Who better to take aim on Ayn Rand and her Congressional budget followers (Paul Ryan, etc.) than George Bush's speechwriter, a conservative, an Evangelical and a Republican by the name of Michael Gerson. Gerson clearly understands the implications of the Republican budget proposal and rejects its core underpinnings.
Many libertarians trace their inspiration to Rand’s novels, while sometimes distancing themselves from Objectivism. But both libertarians and Objectivists are moved by the mania of a single idea — a freedom indistinguishable from selfishness. This unbalanced emphasis on one element of political theory — at the expense of other public goals such as justice and equal opportunity — is the evidence of a rigid ideology. Socialists take a similar path, embracing equality as an absolute value. Both ideologies have led good people into supporting policies with serious human costs.
--MIchael Gerson
Washington Post: Ayn Ran's Adult-Onset Adolescence
Gerson is representative of the best of American Evangelicalism, with its long history from the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th centuries. These waves of religious revivalism may have played a role in the development of the concepts, or at least the understanding of democracy. The nineteenth century Awakening emphasized social responsibility and what many in the early 20th century called the social gospel. Although the awakening differs somewhat from the 20th century Social Gospel, both have a rigorous belief in the importance of community and the responsibility of the "haves' to care for the poor. Gerson's beliefs differ significantly from the rampant, irresponsible individualism of many in today's Evangelicalism.
Curiously, perhaps only coincidentally, David Brooks most recent column has an oblique reference to "rigorous theology." In a response to the hot Broadway play, "The Book of Mormon," he has written a masterful analysis of true religion with its focus on service and community. Brooks, a well-educated Jew, often refers to the insights about the social gospel, the goodness and evil of the human in the writings of the Protestant Christian, Reinhold Niebuhr. Always intriguing.
Since it is Easter, Passover season, I was curious to find out whether the well-known Catholic columnist of the Post, E.J. Dionne, would write reflective of his Catholic background emphasis upon community.
Yep. In his latest column Dionne indicts the ruling class for its utter failure of social responsibility. (Thank you, Grover Norquist).
--Needed: A Better Ruling Class
Charity and good deeds are always important in the Islamic faith, so I'm waiting for an American Muslim writer to surface in our leading news outlets. That, I'm certain, would be enlightening.
Still, with a Jew, Protestant and Catholic represented among our top national columnists, I sleep a lot better at night, and don't worry too much about the current idiocies. A bit of sanctified nonchalance goes a long way.
