Posted on 08/16/2024 6:35:56 AM PDT by Tench_Coxe
“Those who tell you that man is unable to perceive a reality undistorted by his senses, mean that they are unwilling to perceive a reality undistorted by their feelings. ‘Things as they are’ are things as perceived by your mind; divorce them from reason and they become ‘things as perceived by your wishes.’
(snip)
“They proclaim that every man born is entitled to exist without labor and, the laws of reality to the contrary notwithstanding, is entitled to receive his ‘minimum sustenance’—his food, his clothes, his shelter—with no effort on his part, as his due and his birthright. To receive it—from whom? Blank-out. Every man, they announce, owns an equal share of the technological benefits created in the world. Created—by whom? Blank-out. Frantic cowards who posture as defenders of industrialists now define the purpose of economics as ‘an adjustment between the unlimited desires of men and the goods supplied in limited quantity.’ Supplied—by whom? Blank-out. Intellectual hoodlums who pose as professors, shrug away the thinkers of the past by declaring that their social theories were based on the impractical assumption that man was a rational being—but since men are not rational, they declare, there ought to be established a system that will make it possible for them to exist while being irrational, which means: while defying reality. Who will make it possible? Blank-out. Any stray mediocrity rushes into print with plans to control the production of mankind—and whoever agrees or disagrees with his statistics, no one questions his right to enforce his plans by means of a gun. Enforce—on whom? Blank-out. Random females with causeless incomes titter on trips around the globe and return to deliver the message that the backward peoples of the world demand a higher standard of living. Demand—of whom? Blank-out.
(Excerpt) Read more at amberandchaos.net ...
“I am speaking to those who desire to live and to recapture the honor of their soul. Now that you know the truth about your world stop supporting your own destroyers. The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction to give it. Withdraw your sanction. Withdraw your support. Do not try to live on your enemies’ terms or to win at a game where they’re setting the rules. Do not seek the favor of those who enslaved you, do not beg for alms from those who have robbed you, be it subsidies, loans or jobs, do not join their team to recoup what they’ve taken by helping them rob your neighbors. One cannot hope to maintain one’s life by accepting bribes to condone one’s destruction. Do not straggle for profit, success or security at the price of a lien on your right to exist. Such a lien is not to be paid off; the more you pay them, the more they will demand; the greater the values you seek or achieve, the more vulnerably helpless you become. Theirs is a system of white blackmail devised to bleed you, not by means of your sins, but by means of your love for existence.
Everyone I know who read that book skipped over some of that speech. It was waaaaaay too long. The listener or reader comes down with a case of MEGO.
“Do not attempt to rise on the looters’ terms or to climb a ladder while they’re holding the ropes. Do not allow their hands to touch the only power that keeps them in power: your living ambition. Go on strike—in the manner I did. Use your mind and skill in private, extend your knowledge, develop your ability, but do not share your achievements with others. Do not try to produce a fortune, with a looter riding on your back. Stay on the lowest rung of their ladder, earn no more than your barest survival, do not make an extra penny to support the looters’ state. Since you’re captive, act as a captive, do not help them pretend that you’re free. Be the silent, incorruptible enemy they dread. When they force you, obey—but do not volunteer. Never volunteer a step in their direction, or a wish, or a plea, or a purpose. Do not help a holdup man to claim that he acts as your friend and benefactor. Do not help your jailers to pretend that their jail is your natural state of existence. Do not help them to fake reality. That fake is the only dam holding off their secret terror, the terror of knowing they’re unfit to exist; remove it and let them drown; your sanction is their only life belt.
Blank-out.?
But there are some really salient points made, especially in light of where we are today.
That’s a very important passage - but how many Americans today could read, understand, and adopt it? If they could, the Federal Government would collapse within weeks.
One of my favorite chapters is Miracle Metal. It gives us the truth on what our “leaders” really think of us. IMO, Atlas Shrugged is a primer for our world today. Harris and Walz are prototypical Mr. Thompsons.
bkmk
I’ve read that book 4 times, once in it’s entirety. The Galt speech I skip. Too long winded, repetitive, and boring.
It means: when Kamala (or substitute any other Lefty) is asked to explain one of her pronouncements, she can’t answer. Because there is nothing behind it, other than hoping high minded words will manipulate others.
I’m a reader but haven’t been able to get past the first few pages.
The latest Atlas Shrugged movies (3 of them) were good. The book fanatics might not agree, but I don’t want 160 hour movies to cover every word in a thick book like Atlas Shrugged.
FReeper Publix’s has co-authored a book on Atlas Shrugged
Giving him a heads up
I’ve purchased his book and have read ,A.S. 5 times
Bttt.
5.56mm
Rand was an atheist, who never waivered.
Marxists seek to replace the Deities... I am not suggesting Rand was a Marxist but the parallels of atheism and Marxism are clearly evident.
Scriptural references contained in the users manual are many, here are but two ascribed to faith and belief that one must harbor for the rest of the equation to fall into place, once your “house is in order” built upon a firm foundation the blessings of ones labor presents:
Luke 12:22–31; Matthew 6:25–33 - And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I ...
I like the movies as well.
They could only cram so much in each one.
It would take Amazon Studios or some other large company to make something that follows the book.
That would take a few seasons.
“That would take a few seasons.”
It would, but I bet someone could make a miniseries that was entertaining.
“I’m a reader but haven’t been able to get past the first few pages.”
I used Cliff notes... for a number of required readings...
Catcher in the rye
Hobbit
Ulysses
Atlas Shrugged
I still have Ulysses on the book shelf... maybe... someday... perhaps... the Cliff Notes reside next to it.
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