe nothing, she insists, to anyone, even to members of our own families. She described the poor and weak as "refuse" and "parasites", and excoriated anyone seeking to assist them. Apart from the police, the courts and the armed forces, there should be no role for government: no social security, no public health or education, no public infrastructure or transport, no fire service, no regulations, no income tax."...
And now, given the tragic consequences of this toxic, immoral, untrue philosophy, once again, this ugly belief system has become the central agenda of the Tea Party whom is hoping to capture the White House.
I can only say, God help America, God help the world. Please God, let wisdom, sanity, and goodwill prevail.
Paul Ryan 'grew up on Ayn Rand'
“Ayn Rand is the high priestess of undiluted capitalism and a champion of looking after number one. With an estimated 25m copies of her books in print, including Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, her ideas about small government and unfettered markets still resonate in conservative circles, with a young Paul Ryan, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, being a big fan.
"I just want to speak to you a little bit about Ayn Rand and what she meant to me in my life and [in] the fight we're engaged here in Congress. I grew up on Ayn Rand," Ryan told an audience in 2005. "I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are."
The Russian-born American author, a refugee from Soviet communism in the 1920s, wrote at a time when collectivism was widely seen as a blueprint for the future. However, her vision was for a free society where the strong flourished and egoism ruled over altruism. In Rand's world, material achievement had spiritual value and unproductive citizens were "parasites," "looters" and "moochers". There are no state benefits, no national healthcare.
She believed that humans are rational and self-interested, thriving if left to their own devices. Rand said, : "Making more money means we are making more use of our brains." Admiration of the rich only stopped with those who inherited their wealth, whom she viewed as living well from cronyism and nepotism.
Rand argued her theories with almost messianic passion, winning a coterie of acolytes , including eminent members of the Reagan administration (notably Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Chairman, who became a lifelong fan.) Another devotee is the influential conservative talk radioshock jock Rush Limbaugh".
See the articles:
Paul Ryan 'grew up on Ayn Rand'
How Ayn Rand became the new right's version of Marx
The new age of Ayn Rand: how she won over Trump and Silicon Valley
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'A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity'. ~The Buddha~
‘There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.'-Woodrow Wilson
'What is the essence of a good life?' Aristotle tells us that it is ‘to serve others and to do good.’
It was, for sure, the volunteering spirit of London Olympics that made the event so special and so memorable
Photo: The Independent
It was a fitting finale to the greatest Olympic Games the world has ever seen, so said many commentators and newspapers’ headlines yesterday (Monday 13 August 2012). Indeed, without a doubt, London 2012 was a dream come true for everybody.
A pertinent question at this time is:
What made the London Olympics such a great success? Was it money? Was it IT, engineering, design, the Olympic village, good public transport, sponsorship, and more? For sure they all helped. But, for many, including myself, the main answer lies somewhere else. Where, you may ask?
It was ordinary British people who turned London 2012 into an unprecedented spectacle with their passion and generosity of spirit, kindness, hospitality, and volunteerism.
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the London 2012 Games were “absolutely fabulous” and will “long be remembered as a benchmark for sporting excellence”.
He said: “London has been a gracious host and the Games will unquestionably leave a long and lasting legacy for the city, country and Olympic movement.”
The "spirit of generosity" demonstrated by British people during the London 2012 Olympics has also been hailed by Lord Coe, Chairman of Games organising committee.
He thanked the athletes for creating "moments of heroism and heartbreak", the spectators for their "spirit of generosity" and the volunteers for being the "best ever".
"Our volunteers have been sensational. They've had boundless enthusiasm, goodwill, humour - they've done it with grace. And they have in large part been the face of these Games," he said.
In short, for me, it was the people and their values that made the London Olympics great. This, for sure has a very significant lesson for everybody, everywhere, here in the UK and elsewhere:
The Spirit of Generosity is what matters most. Given the significance of this, let us see what this spirit is, and what it is all about:
Generosity of Spirit
As it has been observed, “The concept of generosity has many meanings, most often connoting giving of money or gifts to charities or other people. Other definitions of the word include:
*Showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected.
*Showing kindness toward others.
*Liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish; free from meanness or smallness of mind or character; magnanimous.
These are the three I want to focus on in this post. When put together, I refer to this definition as “generosity of spirit.”
The concept suggests that one engages others with an open heart and mind. It presumes a non-judgmental attitude along with a tolerance for ideas and behaviors that may not comport with one’s own. It requires a high level of tolerance for different beliefs, values, and behavior. Generosity of spirit requires that one spend more energy looking at what it good and positive in someone than at what one thinks is bad or negative. Generosity of spirit embraces differences with acceptance.
People who are generous of spirit are genuinely happy for others good fortune irrespective of their own circumstances. They are devoid of envy, seldom have disparaging thoughts about others and never make disparaging comments. They tend to look for and assume the best in people and treat all people with the same degree of respect and acceptance. They go beyond mere tolerance; they tend to be more magnanimous and are able to include greater differences from their own beliefs or values.
We have a choice as to how we will orient ourselves in the world and how we will act. We can choose to view the world through the eyes of a positivist who sees the world as filled with possibility and potential, and thereby approaches life with enthusiasm, wonder, and joy. Or we can view the world through the eyes of the cynic, who sees nothing but corruption, and therefor approaches the world with distrust, suspicion, sarcasm, and scorn.
Similarly, we can engage the world with a generosity of spirit where we greet people with trust, openness, and compassion or we can choose to engage from the position of self-pity, envy, and disdain. Should we choose the former, we increase the probability of experiencing happiness in our lives; if we choose the latter, we increase the probability of feeling depressed and resentful. The choice is ours.”
For a more comprehensive reading on “Spirit of Generosity” see:
http://www.docdreyfus.com/psychologically-speaking/generosity-of-spirit/
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