I have read Atlas Shrugged three times and each time have managed to get something different out of it. I was introduced to it by my mom. Several years ago I gave a copy to my nephew as a gift because he probably wouldn't be exposed to it in college. Leslie Stahl at one time stated she read it in high school; Paul Ryan has read it and has members of his staff read it. I see parts of it happening now under the Biden administration.
Atlas Shrugged is the book I would want to have with me should I be stranded on a deserted island. I first read it when I was a senior in college and would re-read it every 15 years or so. I think that many of the situations in Atlas Shrugged can be seen in our world today. There is a movement to tax the rich more than they are currently paying. I wish we would embrace a flat tax on everyone which would quell this debate. The rich should pay and I feel that today, they are not paying their fair share. But beyond that, we live in this world and are responsible for it and the people who live in it. We need to be teaching people how to fish, not giving them fish for the rest of their lives, which is espoused by the villians in Atlas Shrugged. We need to be kind. But we need to acknowledge that not everyone is a doer. Not everyone can do like someone else. We need to let the doers do, with the possible exception of Elon Musk and Twitter. And now I am going to go get my copy of the book and read it again. It's time.
We are living in a combination of Atlas Shrugged and Orwell’s 1984. Things will worsen until an inevitable reckoning. The reason is that we have lost the independent, self-reliant, moral and hard-working spirit that once defined us. de Tocqueville predicted our demise under the strain of hedonistic pursuit — it is currently in progress.
I have read Atlas Shrugged three times and each time have managed to get something different out of it. I was introduced to it by my mom. Several years ago I gave a copy to my nephew as a gift because he probably wouldn't be exposed to it in college. Leslie Stahl at one time stated she read it in high school; Paul Ryan has read it and has members of his staff read it. I see parts of it happening now under the Biden administration.
I agree. I wonder if there would be as many analogies absent COVID.
Atlas Shrugged is the book I would want to have with me should I be stranded on a deserted island. I first read it when I was a senior in college and would re-read it every 15 years or so. I think that many of the situations in Atlas Shrugged can be seen in our world today. There is a movement to tax the rich more than they are currently paying. I wish we would embrace a flat tax on everyone which would quell this debate. The rich should pay and I feel that today, they are not paying their fair share. But beyond that, we live in this world and are responsible for it and the people who live in it. We need to be teaching people how to fish, not giving them fish for the rest of their lives, which is espoused by the villians in Atlas Shrugged. We need to be kind. But we need to acknowledge that not everyone is a doer. Not everyone can do like someone else. We need to let the doers do, with the possible exception of Elon Musk and Twitter. And now I am going to go get my copy of the book and read it again. It's time.
What a testament to Rand's work, Cydney. One quibble: I'd let Musk find his way. He has been a force for good in tech world.
We are living in a combination of Atlas Shrugged and Orwell’s 1984. Things will worsen until an inevitable reckoning. The reason is that we have lost the independent, self-reliant, moral and hard-working spirit that once defined us. de Tocqueville predicted our demise under the strain of hedonistic pursuit — it is currently in progress.
I don’t think the spirit of self-reliance is dead, but it places lower than it should on the totem pole.