Posted on 04/14/2011 5:46:14 AM PDT by BCrago66
Tomorrow's release of the movie version of "Atlas Shrugged" is focusing attention on Ayn Rand's 1957 opus and the free-market ideas it espouses. Book sales for "Atlas" have always been brisk—and all the more so in the past few years, as actual events have mirrored Rand's nightmare vision of economic collapse amid massive government expansion. Conservatives are now hailing Rand as a tea party Nostradamus, hence the timing of the movie's premiere on tax day.
When Rand created the character of Wesley Mouch, it's as though she was anticipating Barney Frank (D., Mass). Mouch is the economic czar in "Atlas Shrugged" whose every move weakens the economy, which in turn gives him the excuse to demand broader powers. Mr. Frank steered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disaster with mandates for more lending to low-income borrowers. After Fannie and Freddie collapsed under the weight of their subprime mortgage books, Mr. Frank proclaimed last year: "The way to cure that is to give us more authority." Mouch couldn't have said it better himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I just, this week, finished “Atlas Shrugged”. It has some very prescient sections. I am starting on “The Return of the Primitive” today and will read “The Fountainhead” next.
I found that she injects herself into the book as Dagny Taggert and narcissisticly (izzat a word?) proposes that every man should fall in love with her because of her great mind. Inn that sense, she was a true feminist in the mold of “love me for my mind, not my body” clap-trap.
That said, Rand, herself believes the human mind to be source of all good and advancement(humanist belief). As others have said, she is not a friend of Christians.
They WANT to see Ayn Rand as their savior.
They do NOT want to see how out of step she is with conservative ideals. They lack principles as she does. They could care less about little babies being murdered everyday through abortion. To them, MONEY is all that matters. They are sick people - just as she was a SICK, SELFISH person who sorely lacked character.
And if you've ever seen a picture of her, you'll understand why.
I think it’s going to get mean and ugly. Whether it collpses or not will depend on who survives it.
The whole book was about chasing some guy across the country.
Make sure you have:
A support network of people in your area who can band together if/when it happens.
Plenty of food, WATER, medical supplies, etc.
Sufficient ammo and firearms (but really, don’t go overboard)
A plan for what to do when it happens, worked out by aforementioned support network. Know what’s defensible, where people need to congregate to live, and what you’re going to do about outsiders.
Yes, she was VERY narcissistic and very SELF CENTERED. Her mind was a failure but she thought the opposite. I disagree on the “love me for my mind and not my body”. She didn't care who she bedded. Decent men avoided her and it wasn't because she was unattractive. It was because she was COLD wrapped up in herself. This is another reason why she was what we call today a “cougar”. She had to have her young boy toy and ANNOUNCE it to her husband and the wife. A young guy was someone she could CONTROL. Her inner circle eventually abandoned her later in her miserable life.
“That said, Rand, herself believes the human mind to be source of all good and advancement(humanist belief). As others have said, she is not a friend of Christians.”
Yes, she was the humanist. She only believed in herself and HER views. It's interesting, most people that flee a Communist country and in her situation, Russia, FIND GOD. Ayn went out of her way to reject Him and replace Him with money and her humanistic ideals. She was a failure in life.
It doesn't work on everyone.
Oh c'mon, if you can't find anything nice to say about Mizz Rand...
As the article indicated and others have stated, Ayn Rand was the “mind” being sought in her characters.
I’m pretty far out in “flyover country”. We’re about halfway off the grid on a normal day.
As the article indicated and others have stated, Ayn Rand was the “mind” being sought in her characters. You have to read up on her PERSONAL life and see the symbolism in her characters. Then you will understand what she is saying in her stories. It’s ALL about HER.
Well, yeah, I mean, you live in Missouri. Remind me again, have they gotten running water in that state yet?
I think I'll just wander around the bandwagon for a bit and see if the wheels look firmly attached before I climb on, thank you.
Hey, you said it, not me!
Well then, whatever “it” was has been said.
I'm not sure which direction you are coming from in that remark. I will say this that when OBVIOUS right is wrong, there is a problem. For example, when a little human being is aborted for totally SELFISH reasons and that is why abortion happens, it is WRONG. It is also a polarizing issue but the truth is that it is WRONG. Acknowledging right and wrong today repulses people and their “knee jerk” reaction is to look for “red herrings” so they can rationalize it away or simply not deal with it.
Using THAT issue, of abortion, has truly changed the moral landscape of our country. It is a trickle down of degradation of human life - young and old.
It has had huge ramifications and has hastened more moral decline in our country. So is abortion polarizing? Yes. Is it an "all or nothing" proposition? Yes. Either the little human being lives or it dies. Should abortion be ILLEGAL, again? Yes. Err on the side of life. If others insist on "back alley" abortions - so be it. I can NOT support evil so they can SAFELY have an abortion.
BTW, I’m just kidding about Missouri - I’m a Missourian expat, born and raised around Kansas City.
You have made me very curious about Ayn Rand. Are there any pictures of her?
If it’s an all or nothing proposition, you have to be prepared to accept nothing if you can’t have it all.
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