Ayn Rand vs. Barack Obama on Iran Column by Erika Holzer - Jun 30, 2009 40 ratings from readers After Iran's recent clampdown on protesters, it took Barack Obama a full week to denounce the regime's brutality. Ever wonder what Ayn Rand's reaction to the same circumstances would have been?
How would Ayn Rand’s response to the Iranian crisis have differed from Obama’s? For many conservatives, libertarians, and even some Objectivists, the answer is not self-evident. It depends on one’s definition of “self-interest.” An articulate critic of California’s spendthrift politicians recently blasted away at a seemingly infinite list of special-interest groups lobbying for government handouts — until he veered off track with a wisecrack remark about “Randian self-interest” being in the same league with the “self-interest” demands of teachers’ unions, civil service bureaucrats, and the like. But anyone conversant with the philosophy of Objectivism and its uncompromising defense of individual rights is acutely aware that when Rand spoke of self-interest, it was with a crucial modifier in mind: rationalself-interest. And to seek the unearned, as the above-named special-interest groups do, is both patently irrational and antithetical to the concept of individual rights. Bearing this in mind, what would be Ayn Rand’s take on the current Iranian crisis? In “The Wreckage of the Consensus” Rand wrote about the “...need for a foreign policy based on long-range principles, i.e., an ideology.” (Emphasis Rand’s.) “But,” Rand stated emphatically, “a revision of our foreign policy, from its basic premises on up, is what today’s anti-ideologists dare not contemplate....” She went on to point out that “[a] proper solution would be to elect statesmen — if such appeared — and with a radically different foreign policy, a policy explicitly and proudly dedicated to the defense of America’s rights and national self-interests…” (emphasis mine) (The Objectivist, April 1967). In other words, unlike Obama, whose “foreign policy” is so fuzzy as to be almost devoid of principles (not even short-range, let alone long-), Rand would have advised a newly elected president to give high priority to a clear-cut foreign policy as soon as he took office, thus eliminating the possibility of being caught off-guard — as Obama was — five months into his first term by the Iranian crisis. Nor is it hard to predict how Ayn Rand would have defined America’s “self-interest” today in dealing with the likes of Ayatollah Khamenei or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if some talk show host were to interview her. All one has to do is extrapolate from a revealing 1964 Playboy interview, substituting Iran for Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia or Cuba. Playboy: What about force in foreign policy? You have said any free nation had the right to invade Nazi Germany during World War II.… Rand: Certainly. Playboy: ...And that any free nation today has the moral right — though not the duty — to invade Soviet Russia, Cuba, or any other “slave pen.” (Emphasis mine.) Correct? Rand: Correct. A dictatorship — a country that violates the rights of its own citizens — is an outlaw and can claim no rights. Playboy: Would you actively advocate that the United States invade Cuba or the Soviet Union? Rand: Not at present. I don’t think it’s necessary.... I would advocate a blockade of Cuba and an economic boycott of the Soviet Union; and you would see both of those regimes collapse without the loss of a single American life.... ” Rand also told her interviewer: “I do not believe that an individual should cooperate with criminals, and for the same reason, I do not believe that free countries should cooperate with dictatorships.” In other words, Ayn Rand would disagree with well-meaning conservatives and Objectivists who think that we necessarily have a duty to intervene in Iran. Robert Tracinski, in his June 22, 2009 TIA Daily newsletter, writes that “[w]e have the opportunity to encourage the collapse of the longest-standing, most militant modern Islamic regime — a leading sponsor of terrorism.” He also makes this understandable assumption: “The success of the new Iranian revolution is, of course, vital to American’s interests.” But is it? Despite the heart-rending plight of literally millions of Iranians (many of them young men and women whose “Death to Dictatorship” protests and brave defiance of a monstrous regime have been met with bloody slaughter), from Ayn Rand’s perspective whether our government should intervene — and if so, how — rests on what is in America’s self-interest. That said, I think a strong case can be made that Ayn Rand would conclude it is in America’s rational self-interest to intervene. On June 22, 2009, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late Shah of Iran — who normally keeps a low profile — addressed a packed room of sobered reporters at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. ten days after the protest movement began. “If the popular uprising in Iran is crushed,” Pahlavi warned, “this would not only threaten global stability but could lead to nuclear war.... [F]anatical tyrants who know that the future is against them may end their present course on their terms: a nuclear holocaust.” Columnist Pat Buchanan recently noted that despite Obama’s efforts to sweet-talk the ayatollahs into linking their nuclear program to energy purposes, the regime has continued to engage in the process of enriching uranium. Columnists Dick Morris and Eileen McGann are convinced that Iran is a “dire threat to our national security.” That the president of the United State’s “pathetic performance vis-à-vis Iran...cannot but send a message to all of America’s enemies that his “transparent appeasement of Iran’s government and it’s obvious lack of reciprocation” show him to be “a wimp” and sends a clear signal to rogue nations that Obama is “clueless” about handling foreign policy crises (emphasis mine). That “...[A]s North Korea prepares to launch a missile on a Hail Mary pass aimed at Hawaii, Obama’s Democrats slash 19 missile interceptors from the Defense Department budget.” To be a “wimp” under these circumstances is to be an appeaser, which is what Barack Obama is. And in Ayn Rand’s view, rogue nations like Russia and Nazi Germany (read Iran, North Korea, Putin’s Russia) “...like any bully, feed on appeasement.” Such bully regimes, Rand stated, would “retreat placatingly at the first sound of firm opposition” (emphasis mine) (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 11, 1962). Obama has proved deaf to the arguments Ayn Rand would have made about how to deal with the revolution in Iran. It took him one week of dithering with his advisors before he saw fit, in the words of Jonah Goldberg, Editor-at-large of National Review Online, to give “a full-throated denunciation of the regime’s clampdown and a statement of support for the protesters.” (And only after Congress and the Europeans had beat him to it, Goldberg noted dryly). “[I]f the clerical junta prevails,” Goldberg warned, “anyone who