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Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde, chairman of the Idaho Senate’s Education Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to require every Idaho high school student to read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and pass a test on it to graduate from high school.

When Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, asked Goedde why he chose that particular book, Goedde said to laughter, “That book made my son a Republican.”...

The 1957 novel has been embraced by libertarians and the tea party movement, in part for its opposition to “statism” and embrace of capitalism, as Rand expressed her philosophy of “objectivism,” focusing on “the morality of rational self-interest.” In recent years, the novel has been touted by conservative commentators including Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

“When I read Atlas Shrugged, and it’s been probably 30 years since I read it, but it certainly gives one a sense of personal responsibility,” Goedde said…

As a formally introduced bill, the measure will be read across the desk in the Senate Wednesday morning and will receive a bill number; it will be among the bills posted on the Legislature’s website for the session and preserved in its records.

Before voting to introduce the measure, other Senate Education Committee members joked that they’d like to put forth their own favorite books for consideration.

Asked about his comment that the Ayn Rand book made his son a Republican, Goedde said after the meeting, “Well, he’s not a practicing Republican. But it certainly made him a conservative.”

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There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.

One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.

The other, of course, involves orcs.

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ORIGINAL: Fightdirecto

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Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde, chairman of the Idaho Senate’s Education Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to require every Idaho high school student to read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and pass a test on it to graduate from high school.
When Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, asked Goedde why he chose that particular book, Goedde said to laughter, “That book made my son a Republican.”...
The 1957 novel has been embraced by libertarians and the tea party movement, in part for its opposition to “statism” and embrace of capitalism, as Rand expressed her philosophy of “objectivism,” focusing on “the morality of rational self-interest.” In recent years, the novel has been touted by conservative commentators including Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
“When I read Atlas Shrugged, and it’s been probably 30 years since I read it, but it certainly gives one a sense of personal responsibility,” Goedde said…
As a formally introduced bill, the measure will be read across the desk in the Senate Wednesday morning and will receive a bill number; it will be among the bills posted on the Legislature’s website for the session and preserved in its records.
Before voting to introduce the measure, other Senate Education Committee members joked that they’d like to put forth their own favorite books for consideration.
Asked about his comment that the Ayn Rand book made his son a Republican, Goedde said after the meeting, “Well, he’s not a practicing Republican. But it certainly made him a conservative.”

Bill Would Require All Idaho Kids To Read Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’
John Rogers -

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There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs.

• A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  
• Personal Responsibility
  
• Help for the truly needy
  
• Limited Government
  
• Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
  

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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub

When there are so many well-written classics and pieces of actual good literature out there, I am not sure why Atlas Shrugged would be included in a class. That is kind of like mandating 50 Shades in a BDSM class lol

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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub
When there are so many well-written classics and pieces of actual good literature out there, I am not sure why Atlas Shrugged would be included in a class. That is kind of like mandating 50 Shades in a BDSM class lol

• A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  
• Personal Responsibility
  
• Help for the truly needy
  
• Limited Government
  
• Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
  

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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri

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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub
When there are so many well-written classics and pieces of actual good literature out there, I am not sure why Atlas Shrugged would be included in a class. That is kind of like mandating 50 Shades in a BDSM class lol

I know there are. And, I wouldn't mandate Atlas Shrugged to be one of them, but I could see it fitting in. I satisfied my Comp I and Comp II requirements with 2 classes that had required reading of "great books" followed by discussion and writings. Chaucer and Dante were among them, which is why I cited those. We did not have to read Rand in the class. I can see it fitting in, though.

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ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

Isn't the party that wants this the same one that is constantly whining about "Indoctrination"?

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ORIGINAL: Baroana

Does anyone really give a shit about Idaho?

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High School students should read Margeret Atwood's 'A Handmaid's Tale' instead, and warn them that if they don't vote, Right Wing Christian zealots could 'take back their country' - all the way back to the middle ages, as portrayed in the novel.

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I can see why "Atlas Shrugged" would appeal to adolescents. At it's core the novel is a justification for selfishness and a self-centered world view. Not hard to imagine teenagers would embrace such simplicity.

Hopefully teachers, like myself, provide context to augment the teaching of the novel that includes a biography of the author.

They need to know she died of lung cancer after decades of methamphetamine abuse and cigarette smoking. She kept her husband as a cuckold, enjoying a extra-marital affair lasting, again, decades, with a bleary eyed young sycophant. In her waning years, riddled with cancer, she committed Medicare fraud using a servant's identity to obtain health care benefits she never contributed to and railed against.

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"It Can't Happen Here" describes the rise of Buzz Windrip, a populist United States senator who is elected to the presidency after promising drastic economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and traditional values. After his election, Windrip takes complete control over the government and imposes totalitarian rule with the help of a ruthless paramilitary force, in the manner of Adolf Hitler and the Schutzstaffel.