TOS Blog: Daily Commentary from an Objectivist Perspective

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Rice and Republicans Condemn Politics of Envy

Posted by Ari Armstrong at 8:48 am ET

At the Republican convention, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, and others, directly challenged President Obama’s infamous “You didn’t build that” speech. Rice was particularly eloquent:

[T]he essence of America, what really unites us, is not nationality or ethnicity or religion. It is an idea. And what an idea it is. That you can come from humble circumstances and you can do great things, that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going.

My fellow Americans, ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. We have never been jealous of one another and never envious of each others’ successes.

Although Republicans often betray the ideal of individualism that Rice forthrightly expresses here, it is nevertheless heartening to hear her and other Republicans condemn the left’s politics of envy and praise individual success.

Republicans, make this your MO.

Related:

Creative Commons Image: World Economic Forum

Posted in: Individual Rights and Law

Comments are welcome so long as they are civil.
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Keith-Sketchley/732092025 Keith Sketchley

    Good speech, especially on opportunity vs birth status/entitlement. “We have never believed that I am
    doing poorly because you are doing well.” is a fundamental point, that strikes at a root of the Marxist economic beliefs that are very common in the US. Her speech includes energy and defence. I don’t know anything of Romney-Ryan’s foreign policy views to judge if Rice is correct, talk is cheap (GWB and Rice wimped). I’m skeptical of her trade treaty claims, as it depends on how many a country already has – should have more if there are people worth trading with, but a shunned country will need to get many treaties quickly (indeed, that helps foster military cooperation). She seems mixed on immigration. The personal note is good. (As I observe in http://www.keithsketchley.com/whycondi.htm, she has seen bad up close and personal, including the failure of the justice system to protect her neighbourhood, and terrorism.) (Unfortunately Fox News is deficient in editing. They need to flesh in words or put in marker notes (her personal note may be a halting one that is difficult to transcribe, but “and hostile neighbors our challenging the young, fragile democracy of Iraq” is an easy listening error to spot).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Keith-Sketchley/732092025 Keith Sketchley

    Ah, the secret to posting from Microsoft word is to doubles space between paragraphs, as this web sites software removes paragraph breaks.