Tag: atlas shrugged

Every cloud has a silver lining

It’s true; every cloud does have a silver lining.

I know that many of you reading this right now are sad, upset, furious, concerned, even frightened to death about Obama gaining a second term. I know it feels like the world is coming to an end, and I know that we are seriously heading for a bumpy road ahead. The US has kicked its debt about as far down the road as it possibly can, and now is the time to force congress to pull their thumbs out and actually do something about it. I suggest you get out there and start pressuring your representatives to do something about it, I don’t care if they are republican or democrat, do not let up until they fix it.

What gives me hope is that before Barack Obama was ever elected president, I could never have imagined such a thing as the Tea Party. Before Barack Obama was elected, I had never even heard of Ayn Rand. Before Barack Obama was elected people weren’t talking about individual liberties and deficits in daily conversations, and now it’s all over the place.

Between the Atlas Shrugged movies and the Tea Party movements, between the alternative media channels and the politically aware out there, I know that this country has the potential to have its brightest days ahead of it.

I knew months ago that Barack Obama was going to win a second term, and I said weeks ago that our battles are only just getting started. “This is not the end, this is not the beginning of the end, but this is perhaps the end of the beginning” as Winston Churchill would say.

The Tea Party of 2010 needs to reboot itself and concentrate on local issues once more. Read your constitution, know your rights. The police state, the nanny state, the socialists and the fascists all want you to bend to their collective will. Well to hell with them! We know our rights, and we won’t go without a fight. I will not shuffle off slowly and quietly into the night. Make your stand, let your voice be heard. They don’t control us, they might have won this battle, but we will win this war, and secretly they’re scared to death of us. So shine your individual beacon of liberty where the creepers hide in the shadows, and let not your hearts be troubled. We have a power in us than cannot be stopped.

“An Idea who’s time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government” – Ron Paul

We will prevail!

Atlas Shrugged Part II: Amazing

I meant to go and watch Atlas Shrugged Part II on opening night. I had already been invited to multiple Atlas events. Unfortunately I was too busy and have been for the last two weeks. For some reason something just kept coming up and preventing me from going. When I went to the website on Wednesday, only two and a half short weeks after the movie coming out, I was shocked to see that none of the Cincinnati theaters were showing it any more, and that the only theater showing it was 50 miles away! I decided that I must see it before the last day of showing, but unfortunately the showing was at 12:55 and I didn’t get out of work until at least 3pm. So I decided to take a vacation day and make a day out of it.

I woke up around 8:30am Thursday Morning on November 1st and made myself some breakfast, I took the dog out, filled up his water and food bowls and headed out the door. I turned the ignition on my new jeep and stopped by the local gas station to fill her up and grab myself a cup of coffee. I headed from the gas station to the I-275 highway and proceeded toward I-75 making sure to salute the new Gary Johnson sign on the way up. The sun was out, shining brightly over a wind swept landscape which had finally cleared up after a week of Hurricane Sandy. I approached I-675 and drove past all the signs for The Wright Patterson Air Force Base. I approached the theater and saw that it was not open yet for the day as it was only 11am.

I decided to pass the time by going to the mall, I walked around and thought about all the stores, what the value of each one was, and what the current value of our currency is. I thought about the gold standard, I thought about communism, fascism and capitalism. I thought about the show I had watched the night before at my in-laws house. I thought about ‘The Men who built America’ and how the same men who built it, also sowed the seeds for its destruction. I thought about Joseph Campbell’s mythology of ‘the hero as the villain’ . It seems that many of the men who built America decided to convert from value to greed, and squeeze the life out of others instead of continuing to advance it through production of value.

It’s a very tricky thing Capitalism. Unbridled and unshackled it can produce the most amazing inventions, and carry forward the best in living conditions. When it is railroaded, it can be used for vile intentions. The latest Sherlock Holmes movie shows how countries are pitted against each other so that banks and arms manufactures can make massive profits off the bloodshed of others. It appears to have taken hold particularly in the 20th century especially during the first and second world wars.

I love capitalism and I love Ayn Rand’s Objectivism philosophy. There is a huge web of history, philosophy and facts that are left to be untangled, and political struggles to be broken until we can get back to a productive society with value at its core. Perhaps my wife is right, and next month the world won’t end, but perhaps it will have a great awakening instead.

