The imminent and potential selection of Paul Ryan for vice president, and his avowed Randian beliefs got me thinking.
Within Randian thought, anyone who does not agree with them is 'false' and an 'evader', as in one who simply refuses to accept, and thus evades, the clearly self-evident truths of Rand's beliefs.
Rand explains the concept of evasion as thus: "Evasion is the act of blanking out, the willful suspension of one's consciousness, the refusal to think--not blindness, but the refusal to see; not ignorance, but the refusal to know. It is the act of unfocusing your mind and inducing an inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment--on the unstated premise that a thing will not exist if only you refuse to identify it."
Leonard Peikoff took this a step further in his essay 'Fact and Value' and cited the concept that some ideas are simply -inherently evil-, rather than merely 'dishonest'.
Upon having this explained to me, I found that I agreed with Dr. Peikoff for the first time in my life. Agreed with an objectivist for the first time in my life. There are, indeed, inherently evil ideas in this world.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to leave people without health care that can be provided.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to not feed, shelter, and clothe the poor.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to ignore or even embrace racism because its convenient to my politics.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to refuse to combat the bigotry of even those closest to me. Especially those closest to me.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to not treat others with fairness and dignity because they don't share my belief system.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to ignore the suffering of the mentally ill.
I believe its an inherently evil idea to deny equal rights to someone because they love someone of the same gender.
I believe it is an inherently evil idea to refuse help to those in need.
And I believe it is an inherently evil idea to give more to those who already have the most.
Oh -- that's not what he meant? Damn. Guess I don't agree with him after all.