Whittaker Chambers
Was, once upon a time, a communist.
He came to his senses and denounced his communist leanings, but the point is, he has had a solid understanding of both sides of the fence.
I have, in my own life, been a witness to a great many things. I have never closed my eyes, no matter how disturbing those things are.
Whittaker had the experience to understand the horror of communism, and came to his senses. Very, very few Ayn Rand dittoheads have had this experience- and it’s one of the reasons why I chose to read the reviewWhittaker wrote and Bill Buckley published about Atlas Shrugged, way back in 1957. Whatever you think about any of the players, you should read that review.
The left demonizes Rand- Ms X points out that the Huff Po is all verklemmt about the movie. They are concerned that people will be convinced conservatism is good by the comical caricatures in the film. Well, if they are, that’s fine, but frankly, anyone that can read or watch that drivel and be swayed by the paper thin one dimensional ‘good guys’ and “bad guys” is an idiot.
Look, people: This is not life. Atlas Shrugged cannot happen, and it would be stupid if it did, and having sweaty little mom’s basement fantasies of ‘Going Galt” is, frankly, below all of you that I know. I hope the hell you realize this before it’s too damned late.
You have the tools you need to change this world, between your ears. Forget what Rand said and did, and figure it out on your own.
15 comments Og | Uncategorized
Good one, Og,
Now to check I see these tools as available:
1. Vote
2. Educate
3. Train
4. Run for Elected Office
5. Do what you can to correct what you can.
….
99. Armed Insurrection
More or less correct?
This may come as a shock, but Atlas Shrugged was a novel, a work of fiction, not a Handbook For The Revolution or a Prediction Of The Future.
Next thing you know, someone’s going to point out that the events of The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress would never work that way, either…
“This may come as a shock, but Atlas Shrugged was a novel, a work of fiction, not a Handbook For The Revolution or a Prediction Of The Future.”
Not to me, as should be obvious. Preaching to the choir here. You gotta go say that to the millions that haven’t figured it out yet, which is what I’m trying to do.
And yet, despite The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress being fiction, you can still buy little stickers of a flag with a brass cannon and the word TANSTAAFL, and people would understand that this doesn’t mean you want to stage a revolt in a penal colony on the moon, but that you agree with some of the philosophical underpinnings of the novel…
Yep. One of my litmus tests for ignorance is agreeing with many or most of the philosophical underpinnings of Atlas Shrugs. That describes a lack of comprehension of how the real world operates that is herculean in nature.
Gee, Og, I hate to break this to you, but, you seem one of the most Galtean-like people I know – and yet you despise the book. Most interesting. :)
Lesseee… my impressions from just moping around here for the last … oh… couple years.
1. Creative with fixing machines.
2. Innovative in handling the industrial problems that you have faced.
3. Works long hours and in not so desirable enviroments.
4. Very independent on societal infrastructure. If society was in the handbasket on the way to molten paradise, you and your family would do just fine with you skills of living off the land.
Those are the positive things about the book that you could easily identify within yourself.
However, there are some real stark differences too and I think I understand your ire – especially since you have discussed this with us before.
“Those are the positive things about the book that you could easily identify within yourself.”
Here’s a hint for you: There’s more than one of me. There are millions. Demonstrably, they will not and cannot “go galt” all at once, and any one can fill the space occupied by any of the others. There is no monopoly on smart and ambitious, and nature abhors a vacuum. Where one person leaves, another will fill his place, and this is an irrefutable law. Chase all the drug dealers out of a neighborhood. They are almost immediately replaced. Get rid of all the mexicans doing drywall in a town. A week later, there will be groups of them standing around at Home Depot again.
Atlas Shrugs depends on the world going to shit because a select handful of brilliant individuals decided to make a stand. What Rand was too stupid to realize was that the moment they buggered off to their fortress of solitude, their jobs were immediately filled by one of the other smart people perfectly capable of doing the same jobs.
I’ve just come off a long term job where I was helping to fill in for a group of people who decided to stop working to “Show” their employer what it was like to exist without their skills.
In a few short months I trained their replacements, and any and all of those trainees are as good as or better than the people they replaced. yep, they sure “Showed” them.
“Here’s a hint for you: There’s more than one of me. There are millions.”
Thank Goodness.
And that is the whole point.
I’d like to say…
“Yep”,
But I’m afraid you’ld reach through the innernecks and smack me. :)
Knucklehead.
My favorite tactic of getting pissed off employees back in line and seeing the error of their thinking when they’d gotten pissed off at some Company Policy Change and were near to “Going Gault” was to remind them that their replacements would not remember how it “used to be” and that the New Company Policy would simply be Business As Usual to those New Employees.
You shoulda seen the looks. Ain’t NOBODY irreplaceable.
Not even me.
I didn’t go Galt, I was Galtified and removed. They won’t hire me now without a paper hat to distinguish my proper station.
The upsidown of dissolute Shrugville is a land where academics imagine they are in charge, that they are glue that binds all things, the Ivory Tower the needle that weaves it all together – but we know how entropic that really is. Needles also make holes and things leak out, like blood.
LOL! Nice one, dirt.
The power of Atlas Shrugged or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress isn’t literal, but figurative. They can act as warning signs and guideposts, but not as maps.
1984 was one of the scariest novels I’ve ever read and continues to be very useful as a warning of encroaching government. But what terrified me the most – Winston’s lack of understanding HOW to rebel – hasn’t come to pass. That may explain my fondness for video games.
Brave New World also has some pretty scary parallels in our 21st century.
The problem arises when Objectivists turn an interesting book (with horrid characters) into a type of bible.