I thought about all this as I ate terriaki chicken from one of the food vendors in the mall. I pondered the meaning of life, and what it meant to stand out alone as an individual. I watched as soldiers from the nearby army base stood in a collective group as they purchased Chick-fil-a. I felt sad that so many people form into a collective and allow others to dictate to them. I felt very alone in that mall, not because I was by myself, but because my thinking is purely individualistic. I do not think in terms of any collective. I think in terms of value. True value includes quality, cost, happiness, productivity and meaning. It is not just the cost of the items I looked at in the stores, it’s what they really mean. I’m not interested in most of the material clothing which only stands to make a statement. I’m more interested in the rugged ‘Columbia’ jackets which will hold out the cold on a freezing winter’s day. The items of value carry meaning to them. Meaning to the individual, not to the collective conscious of a brainwashed majority. I’m not out to impress anyone. I’m out to find happiness in life, and construct a better world for myself while respecting others rights to do the same.

My thoughts continued to flow as I walked outside and headed back to the Theater. At 12:30pm I walked into the recently opened doors and purchased one small individual ticket for ‘Atlas Shrugged Part II’.

I confidently walked by myself in a mostly deserted 20 screen movie theater toward the number five screening room, and took my seat at the very back, to wait and observe the magic of the new movie.

As the credits began rolling, an old couple tottered steadily toward their seats, then another couple, then an individual guy, then a lady, then another older couple. The total number of people in the theater including myself stood at 9. “at least I’m not the only one who showed up” I thought to myself.

The previews began airing, and my anticipation began to rise. Finally the movie began with an amazing airplane chase scene which actually reminded me of the opening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. My heart rate rose slightly and I was drawn into the unfolding drama.

I was a little surprised to see that different actors played the parts of the main characters, but if anything I liked them even more. You could really see the actors bring the characters to life in a way that reflected exactly what you felt when reading the book. I thought Hank Rearden was bold headed and hard, and delivered his court speech perfectly. I liked how the movie tied in the tea party and occupy wall street movements, as well as the news segment featuring Sean Hannity.

The movie represented the world that Ayn Rand projected perfectly, and it was chilling to find a resemblance between the movie and today’s economic and moral plight. I sat at the edge of my seat through the entire film, and was flabbergasted at how well it had been made. You could really tell that the production company had put everything they had into the film, and had spent extra money on fine tuning it to deliver the message of the book.

I loved watching the first movie when it came out last year, and thought they did a good job for a low budget film, but the difference between part one and part two is night and day. Congratulations to the producers of the movie. You have my thanks. I wish I could have seen it sooner, and I will be sure to buy a copy when it is released on DVD. I am an active member of galts gulch online, and I will do whatever I can to help out with obtaining funding and promoting the third and final installment of Ayn Rand’s magnum opus.

Before I left the theater I sat through all the credits and read Ayn Rand’s warning at the end:

“When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – You may know that your society is doomed.” — Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged”, 1957

I walked out into the cool fresh air and fired up the jeep once more to return home, full of thoughts and ideas, concerned about the future, but glad that the diamonds are finally starting to shine through the rough.

Shrugging

Before I moved here, I saved every penny I could. I didn’t take the bus home, or buy a car. I walked 4 miles home every day. Part of my reason was because I was upset at how expensive the government had made buying a car and getting a license and insurance. I didn’t want to be ‘nudged’ into taking public transport. My small paychecks, were already taxed higher than I thought necessary. In a way I ‘shrugged‘ from the world, in the best way that I could. I managed to save up a substantial amount of money, while working hard at my simple job, and providing very little in tax revenue to the overbearing government.

Whenever someone tells me something is too hard, or they can’t save enough money, I ask them why they don’t give up some of their luxuries. You can buy anything you want, as equally as you can create anything you want, if you put your mind to it.

