Opinion: Ayn Rands views are nothing to celebrate – San Antonio Express-News

Opening my newspaper last Friday, I was quite surprised by J. Gilberto Quezadas op-ed, Heed the truth in Atlas Shrugged. Although I respect differing opinions, I felt duty-bound to express my resentment against the content not the messenger.

Ayn Rands works, such as Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead, are philosophical tracts disguised as novels. And I am sure that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who was one of her devoted acolytes listened to her every word while she lectured about the virtues of an unregulated free-market, rugged individualism and the elimination of social programs.

To Rand, anyone who relied on social programs (that pernicious Social Security system, Medicare, farm subsidies, public education, government pension programs, food stamps, WIC program, etc.) were, to use her term correctly, parasites.

The real heroes to Rand were those smart enough to use the capitalist system to amass great wealth, whom she considered to be paragons of virtue and superheroes of capitalism. They did not depend on handouts and were arguably prosperous because they used their reason to achieve greatness as espoused in her philosophy of objectivism.

Rands philosophy of objectivism has no redeeming purpose other than promoting the economic interests of people bankrolling it because the sole function of her philosophy is to justify wealth, explain away poverty as the result of ignorant parasites, and normalize the cruel attitude of the powerful and wealthy.

Here is what Jesus told a rich man, according to Matthew 19:21: If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

What did Ayn Rand think of this? On The Phil Donahue Show in 1979, Rand argued that believing in God is an insult to reason and her objectivism principles.

In fact, Rand herself taught that there was no such thing as the public interests, and Social Security and Medicare only steal from creators and illegitimately redistribute the wealth.

Probably unknown to supporters of Rand is that when she reached her twilight years, she benefited from Social Security and Medicare because of mounting medical bills after surgery in 1974 for lung cancer caused by her heavy smoking. Cosmic irony has a way slapping you in the face.

If you benefit from Medicare, Social Security or even get a government pension check with free medical expenses like our U.S. senators, please dont be a hypocrite and bash Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Im sure Rand would never have said God bless America! since she was an avowed atheist.

Julian S. Garcia is a retired schoolteacher and former associate editor of ViAztlan: An International Journal of Arts and Ideas.

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Opinion: Ayn Rands views are nothing to celebrate - San Antonio Express-News