Actually, Mr. President, Ayn Rand is Quintessentially American — VOICES for REASONVOICES for REASON

In a just-published Rolling Stone interview, President Obama indicated that Ayn Rand’s world view is not one that “describes what’s best in America.” But if America is the land of liberty—the land where every individual, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” then in fact Ayn Rand is one of the most profoundly American thinkers ever.

Consider:

• Man’s Rights by Ayn Rand. In this essay, Miss Rand explains what individual rights are and why the founding of America was a revolutionary moral achievement.
• Atlas Shrugged: America’s Second Declaration of Independence by Onkar Ghate. In this must-read essay, Dr. Ghate asks why, despite the tremendous achievement of the Founding Fathers, has America spiraled away from freedom? He also then argues that Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged presents America’s second Declaration of Independence—one that upholds an individual’s moral right to exist and his moral right to independence. (Video lecture version here.)
• “Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: A Paean to American Liberty” by Don Watkins. This is an illuminating short piece on why Ayn Rand’s magnum opus resonates so powerfully with Americans.

Hence, it is no surprise that the Tea Party protesters—the thousands of Americans rallying in the same spirit as the Boston Tea Party of 1773—find common ground with Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. (Note: ARC has a Tea Party resource page.)

Ayn Rand often referred to herself as “American by choice and conviction” because the United States was the only country “based on [her] moral premises.” By reading the above links, you can get more of a sense of why this is.