With the rising cost of gasoline and the costs of maintaining my vehicles. The thought has crossed my mind about getting out of distribution and just working at a store close to my house. I could simply walk there, and the transportation savings would offset the pay decrease. You see, the government thinks it can simply grow taxes at a never ending rate, and not expect repercussions. Not only does an economy slow down during tax rises and red tape increases, but productive people like myself begin to shrug, because we do not see the point in working if most of it is immediately taken away from us. During ‘the fountainhead‘ Howard Roark goes to the granite quarry for similar reasons. I refuse to lend my time, body and mind to looters. My mind, body and time is my own. So long as I can keep a roof over my head, and food in my wife and I’s stomachs, and keep her happy, I really don’t need anything else. I’ve taken her on trips which spare no expense,  but we’ve also been on cheap camping trips and had just as much fun.

It is not up to governments and corrupt corporations to set the tone for this nation or to leech us at every turn. There are things we can do to limit their looting capabilities, and get the most out of life for ourselves.

We really do have ‘people power’ and it starts with the individual. If you personally make a commitment to cut back your spending, and enjoy the fruits of life. You will starve out the looters, while enriching your own life.

Other nations are getting ready for this. The dollar is collapsing, and other nations are creating bomb shelters, and storing up gold. They are getting ready for the fall out. Are you ready? Atlas is shrugging, and time is running out to flush out the looters.

I believe in happiness, in creating a world for myself as I see fit, without pulling the rug out from under others, without leeching off their success. I will build my own success, but I will not fund others dreams of sacrificing me as a victim so that they may profit from my knowledge and hard work.

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it, you can save and buy anything you want, you can work your way toward any job or position in life, and you can pull the rug out from under the looters by stepping down and enjoying the simplicities of life, while fighting the leeches with your mind and reasoning.

I believe this will be the first country in history to turn away from self destruction. But only if enough people stand up and speak out, and stop funding the looters.

Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it

There are certain stages we go through in life. We have our childhood, our teenage years, our twenties, thirties and so on into old age. I believe that we are all supposed to become more intelligent as we grow older, and pass that wisdom on to our children and grandchildren.

For me, I suppose you could say I’m in the third stage. I’m currently in my twenties, but I’ve often been commented on in having wisdom beyond my years. It is a great feeling to hear this, and I am very humbled when I am told that. The reason is simple really. I read a lot, I participate in the world the best I can. I work hard, and when I’m home I study. I don’t study for some college exam or write an essay to please my ‘peers’. I study for the love of knowledge. My wife and I are getting close to the stage where we’re ready to have children, and I want to pass on the knowledge I have gained to them.

I’ve mentioned it a few times since I started my blog, that I love the book ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. It is not so much about becoming wealthy in monetary terms, but becoming wealthy in knowledge so that you can get ahead and make the most out of life.

After meeting my wife, I entered a more mythological stage. A stage that many teenagers do not enter, and hence later get lost into alcoholism through high school and college. They ignore the realities of life, while submitting their minds to whatever their professors teach them in college. I took a different path. The second visit I made to see my wife (at the time girlfriend), I was 17 years old, it was the middle of summer, and we had 2 glorious months enjoying life, free of the burden of bills, exams and schedules. That summer I read ‘the hero with a thousand faces’ and in the fall time I read ‘reflections on the art of living’. Between Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Joseph Campbell’s two mythology books, I was changed forever.

Having noticed the differences between England and America was one thing, but seeing them on financial, and mythological terms, meant that I began to seriously question the world around me, and why people acted the way that they did, and why many never do anything to fix their problems.

Now that I am in my twenties, and having read many more books, such as ‘thus spoke Zarathustra’, ‘the art of war’, ‘the book of five rings’, among many others and more recently ‘Atlas Shrugged’. My view of the world is far different than that of an ordinary citizen of any given country.

Having moved to a different country, married the girl of my dreams, become a citizen of that country, and having spent a reasonable amount of time talking to another mythological mentor, I have shaped many contrasting opinions to others, based on found facts and thinking outside of the box.

The heroes journey talks about adhering to the call of adventure, and that is one that I have taken. Now that I am in my twenties I am fully constructing my life as I see fit, and again it is much different to that of others. Never be afraid to do something different, and never be afraid to question the world around you. Many people fall into the trap of debt slavery, and many never bother to look outside of the box.

