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The Paul Ryan Paradox
...
And as a good Republican he made his money the old-fashioned
way, he inherited it. Well, maybe inheriting is too strong a
word, he got a job as a marketing consultant with Ryan
Incorporated Central, which is run by a branch of his family.
Not exactly the silver spoon treatment ala Bush and Romney, but
he did not have to exert a huge effort either, which partly
explains his disdain for underprivileged people. I mean,
everybody should have the opportunity to work for the family
business. Life would be so less complicated that way.
...
Ryan tells us that his Catholic faith was his inspiration. [the
budget] appears to reflect the values of your favorite
philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ
...
But the Catholic Bishops, remember the guys who accused
President Obama of being anti-religious, those Catholic Bishops?
They said that Ryan's budget wasn't so Christian after all. As a
matter of fact, they said, "A just spending bill cannot rely on
disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and
vulnerable persons." The good Bishops even said that his budget
"fails to meet" the moral criteria of the Church.
...
Not to pile on but a group of Jesuit scholars at Georgetown
University went so far as to say, "[the budget] appears to
reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand,
rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness
and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the
Gospel values of compassion and love."
Ouch.
And the good Jesuits have a point. In 2005 Ryan admitted, "The
reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had
to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand." Not to
be content with his personal preferences, New York magazine has
claimed that Ryan "requires staffers to read Atlas Shrugged."
...
And it seems like the young Ryan,
himself a benefactor of the Capitalist system was keen on
jettisoning his Catholic faith for the more prosperity oriented
Ayn Rand who is happy to assert (since she didn't have to run
for anything) that the markets are a better moral compass than
the teachings of Jesus. No wonder Mitt Romney is on board.
...
If somebody is going to try to paste a person's view on
epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas. Don't give me
Ayn Rand."
I think the Bishops would be quite pleased if Ryan had based
his budget on Aquinas. The Catholic Saint famously said that
things that pertain to all men are reduced to seven headings:
Faith, Hope, and Charity; Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and
Temperance. If only Ryan's budget were based on these principles
...
Whatever happened to Compassionate Conservatism? It almost
makes one yearn for George W.
BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn
... Compassionate Conservatism has been replaced by Friendly Fascism.
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