ibelsd
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2016
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- 278
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- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Right
So you can't counter anything I wrote and thus resort to personal attacks.
As to your numbered accusations:
1) I never claimed that. The post was a an accurate representation of Republican policies.
2) Rand/Ryan? Here's the first link of many where you can learn something about her influence on him:
7 Ways Paul Ryan Revealed His Love for Ayn Rand
I read her stuff as a teenager. If you find her fictional world of makers/takers actually fits in a world of over 7 billion human beings, you must be under 17 years of age. Hell, if you actually read through Galt's 50+ page rant at the end of Atlas without your eyes glazing over, lol. Then there are the laughable 'love scenes'.
3) I don't, and never did. I never belonged to a political party. They all have their problems, even the small parties, and the dems and reps even have some of the same issues. Addiction to the donor class is one example.
Ok. So, you are upset by my personal attacks when your entire post was, essentially, a personal attack. You can claim the post is an accurate representation of whatever you believe, but it does not make it true.
I am not disputing that Ryan is influenced by Objectivism. I am pointing out that your understanding of Rand's philosophy/views is fairly shallow. This isn't to say I am claiming her philosophy to be sacrosanct or absolute. However, the fact that you believe that one cannot be compassionate AND have Objectivist views indicates some misunderstanding on your part. Since, this is the crux of your premise, that someone with Randian views is automatically disinterested in the well being of others, then your conclusion simply does not hold.
Now, here is where I'm going to call B.S. on your story just a little bit. You claim to be a disinterested/unbiased political observer. However, you clearly indicated that a lack of care for the well-being of others was a strictly Republican trait. And while you have protested my observation, that you cannot possibly know the motivations of all politicians, your entire argument relies on this very insight. Else, how could you, with any certainty proclaim what Republicans really care about? You say it is an accurate representation of Republican policies, but the entire premise rests on your opinion based on a single factoid (Ryan's affinity for Ayn Rand).
Now, I will concede that, in general, politicians are highly self-interested individuals. However, I don't think this differentiates by party. Had you simply said all politicians are whores and that any plan they propose which intends to dictate healthcare for 350 million people is probably evil and ill-conceived, then I'd probably be your biggest fan. However, you decided that such an evil is tied to a single party and that it revolves around a philosophy which you believe you fully understand from some reading you did as a teenager. Sorry if I'm not overly impressed.