Sunday, February 8, 2009

Did Ayn Rand have a premonition of Obama?

Some of these quotes are amazingly eerie, in their description of characters resembling Obama. Although he claims to be the agent of 'Change', he is quite the personification of socialist dogma. He is Elsworth Toohey in his arrogance and quest for power, and Peter Keating in his whiny
For those of you who are new to my blog, thanks for joining me. These installments are research for future paintings, and the answer to a friend's request for more Rand.

...His thinking is muddy enough to [demand] an absolute obedience to those ideas from others, but not from himself. He isn't above...accepting money when doing so is quite safe although not quite clean, and forgiving in his "friends" the crimes for which he would destroy an "enemy".

He is a very prominent figure. Especially popular among the semi-literate lower classes... rather indifferent themselves, but will not tolerate any disrespect or disbelief of his authority...

He hates all successful people. A successful man, in any line, is his personal enemy. He rejoices at every failure and at the fall of every idol.

The human herds. All the gatherings of average humanity which have but one aim: to ruin all individuals and individuality, to put "we" instead of "I" everywhere, to have a herd of submissive insiders against everyone outside who "does not belong", everyone who has the courage and conscience to walk alone. The tyranny of number, of multitude, of the average. Communism already established - unofficially.

A mob's feeling of omnipotence is its most jealously guarded possession and therefore a dangerous thing to wound. The mob can forgive any insult or crime except one: challenging its ultimate power... but to see a man who has freed himself from it entirely, who has nothing in common with it, a man who does not need it and who openly disdains it - this is the one crime a mob can never forgive.

...He made an unintelligent speech, full of common platitudes, showing a complete lack of imagination or originality. He had the nerve to speak in defense of the people, the country, the world and soon!...

Everything centered around one idea - one propaganda - and that idea fed to the people until they mentally suffocate.

A terrific machinery crushing the whole country and smothering every bit of life, action and air.
A picture of the state, strangling the individual. A picture of the masses showing who and what those masses are, their ideas, and their rise against the unusual and higher man.

Kira: "But there is a life, a life that I saw, that I was waiting for - and I have a right to it. Who is taking it away from me and why are they doing it?"

The All-Pervading Propaganda: It's ridiculous, far-fetched connections. Its intentionally vulgar,"popular" style and artificial bravado. Glorifying of the drudgery and the "everyday". Its main methods: employment - enforced meetings, "social activists", demonstrators, enforced deductions of pay for "patriotic" enterprises; and schools - enforced study of unscientific "social sciences", a "red" angle on all activities.

The individual against society and a time when society is at its worst and makes itself felt most strongly.

5 comments:

Muchacho Enfermo said...

Sorry it took me so long to comment! For some reason I hadn't even noticed this post at all!

I'm trying to find a way to agree with you while trying to find a way to explain that while some of the things that obama proposes aren't necessarily socialist but simply social. Things like healthcare for everyone and things of that nature don't seem that bad to me.

I must say however that Rand seems to be spot on on a bunch of these, it's almost scary.

Obama will be in Canada soon and i'll get my first look at him without any influence from the conservative or liberal media... Then i'll have a more constructive opinion!

machinepolitick said...

I'm sorry Muchacho, but I can't support Socialized medicine. I know you like the program you have in Canada, but this guy is hell bent on wealth redistribution and equality. The only thing these policies equalize is misery and poverty. The current pork bill is an example of the problem with his health care vision. It has regulations micro managing doctors and how they treat their patients. Rationing and reduced quality of care will be the result. It has provisions that will basically force the doctor to prescribe the cheapest drug possible regardless of efficacy. So, if you're an old fart with a disease that can be cured with a new expensive drug, they will send you home to die with painkillers instead.I can't support that.
I don't want the government to be my nanny or my priest. I can take care of my own and judge my actions fine myself.
As for Obama, he's proving himself to be the petulant child I expected him to be. He's already bullying the opposition, contradicting himself and going back on his word. He is not qualified for the office. I think he won because of the ridiculous celebrity culture in our country paired with a naive trust in the government to take care of us. People are hysterical in their expectation that he will make all their problems disappear.
Wish us luck, my friend. We're going to need it.

JMK said...

GREAT quotes!

We DO have to remember a few things; (1) G W Bush's Keynesian policies paved the way for Obama, who is merely continuing some of Bush's, (2) the mainstream media (MSM) was/IS confused and misrepresented the crux of our crisis and we went along with blaming "the markets" for a failure of GOVERNMENT and (3) nothing done today CAN'T be undone tomorrow, once it fails.

I KNOW that the worst is yet to come and sadly, it looks like the current actions are going to make it all MUCH WORSE, but we've gotten through and thrived through far worse.

Liberty is always optimisitic that more and more people will move inevitably toward freeedom/self-responsibilty and away from the tyranny of control.

Muchacho Enfermo said...

Our socialized medicine here seems to work just fine. But we don't micro manage our doctors and we don't tell them what to prescribe. Our system lets doctors operate as they see fit and the state (our taxes) will foot the bill for everyone, rich or poor.

I love our system, let me explain why: My mother contracted breast cancer when I was 19... She didn't have a great job and could not have afforded any kind of insurance or treatment in the US... At the time, I moved back home and helped out will bills and food and my brother's education. He treatment, her wig, her hospital stays, her surgery and her convalescence and her reconstruction were all covered. The second time she contracted breast cancer would have bankrupted me or put me in debt that I can even begin to imagine had we not been in Canada. So I have to support a system that guarantees equal care for all.

The problem, if I'm understanding you correctly, is that your proposed healthcare would treat everyone equally poorly and that's just wrong. Equal care should mean equal QUALITY care.

Think4Right said...

Premonition of America's Future during Bush's years.9/11 collapse of the twin towers hence the economy.Similar names...Osama/Obama.Saddam Hussein.Barack Hussein.Dictators.Enemy of the US.America was looking at signs of its future and ignored the two signs.Obama will collapse the economy and try to run the lives of the American.America will become trapped in a state like Iraq with militants and civil war.The fools of America put their leader in the White House.