That article does make a good point about the dangerous anti-intellectual course the Republican party has chosen to take. However, it also appears to be cherry-picking quotes to make the point that Ayn Rand would have endorsed Barack Obama.
I think it's pretty obvious that she would have been disgusted with both candidates.
However, Obama, does, in some way, appear to recognize the value of intelligent people.
It's pretty disgusting to see political candidates openly decrying intelligence. McCain and Palin, and their supporters, worship Joe the Plumber while the scientists, doctors, businessmen, academics, lawyers, etc. are dismissed as "elites".
Of course, "elite" simply means "the best of a particular class of people or things". So, being the best at what you do is not the worst sin you can commit, in the eyes of the modern conservative movement.
Of course, conservatives don't have a monopoly on this way of thinking. While they decry the elites of science, law, and academia, liberals are just as hostile to the elites of business and production.
Whoever wins, it's going to be a very long 4 years.
I haven't ever really read through "For The New Intellectual" but I did think the quote about America being divided between the intellectual elites and the folksy middle America is a terrible dichotomy to have.
I can understand where the hatred for a lot of intellectuals comes from. They're often pretty rude and snobbish to common people, and hold rabid Anti-American and Anti-Capitalist views. They'll either turn to the Religious nutcases or to the "Joe The Plumber " populism **** about how being a member of the "Working Class" and being poor and stupid is better than being a member of the elite.
If Obama is a representation of America's intellectual coarse, though, then we are indeed in for a rough 4 or 8 years. Let's hope he turns out to be as successful a political messiah as Jimmy Carter.
No heartwarming lessons about the importance of family and civic responsibility and the need for common sense in Washington. In case of Palin as president, there will be lots more book burnings on the White House lawn, and retooling NASA to build a rocket ship to God.
Sarah Palin was just one of the regular folks from Middle of Nowhere America. But when John McCain chooses her to be vice-president, she is about to learn that suppressing people on a national scale isn't as easy as she thought.
This summer Sarah Palin is "The PResident" And America is
It's pretty disgusting to see political candidates openly decrying intelligence. McCain and Palin, and their supporters, worship Joe the Plumber while the scientists, doctors, businessmen, academics, lawyers, etc. are dismissed as "elites".
why do you think intelligent design exists as a curriculum?