I can't take people like Ryan seriously because his central assumption is that in America anyone can make good (financial success) through individual hard work. Some of us can claim to have done that. But upon examination almost all 'self-made' success stories center on white males, probably protestant, who come from reasonably affluent backgrounds and who have very good educations. I can't help but be reminded of those waitresses I saw at a country Denny's. They have none of the advantages that Ryan presumes are common to all Americans but he's really talking about himself. Outside of sheer luck, they will never have the success that Ryan dreamily preaches. I like to think I am self-made. Orphaned as a young college kid I pursued a very difficult career and did ok, even well. But my childhood background was quite privileged and more or less guaranteed I'd be successful to some degree if I avoided a destructive lifestyle and worked hard. I never had to work at a Denny's. I only took part time jobs in high school for the fun of it as my 'allowance' exceeded what I could earn. I drove a T-bird and wore expensive clothes. I didn't have to take loans for college. I had and have no idea of the hardship those Denny's waitresses must endure. Neither does Ryan. If he wants to be our vice president he should be more sensitive to the real world of America and stop pretending some stupid mythology. I have republican senators and judges, etc. among my American ancestors but they were of the party of Lincoln, meaning progressive, abolitionist Whigs. They'd be disgusted by the republicans of today. I am too. wc
----- Original Message ---- From: Michael Brady <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, August 18, 2012 8:31:17 AM Subject: Re: Subjective - Objective On Aug 18, 2012, at 6:06 AM, joseph berg <[email protected]> wrote: > Guess what prominent political figure worships at the altar of Rand?: Berg's grasp of information is the Internet wide and an inch deep. The author, Cynthia Tucker, used the term "veneration" in the story headline (but she noted that Ryan "has been at pains to reject Rand's atheism" in paragraph 11). "Worship at the altar of Rand" is, as far as I can tell, Berg's words. Ryan has said that he rejects Rand's atheism, per se (he is a practicing Catholic), and subscribes to the Catholic doctrine of subsidiarity, which is similar to federalism: the central authority should subordinate decisions to the agency closest to the people involved (being subsidiary to the local decision). Here are several articles that discuss Ryan's conservativism further: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/297023/ryan-shrugged-robert-costa http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/295806/ryan-isn-t-randian-brian-bolduc http://www.thecrimson.com/column/stubborn-things/article/2010/4/23/ryan-mr-co llege-more/ http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3407710738/subsidiarity.html | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Michael Brady
