Insidious onslaught

Not long ago I was substitute teaching for a Language Arts teacher. The students, who were middle school age, were reading “The Anthem” by Ayn Rand. The Students hated this book and found it boring, so I decided to read it to make my own judgment. I found the problem to be much more than just boredom for the students. The author was promoting questionable values embedded in this novel.  Then, as I read more of her novels, I realized she promoted a whole philosophy which seems to aim to shut down sharing, giving and any of the compassionate attributes.

First, who is Ayn Rand, the author? Rand grew up in Russia and was educated in the Soviet Union. She studied History and Philosophy. She saw the Bolsheviks confiscate her father’s pharmacy during the Russian revolution. The Communist regime (which rose out of the Bolshevik revolution)  caused periods of near starvation for her family. She obviously suffered greatly from this tragedy so that she dedicated her whole live to write about evil governments and the evil of government function as taxation, regulation and social services to the poor and sick. She divided her whole world into makers and takers. The latter she also calls looters or leaches of Society. She declares taxing the wealthy (or Billionaires and Millionaires) to fund education for impoverished children as immoral. I am thinking that her writings were a great therapy for her losses. Her obsession might indicate that she might have suffered from PTSD. It represents a voice the Russians may have needed to hear at that particular time (1934 to 1957); it is a voice to help oppressed people to find themselves but lacking key elements. That voice is a wrong voice for the United States. We never experienced such kind of oppression and our frame of mind is different, in which we read this book. The only oppression that might occur will not come from the government but from the wealthy, the very people who fear oppression so much and manipulate government officials. The oppressions in this country exist but Rand's ideology cannot be successfully transplanted into a different country with a different outlook at a different age. This transplant may actually be quite harmful when used as previously stated. The problem is that we do not need more encouragement to selfishness in an already so penetratingly selfish society, not in the year 2013 in America!

“The Anthem”describes a society in which central government controls everyone. One young man, who was forced to become a street sweeper, stands out and defies the rules. He makes a discovery and by doing so he becomes a law breaker, because in their minds something only exists if all the people agree on it. He runs away, a girl follows him and they come to an abandoned house in which he finds for the first time the word 'I” in a book. Their highest goal becomes to create a new generation and society and develop their EGO. One of the most disturbing things about this book was that the ‘spiritual human’ never got mentioned or considered. Having children and furthering the intellect and ego was the primary focus. There was a sense of intense selfishness that spread across the language of the whole book. I had also a sense that there were certain current political values promoted by this teacher having her students read this book.

Sure enough, later on I was introduced through You Tube to“The Daily Take”, a channel that describes a new law proposed by Idaho Senator John Goedde, who chairs that State's Education committee. The Senator proposed that all students in order to graduate need to read Ayn Rand's book“Atlas shrugged.” The Senator explained that the book made his son a good Republican and gave him a sense of responsibility. Reading some of the rhetoric, I am not sure the bill will be able to be enforced. Yaron Brook, ARI's executive director said that it is not the job of lawmakers to dictate what high school students read, he does say, however, that “every student in America would benefit from reading Atlas Shrugged.” He goes on to claim that the book shows what is required to restore the ideals of the Founding Fathers. He says it is an American book: “a hymn to the ideals of individualism, capitalism and the free human mind.” So I decided to read “Atlas shrugged.”

I have not heard of Rand proclaiming herself as an atheist, but her writings certainly point to it.  And her worldview becomes obvious on the Ayn Rand Foundation's website. I think it shows the depth of anti-spiritual and anti-morality, that Republican leaders (or even teachers) would use the message of a book, which is clearly not a message for our country or age, as an abuse to find an insidious way to manipulate young people's minds into thinking a certain political way. After reading “Atlas Shrugged”, I felt a sense of hopelessness for our country. Any compassionate human being, whether Christian, other religious, or just a kind person would basically fall, according to the philosophy of this book, into taker, looter, incompetent slug, the weak and immoral, yes even evil.

