Monty by Jim Meddick for September 15, 2022

A Random act of kindness.

Ha-ha, very funny. /s/

My advice: Don’t believe anything anyone (yes, including me) tells you about Ayn Rand and Objectivism unless you have read her and can judge for yourself.

There’s no right answer as to where to begin reading. For me it was “Atlas Shrugged”, but other people start with “The Fountainhead” or “Anthem” or her several collections of essays. But read her yourself. It’s the best advice I can give anyone.

Some young distant cousins of mine, born to wealth and privilege, were Ayn Rand fans. I shrugged.

He leafed through the book and couldn’t find the chapter on conquering fentanyl addiction.

Totally agree with this poor soul. Read Ayn Rand, her books are long-winded and boring. Unfortunately, it’s not going to bring him much.

He’s a fast learner.

I read that book some fifty years ago.

In the real world corporations get subsidies from the govt. Oil companies come to mind as they are on the edge of bankruptcy. /S

See, he’s already weaving straw into gold.

So, I read “Atlas Shrugged” in the best place to read a tome like this, one of my military tours. You often git a whole lotta down time, when you’re deployed. By my second tour I brought with me every book I ever had on my good intentions list and got through every one, the Bible, the Koran, “The Dancing Wu Li Masters.” Though, philosophically I think A.S. is childish, there have been a few moments the last few years where the general covid-caused decline in some key services (red lights not working, massive flight delays) where I hearken back to moments in A.S. where society is collapsing.

It should say, “Boring, badly written book by a sociopath— 50 cents.”

Having never read any books by this author, I am not going to comment. Whoops.! :)

While there are lands to conquer, expendable slave labor can build wonders. Looting helps you pay enough soldiers for when the peasants come with torches & pitchforks.

And that homeless man eventually read Atlas Shrugged, changed his life, got a job, and went on to co-create Spider-Man.

Re-reading Rand in today’s context focuses attention on the problems with government corruption, perhaps even as much communism/socialism. The governments Rand was thinly disguising were communist, but they were also massively, massively corrupt.

Corruption is not a socialist problem exclusively. Significant elements of Rand’s world are developing here and now because of crony capitalists and people who take payoffs from foreign governments or foreign government affiliates for favors or access to our political system.

(Which party you affiliate with will reveal who you think I mean in the last part of that sentence. Neither party seems to be able to admit any possibility of corruption by THEIR guy/gal.)

What many Rand fans miss is that John Galt is the face you see in the mirror.

Oh, look! A bookstore. I thought they were extinct. :)

I’d rather read Terry Pratchett.

My brother gave me eight books for my 15th birthday: 4 Ayn Rand and 4 Ian Fleming. Atlas Shrugged gave me nightmares but the one thing I learned was to divorce myself from culture-think. SO glad!

“I’m sorry, sir, you may have misheard me. What I lack is money, not sleep.”

Pearls before swine.

No need for anybody to read Atlas Shrugged (or watch the movie) because it is happening now

Atlas Shrugged is certainly very long! Though tempted from time to time, I have never even tried to read it. (I did get through The Fountainhead, though….)

John Galt can GFH.