Ideas in the Ring

awake & reading : Rand and Brueggeman- | by Shaun O'Reilly

I had an interesting, yet unsurprising experience recently. 
I finally sat down to read some Ayn Rand, and I did so at the local university library.  I'm not a student (yet), so I can't leave with any books.  The reading happens on site.
Not a problem.
Especially with Rand's Anthem.  It is short and engaging, making it the quickest of reads.  *And I enjoyed that nuance of objectivism -- when you believe things are straight-up, to the point, and reasonable - then you write books in that way.  It's a pleasure to read something like that.  No mystery, just narrative ... like a refreshing glass of water after too many colas or beers or capri suns (I teach Sunday school, and I get thirsty doing it, okay?).

So, Anthem is a story of breaking free and being an individual.  I confessed to the friends reading it with me that it's a little tough for me to read and detach the narrative story from where I think the "philosophy" is heading.  I hate to be doing that, but I've got some pent up energy with Rand, I guess.  While reading about characters discovering individuality, I kept thinking - "okay, but how far does this go?  Who really wants to break free so far as to disconnect from community?  What does the world look like when billions of people all go after their own needs above all else?"  But, see, that's not the story of _Anthem_.  The story is about a certain character discovering the freedom of possessing will, imagination, and an open future.

I can't argue with that.  And I wouldn't want to.  I celebrate it!

So, the interesting experience was that directly after finishing the book and driving home, I hopped online to check some twitters.  I got one that linked to "here's some old testament wisdom about the current financial crisis."  So, innocently, I click!  I welcome that wisdom.

Enter, Walter Brueggeman... with a genius article on the holistic advice of the Psalms and other old testament texts.  The tagline is, Biblical faith invites us out of self-destruction toward God's generosity and abundance.  After reading it, I can't argue with a lick of his thoughts either - and they all point to covenant, generosity, togetherness. 

So, then I had these two cool ideas swimming the channels of my cranium.  But it was more like a boxing match than a swimming pool.  Suddenly, my Rand point-of-view is tossed into the ring and a fight ensues.  Because the Bible is such a robust and experienced fighter (in my mind), it worked the body and won in a few short rounds.  The thing is, I don't know who I was really rooting for.  I'd love to see Rand fight again, to learn to appreciate the moves.  But I can't help what happened in this specific case.  It was unfortunate, but I've taken good things away from both.  

So, chime in if you've got an idea on how to stew on/with opposing ideas, instead of letting them begin beating each other up. 

Oh, and all ideas on Rand's Anthem or the Brueggeman article above are most welcome.  I really think B. is on to something we can use in the current econ. crisis ... and I think Rand was on to something that can inspire humanity, a challenge to crawl out of the ruts of tradition and conformity.   

Comments

[Nate]

"I swear - by my life and my love of it - that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." John Galt, Atlas Shrugged.

That's where the philosophy is headed, expressed through the words of the main character of Atlas Shrugged. Her brand of individualism rejects both God and other forms of community to which one may feel loyalty towards and ... give up individualism for.

I was reminded of her role in contributing to the current financial disaster as I skimmed through "Ayn Rand, the Russian Radical" a book on her philosophical thought, which contained many pictures of her including one with the caption "Members of Rands Inner Circle" which showed second from the left, Alan Greenspan.

Here are some excerpts from a NYT article after Greenspan returned to Capital Hill last fall to answer questions about the disaster. Note Greenspans' use of the term "self-interest".

"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform."

“You had the authority to prevent irresponsible lending practices that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. You were advised to do so by many others,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, chairman of the committee. “Do you feel that your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?”

Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.”

Food for your thoughts. Good discussion.