I used to imagine that being chosen as a Vice-Presidential candidate was an honor. Now I think not so much. Only hours after Mitt Romney chose Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate, the poor man was being pummeled by the liberal media.The really vicious ones like Maureen Dowd and the Huffington Post are making him sound like Satan himself.
When you try to see it from the modern progressive (socialist) point of view, perhaps Ryan is their satan. Since few of them believe in the real one, they need to invent one. Representative Ryan burst onto the radar with his budget proposal that actually did something to reign in federal spending by limiting what the government would do in the future. I am not an economist, but I realize that things are more complicated than most people imagine. However, one thing is certain: no entity can spend more than it takes in indefinitely. Ryan's budget tries to address that.
So by limiting the growth of government (note: not shrinking government,) Ryan becomes the pariah who would starve children and kick seniors off Medicare. From my perspective, he seems to be introducing some sanity into the situation. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results each time. That sounds like a definition of our federal government. From FDR to LBJ to BHO we have seen massive growth of government create more problems than it solves; yet there are those who want more of the same. Insanity?
Another place Ryan is taking heat is his association with the ideas of Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.) Ryan admits that his inspiration to get into politics was the economic philosophy touted by Rand in Atlas Shrugged. He has also maintained over the years in no uncertain terms that he wants no part in Rand's atheistic libertarianism in social matters. In typical hypocritical fashion, the liberal press calls Ryan a flip-flopper because he dismisses part of Rand's philosophy while embracing another part. This is what they would call a nuanced position if it were discovered in a liberal, but in Ryan it is seen as a faux pas, a weakness.
Perhaps this illustrates why so many raise their hands in despair when it comes to choosing candidates for major political offices. It feels like one must be an expert in the arcane intricacies of global economics or a doctor of philosophy to interpret a candidate's view. It need not be that difficult. If you want to know how someone thinks, look at the authors he reads. While Paul Ryan was reading Ayn Rand, Barak Obama was reading Saul Alinsky. Both men would caution that they are not clones of their favorite authors, but the policies of each display an affinity for a certain type of thinking which can be traced to the authors they read.
This is not foreign to what the Bible teaches. If I may extend a metaphor Jesus used, I would say the roots of a tree represent the influences in our lives which in turn nurture the branches, blossoms and fruit that is ultimately produced. If a tree is known by its fruit, the fruit is "known" by what issues from the roots. Or to change the analogy, if the mouth speaks from the abundance within the heart, one must regard those things influencing the heart as of paramount importance. I realize it was Aesop and not an Apostle who said we are known by the company we keep, but that too squares with Scripture. When selecting the man who will influence the world from the White House, one should look carefully at who influenced him in his house.
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