dianahsieh Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 By Greg Perkins from NoodleFood,cross-posted by MetaBlog Here's a great example of what the Ayn Rand Center is enabling around the nation. They made some excellent material available, and I thought it would come in handy for any tea party protests that might happen here in Boise. When I found out that there was indeed one being organized here, I quickly put together a single-sheet front/back handout and printed several hundred in full color to distribute. Quick and easy cultural activism! And then Tammy suggested that I offer myself as a speaker, on the off-chance that the organizers might be receptive to an Objectivist and find a way to fit me in. So I sent them a note the night before and heard back the morning of that they would like to have me speak! I cribbed and customized the backside of my handout, and voila, a 3.5-minute speech ready for delivery with almost no notice. They ended up using me as their opening speaker! You can see me above in the lower-right, a while before I took the stage (it was cold and drizzly, and my papers were getting soggy). By the time I had the mic there were thousands of people in the audience, and I was surprised at how vocal and receptive they were! Tammy was off handing out the flyers (likewise, surprisingly popular) and didn't expect me to take the stage so early, but she nonetheless managed to capture a nice chunk of my performance on her little point-n-shoot camera: Lots of people expressed gratitude and enthusiasm after I left the stage. The crowd was mostly stock conservative folks unhappy with the current situation and filled with all sorts of mixed, inconsistent, disintegrated ideas. And of course (ugh) there was the inevitable handful of crackpots. One conspiracy nutter buttonholed me to let me in on the secrets of the Federal Reserve, and we moved on pretty quickly. I was also pulled aside by a couple of far-Left media people looking to confirm that I was some crank trying to rewrite history or something -- I just responded pleasantly and explained more about what I was saying. We'll see what shows up in their outlets, if anything. Quite a day for a guy who simply didn't have the time to design a flyer or write a speech from scratch. Thank you, ARC! Cross-posted from Metablog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SD26 Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Excellent! I was in Madison for the Tea Party yesterday. Took time off work and off building a motorcycle for my upcoming race to go. Was cool to see a few signs referencing Atlas Shrugged and John Galt. Now, it's time to keep the momentum rolling. I have heard of more stuff being planned for July 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 I loved it... at least the part that was recorded . Stressing that it is an issue of morality is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gags Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 I like it, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, those in attendance may be "right wing extremists". Is the DHS taking the first step toward attempting to outlaw certain kinds of political thought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 (edited) i think there were other threads about some other Objectivists, speaking elsewhere, but here are some direct links anyway. Atlanta ... start at 1:10 ("Rational Jenn"). See it on her blog, and tell her what you think. Charlotte, NC: John Lewis, BELOW... "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"> New York City (Does not appear to be an Objectivist, but a good speech): "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"> Edited April 17, 2009 by softwareNerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 i think there were other threads about some other Objectivists, speaking elsewhere, but here are some direct links anyway. ... Excellent speech RationalJenn. Brilliant speech by Dr. Lewis. Thank you for posting these, softwareNerd! Good speech by the man in NY. How very much America (and the world) needs Objectivism! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils_Advocate Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 (edited) Fantastic! It's great to see some people there apparently knew who Ayn Rand was. I made my own speech at my local tea party. There was this huge rock, so whoever wanted to could come and make a speech. I got up and gave a speech mom's rags-to-riches-without-a-bailout-or-welfare story as an inspiring example of why we don't need 900+ government enterprises to help us succeed, unlike what they tell me in school. The 3-400 people there really liked it. I like it, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, those in attendance may be "right wing extremists". Is the DHS taking the first step toward attempting to outlaw certain kinds of political thought? I've been called a right-wing extremist all my life, but when the Department of Homeland Security is saying it, it takes on a whole new level. I almost thought they were going to outlaw the tea parties on "National Security Grounds". Thank God I was wrong, but I still think the report might have put a crack in the Hoover Dam of the 1st amendment. Edited April 17, 2009 by Devils_Advocate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 I see you've posted the John Lews speech here! Okay, I posted it in the other tea party thread. The second one in New York is excellent, well delivered, good content, and great atmosphere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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