Comments on: “Atlas Shrugged: America’s Second Declaration of Independence”

By: jorge vazquez

jorge vazquez — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:31:36 +0000

Funny, when asked to describe Atlas Shrugged I often refer to it as the Declaration of Independence of the Human Soul.

By: Frances Byrd

Frances Byrd — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:36:05 +0000

Thank you for making the point that our battles must be of ideology and substance rather than a conglomeration of complaints that offer no solution. I will be at the rally again on Wednesday, but you are right. There needs to be a message. I think it will get better as people get more organized, but right now it is unclear what people want from the government. There needs to be a clear message of personal liberty, limited government, and individual responsibility.
I am a political artist, and a huge fan of Ms. Rand’s work. I am mailing excerpts from her book to Obama and my Senators on tax day, along with letters outlining why I oppose their actions and policies. It is time to stop complaining, and start explaining to people what is wrong with our government and the best way to fix our problems. Simply saying that Obama is wrong and our government is too big is not enough. While true, it is easily ignored because the average person doesn’t understand that it is immoral and unjust for our government to prop up the unproductive members of society by taking from the high achievers.
Atlas Shrugged and the philosophy of Objectivism are both clear examples of what is happening to our country at the hands of government and the solution to the problem. You are right in saying that a half-way protest that only causes problems for the producers is not the solution. Government is too big and too powerful to be affected by anything but a full removal of the people who move the world.
It is my hope that all of these efforts will coalesce into a clearly defined movement with an objective and philosophy that will inspire people to make real changes in their level of activism and their involvement in the actions of government. If there is any way that I can help your efforts through my work, please let me know. I have been doing research and reading Ms. Rand’s work in an effort to put together ideas. It is my goal to do some paintings and drawings based on her writings. I think that art and culture play a large role in the way people perceive their world. I hope, through my art, to raise awareness for the ideas and philosophy behind Objectivism. I truly believe that reading Atlas Shrugged changed my world view and the direction of my life. I hope throug my work, I can help someone else do the same. If only one person reads the book because of me, I will feel proud to have spread the word.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your feedback or criticism. Either way, I will be inspired.
Sincerely,
Frances Byrd
http://www.machinepolitick.com

By: Cherri Nelson

Cherri Nelson — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:24:45 +0000

I was taught that one of the main reasons for the Boston Tea Party was the over taxing of the colonies by King George. It came down to money and business as much as freedom and human rights. I believe that time has come again. We’re being taxed without representation. Our government represents the wealthy 1% and corporations, not it’s citizens. We have not say over where our taxes go or the wars our government advances. We’re lied to as the reasoning, such as terrorism or our interests. But if researched it inevitably turns out to be about US business greed. And it’s all on the backs of tax payers. And if the majority of ordinary citizens get angry about US government behavior, we categorized as ‘peasants with pitchforks’. I still believe in the phrase, ‘no taxation without representation’.

By: Don Watkins On Comparisons Between American Revolution & The Tea Party Movement « The Mike Slater Show

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:37:55 +0000

[...] the Voices For Reason blog: Although the Tea Party name adopted by the protesters evokes images of the American [...]

By: Why Our Tea Party Stands FOR Something… « The Mike Slater Show

Why Our Tea Party Stands FOR Something… « The Mike Slater Show — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:21:37 +0000

[...] Our Tea Party Stands FOR Something… Jump to Comments …and not just AGAINST something. (From the Ayn Rand Center) Frustrated Americans around the country are gearing up for another round [...]

By: A Adler

A Adler — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:30:06 +0000

I could not agree more, moreover, I believe that, these people are seeking not only truth, but direction and solution driven answers. They must accept that conventional wisdom, group think, old norms no longer exist in today’s accelerated techno-global climate. I believe that, I have found the intellectual John Galt of the 21st century. He has created a brilliant, innovative, thesis for the individual to gain confidence in a new thought process which allows them to return value to their life, profession and to the world. This thesis is apolitical,secular and based in mathematical economic theory, complete with a formuli in which the individual inserts their own variables to arrive at solution driven decisions. I challenge the members of this institute to download the free brochure entitled “The Individual War” which this intellect is urging the world to read and to benefit from. The author has degrees in Math, Economics, Engneering, and the Law. The web site: Competigenics Earth,llc

By: Fernando Villamar

Fernando Villamar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:54:06 +0000

I will be at the Tea Party in San Jose, CA doing my part to spread the right ideas.

By: John MacKenzie

John MacKenzie — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:22:31 +0000

For throwing out the U.S. constitution Americans deserve what is about to come to them-SLAVERY to the state. Shame!! You had it and through it away.

By: Tim Clark

Tim Clark — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:32:13 +0000

You are right (“they appear to hold a hodgepodge of viewpoints”); I was at the small 4/1 Tea Party protest in San Francisco – at one point I broke up an argument that was getting pretty heated over who is more at fault, the Democrats or the Republicans – sheesh. Participants varied from those who appeared to at least know about Atlas Shrugged (my sign mentioned Galt; I didn’t ascertain philosophical principles beyond that, as I tend to get argumentative and was in a laying-low behavior mode), to all over the map politically and philosophically. So, it’s encouraging that at least people that have remained silent have finally been motivated to protest, but it’s definitely too early to get too excited by this – the majority of the protesters seemed to have the right basic idea in terms of “what’s going on is bad” but no root to it beyond that. At the 4/15 protest I’ll definitely be a bit more conversational, try to point people in the right direction…. As it is, the general feel I got was that the way things are likely to go over Obama’s term is going to lead to a repeat of Reagan….