shakes hands with Ahmadinejad will have a hard time washing the blood off his own....” All things considered, I think that Ayn Rand would have quickly sized up the Iranian crisis and weighed the threats to our country’s national security. She’d have grasped that if the most powerful man in the world — the president of the United States — did not confront the ayatollahs and voice strong unqualified support of the protesters, our country would risk nuclear proliferation, not just in Iran, but in other rogue nations. That the unthinkable — nuclear holocaust — was a real possibility. I think that, as Robert Tracinski correctly argued, “The success of the new Iranian revolution is ... vital to America’s interests.” And I have no doubt that Ayn Rand would have written a scathing denunciation of President Barack Obama for not recognizing and acting on his moral dutyto — if not invade Iran — then at least to support the Iranian revolution with all the means at his disposal. Erika Holzer <http://www.theatlasphere.com/directory/profile.php?id=11740>’s vigilante suspense thriller Eye for an Eye<http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0595192602>was a Paramount feature film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Sally Field. For more about her other books, fiction and non-fiction, and her most recent book, Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&tag=theatlasphere-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&path=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F0615130410>, see www.ErikaHolzer.com <http://www.erikaholzer.com/>. On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > From: *Travis* > Date: Tue, Jun 30, 2009 > Subject: Barack Obama, The Enemy of Democracy > > > > > > Neither Obama's Marxism nor Islam is compatible with freedom or deomcracy. > > B > > > > *MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2009* > Barack Obama, The Enemy of > Democracy<http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2009/06/barack-obama-enemy-of-democracy.html> > http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2009/06/barack-obama-enemy-of-democracy.html > > The more one sees President Obama in action the more you realize that the > leader of the free world is not a big fan of democracy. > > Take a look at his foreign policy, with few exceptions he has positioned > the United States against the force of democracy in the world. He has > insulted out close allies in Great Britain by dissing their Prime Minister > when he came to visit; no state dinner, no press conference and to top it > all off President Obama gave the Prime Minister a crappy take-home gift, old > DVDs. Then he insulted France when he refused to have dinner with their > president, even though he was a guest in their country. While he was moving > away from our democratic allies, he has been moving closer to the repressive > regimes within the Muslim world, literally bowing down to the likes of Saudi > Arabia. He has even moved away from our number one ally in the Middle East, > the democracy Israel, in order to seduce a terrorist Palestinian regime. > > The most glaring examples of the Presidential distaste for Democracy can be > seen in two recent international crises, Iran and Honduras. Each time Obama > has taken the side of the oppressors against the forces of democracy, each > time, he has done it because he wants to create a friendship with the > oppressive regime. > *On Sunday, Mr. Obama's consigliere was asked about Iran by ABC's George > Stephanopoulos and NBC's David Gregory. Mr. Gregory asked whether there > "should be consequences" for the regime's violent suppression of peaceful > demonstrations. "The consequences, I think, will unfold over time in Iran," > answered Mr. Axelrod.* > ** > *Mr. Stephanopoulos quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying > that "this time, the Iranian nation's reply will be harsh and more decisive > to make the West regret its meddlesome stance." Said Mr. Axelrod, "I'm not > going to entertain his bloviations that are politically motivated." As for > whether the administration wasn't selling short the demonstrators, Mr. > Axelrod could only say that "the president's sense of solicitude with those > young people has been very, very clear."* > ** > *Bottom line from Mr. Axelrod, and presumably Mr. Obama, too: "We are > going to continue to work through . . . the multilateral group of nations > that are engaging Iran, and they have to make a decision, George, whether > they want to further isolate themselves in every way from the community of > nations, or whether they are going to embrace that."* > ** > *Translation: People of Iran -- best of luck! > *Source<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631691259270727.html> > The President of Honduras tried to illegally plot to hold on power. The > Courts and their congress ordered the presidident removed from power, the > Army Complied and returned power to the Honduras Congress. Once again a > nation trying to hold onto freedom, once again, our President takes a > position against democracy. > *President Obama on Monday declared that the United States still considers > Manuel Zelaya to be the president of Honduras and assailed the coup that > forced him into exile as "not legal," deepening the chasm between the > Central American nation and much of the rest of the world.* > ** > *"It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the > era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition > rather than democratic elections," Obama said in the Oval Office after > meeting with Colombian President Alviro Uribe. "The region has made enormous > progress over the last 20 years in establishing democratic traditions in > Central America and Latin America. We don't want to go back to a dark past." > * > ** > *Leaders from across the Western Hemisphere and beyond called for return > to power of Zelaya, who arrested on Sunday morning by soldiers who stormed > his residence and forced him into exile. The country now has another > president appointed by its Congress, Roberto Micheletti, who insisted that > Zelaya was legally removed by the courts and Congress for violating > Honduras' constitution and attempting to extend his own rule.* > ** > *"We are very clear about the fact that President Zelaya is the > democratically elected president," Obama said.* > ** > *The United States, he said, will work the Organization of American States > and other bodies to try to resolve the conflict peacefully.* > ** > *The OAS was holding an emergency session on the crisis Tuesday. > **Source*<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/29/clinton-unrest-honduras-evolved-coup/> > One would expect that the president of the United States of America would > be a big supporter of the forces of Democracy, that is what the office has > always stood for, but his this is one more example of "Change" > > __,_._,___ > > > > -- > *~@):~{> > > > > -- > *~@):~{> > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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