Is there a more clear sign that students in your state don’t stand a chance if a literary genius such as this man is the chairman of your state’s education committee?
BOISE – 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.”
Goedde said he doesn’t plan to press forward with the bill, but it was formally introduced in his committee Tuesday on a voice vote. [...]
Nevertheless, 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.
In the spirit of things, shouldn’t students feel compelled to read Atlas Shrugged on their own? Isn’t that their responsibility?
Required reading may not sound like a libertarian idea, but “that book made my son a Republican” is basically the only reason libertarians exist. Some fortunate souls eventually grow out of it. Others aren’t quite as lucky.