My intentions with this blog are not to have the FBI start watching me. I am not interested in spreading conspiracy theories, and I have no intentions to harm anyone. I took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States, and having studied history, and learned the difference between constitutional republics and oligarchies, and the difference between capitalism and communism. I can honestly say that what this country was founded upon, is the best system in history. Having sworn my oath, it is my duty to help protect the constitution, and flash a light on those who would destroy it. I must help preserve it, because freedom is worth saving. Without it, our lives become ever more meaningless.

“Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it.” – Joseph Campbell, Reflections on the art of living

Our lives are supposed to become more and more meaningful as we grow older. Our knowledge and our hard work is supposed to fill us with abundance, and carry us up toward new levels in life. We are not supposed to become burdened by taxes and debt. We are supposed to be free to live our lives how we please.

And so, as I build my life, and I see all the forces that be, conspiring to destroy the republic, with all their silly little schemes to make an extra buck off the encroaching slavery of millions. I take up my sword and shield of knowledge, and run into the fray. For the hero cannot claim the day unless he is willing to charge head long into the belly of the beast. The fear of death becomes a wasted life, in which the fruits of your labor become sour, and your life ends up forgotten. The heroes of the past knew that they must do everything in their power to preserve and fight for freedom, for without it, we are nothing.

I am building my life for the better, and I write this blog to help expose the truth, so that you might help yourself build yours, and together we will preserve and restore freedom to this great nation. We will restore this beacon of hope to the world.

Life is without meaning, but we will bring back the meaning to it, and our lives will become more abundant because of it.

A toast to heroes past and present

Today is Dr Martin Luther King Jr day.

I would like to propose a toast to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. You were the indispensable man of your time.

Any man or woman who champions the rights of mankind, is worthy of recognition and praise.

MLK fought for equal rights. For all mankind

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.[1] He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.[2] King has become a national icon in the history of modern American liberalism.[3]

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career.[4] He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means.

Many confuse his achievements and desires with social justice and socialism. But as his niece contends, this was not what he fought for.

MLK fought for equal rights despite an overwhelming opposition. You can see that it was not an easy fight and that in this picture, he is scared, but bravery and self determination show through.

Many politicians and media groups seek to continue the black/white debate and operate under the guise of social justice. Their objective is to divide and conquer this country.

Where I grew up, there were very few black people, and I never once had a black person in my class at school…there were simply not enough living in the area I lived at. Any people of other ethnicity I did encounter, spoke with the same accent as me, and had similar interests. There was apparently no divide, and I was always taught to treat everybody the same.

I don’t understand the ideas behind race separation, discrimination and racism. I find it archaic and pathetic, and I hope with my generation it is diminished and gone for good.

I understand stereotypes, I understand that everyone has their little grievances. But with the election of President Barack Obama, I think we can put most of those to rest.

Back to social justice. It is a vile concept. For if all men are created equal, we all have a level playing field to start off from. But if we are to all end up in the same place. What’s the point?

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand states that once the government bureaucracy has grown too large, it no longer becomes worthwhile to produce anymore.

Ayn Rand also spoke about how racism is a primitive form of collectivism, and how it has no place in a free and capitalist society.

In a purely capitalist society, void of collectivism, members of any race may participate, and everything is determined by the individuals ability.

Henry Ford employed black people for the same rate that he hired white people. And thus, a max exodus of black people came from the south and moved to the north to produce car parts. There are still many black people living in Detroit today.

Watch the last minute of this video:

Between the innovations of Henry Ford, his colorblindness to ethnicity, and the steadfastness of MLK, black people today have the same opportunities as white people.

I think that special interests seek to divide people of race issues to promote their own agendas and voting blocks.

I think that we should restore the country to its foundations, maintaining the teachings from leaders such as MLK, and return prosperity to every man and woman in this country.

That is why I like Ron Paul, he is not racist and has no special agendas. Can you say this of President Obama, or the other republican candidates?

The true leaders of today are the ones without special agendas, who seek to uphold the values of freedoms for all men. So that all men are created equal.

As Ayn Rand once said ‘A culture is made – or destroyed – by its articulate voices’

I believe that to be true, and the freedom Dr Martin Luther King sought, however present today, must be upheld by today’s generation and for future generations to come. Freedom is a rarity in the world, and must always be spoken about with high conviction.

Here is a toast to Dr Martin Luther King Jr, a great leader of our past and to Dr Ron Paul, who I believe is a great leader in our time.