Bill: Make 'Atlas Shrugged' mandatory

upi ^ | Feb. 6, 2013

[JoeProBono]

BOISE, Idaho, - An Idaho Republican state senator who introduced a bill requiring high school students to read "Atlas Shrugged" said he doesn't plan to push for passage.

Sen. John Goedde, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, introduced the bill Tuesday that would mandate students pass a test on Ayn Rand's 1957 best-seller, frequently cited by conservative politicians such as U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as inspiration for their politics.

When Republican Sen. Bob Nonini asked Goedde why he proposed making "Atlas Shrugged" required reading, Goedde got a laugh when he said, "That book made my son a Republican."

Goedde, however, said he doesn't plan to move the bill forward -- he just wanted to express his unhappiness with the State Board of Education for recent changes in graduation requirements, and a change in the way school principals are evaluated," The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review reported.

"It was a shot over their bow just to let them know that there's another way to adopt high school graduation requirements," Goedde said.

Rand's book describes an America in which business leaders decide to stop working to protest higher taxes and government regulation.

"When I read 'Atlas Shrugged,' and it's been probably 30 years since I read it, but it certainly gives one a sense of personal responsibility," Goedde said.

For the record, Goedde said his son is not actually "a practicing Republican. But it certainly made him a conservative."

[Madame Dufarge]

I’d settle for “A History of the American People” by Paul Johnson,..

Read it twice already. Great writer.

[CodeToad]

“Ann Rand was not writing arguments based on facts but social science kind of garbage that I despise.”

Since you don’t even know it is not “Ann” and your entire intellectual comment was simply, “dumb”, I HIGHLY doubt you ever read it nor understand it. Her writings were based in fact since she grew up in the Communist Russia during the days of the revolutions and as an adult knew the Socialists of the day and what they were saying. Her writings were warnings of the ideas of the Marxists and what they desired for govenment.

[yldstrk]

ok you are not the first to point out that she grew up under Commidom and her name is spelled “Ayn”. If you had bothered to read the thread you would

a. Know I am not a liar and
b. Know that yes, you are right, I HAVEN’T READ IT (SINCE I WAS 22 that is) AND IT BORED ME STIFF THEN

So, now I am led to believe that just like Nicodemus, Ayn was “prescient” and “predicted” what would happen. Well, so was George Orwell and at least his books were readable. So I guess she was a prophet and good for her.

[Mr. Jeeves]

The last thing we want is Rand in the school system - it's designed to be a subversive book. Allowing union teachers to "interpret" the book for their students would do more harm than good.

Anyone who has achieved any position of of power in any social hierarchy through any means other than merit inevitably hates Rand's works. America's government-media complex is chock full of Catherine Halseys and Ellsworth Tooheys and they don't like seeing themselves so fully exposed. Rand captured the ethos of the Obama Administration very nicely in this quote:

"We are all equal under the skin. And I, for one, am willing to skin humanity to prove it." -- Ellsworth Toohey, The Fountainhead

[JoeProBono]