“Trying to force a wedge into a perceived “crack” is a waste of time.”
Could you explain what you mean? I am not sure why people who value Tea Party rallies would be so consumed by Ayn Rand. I recall she was an atheist. The founding fathers were not libertarians to my mind, they were republicans.
Very few people take a philosophy (like objectivism) and follow it to the letter. There is a great deal about objectivism that is perfectly compatible with “limited government” type conservatives and even religious conservatives. People of various beliefs, ideologies and philosophical foundations can (and do) unify where their is overlap.
Where the various groups of the left unify around increasing government control over people, WE unify around freedom from the government and the collective. That is what you see in these “tea parties”, the unification of the myriad of freedom seeking people into a movement that is heading in the same general direction.
We are focused on a common enemy and it will remain that way until the enemy (forced collectivism) is ultimately driven into the ground. There will be plenty of time to debate the nuances of our beliefs AFTER we crush the collectivists, but until then, it is absolutely pointless to do anything other than cheer each other on.
Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Paine. Patrick Henry...
Whatever helps you sleep better at night.
Will this be the new purity litmus test for tea partiers? If you like some of the ideas of an atheist, you're out?
Really, this is grasping at straws. I realize a lot of Freepers who purport to be Christians don't like Rand, but we're not emulating her life here, we're taking note of the very sensible parts of her philosophy. Capitalism foremost of them all.