Reading this book felt like I was being sucked into a black hole of an upside down value system, which eliminated any Christian values by its sheer language. Rand's constant searching for human perfection along with several claims that humans have to be forced into doing things, has some Hitlerism undertones. I substantiate this by the written words on page 93. We are told about the purity of the human in the character of Francis d'Anconia. Francis d’Anconia is portrayed as follows; “it was if the centuries had sifted the family's qualities through a fine mesh, had discarded the irrelevant, the inconsequential, the weak, and had let nothing through except pure talent, as if chance, for once, had achieved an entity devoid of the accidental.” Really!? Its chance creating humans? God doesn't do it perfectly enough? Where are our abilities coming from? This is not the first time she refuses to name God or a greater power as source of all things. Another time God is referred to as some “dark secret mysteries” (Pg.499) in the most demeaning way. One of the characters philosophized about man (pg. 131). “Man? What is man? He is a collection of chemicals with delusions of grandeur.” It makes it more troubling that Rand has no problem to use God in swear words. Rand makes up her own idea of a “Time-savings account of one's life where moments of time are stored in the pride of having been lived” (pg. 367) instead of acknowledging our accountability to all humans and foremost to God. A Billionaire says to another one (Pg. 149): “It is against the sin of forgiveness that I want to warn you.” Yet, Love and Forgiveness are the most important teachings of the Christian faith, teachings that are essential to our very survival.

While making money is a necessity, making money is considered a virtue in this novel, certainly not one I can find in the Bible. The question of what is important in life comes up several times. D'Anconia says to his friend (pg. 100): “Dagne, there's nothing of any importance in life -except your work. Only that. Whatever else you are, will come from that.” There are various monologs of her various characters in her books, which are long and tedious, as well as obviously intended to indoctrinate its readers. When society goes to hell in her novel and the few Billionaires who claim to be the only minds of this society pull out and create their own little secret haven in the mountains of Colorado, they claim to be the victims of a corrupt government and a demented mob. In that valley, “giving” is immoral. The word “giving” must never be used. Rand compares the Billionaires to Greek gods. She describes them in all their perfection in length. Obviously they see themselves as gods who justify in the end even murder to rescue their own all in the name of their perfection. As long as emotion is not involved anything they do is acceptable, including adultery. They all subscribe to following “sacred” oath: “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.”

I read this book with Biblical passages in mind; after all, I am a pastor and chaplain. I wonder what would have happened to the world if Jesus had said: "I will never live for the sake of another man?" Let’s look in contrast at Christian values. You are first a Child of God, a Spiritual Being with many gifts. All our abilities, all our great work comes from that, not the other way around as Rand proclaims. Another character in her book states: (pg. 96) “When I die I hope to go to heaven, whatever the hell that is... and I want to be able to afford the price of admission.....I want to be prepared to claim the greatest virtue of all-that I was a man who made money.” She obviously never heard of, or read the parable of the man who builds barns to store up his wealth and was called a fool, being called away right then and there. Love, compassion and forgiveness are either a sin or at least a weakness in her opinion. She refers to God and the Saints as ghosts in heaven (pg. 1011). She even indicates that the rational mind is higher than God.

  If these kind of values are American it makes me wonder about this Senator, our teachers, and the students who become influenced by them. The book may teach individualism and capitalism but not a free human mind. The only value I see in this book is the message that people should never give up, work hard as well as take responsibility and use their brain! Indeed, we have too many couch potatoes all over our country. Also too much government is indeed a problem. However, I do not see that Rand’s book is the only one that can bring these problems to our awareness. A book much better suited might be“The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall as I am sure there are other books as well.

In may opinion Rand's novel is dangerous to read for high school children. These young scholars are at an age of not having a fully formed or solid value system. I encourage parents to read Rand's books so that they become aware of the danger. Random teachers will use these books, because the Ayn Rand foundation will donate them freely. When I checked the Ayn Rand Foundation's web site, they have so many requests for the "Anthem" that they have to back order.
Her books seem to support a certain political value system at the moment even though they were never intended for such a purpose. (Antigovernment yes, but for the support of a particular party, no!) I urge all parents to be on guard before the insidiousness with which politicians and public education are trying to brainwash our children and youth and take a stand!

© 2013 Angelika Mitchell