I first read Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand in the late sixties.  I was first introduced to her work in 1963 while working in California during the summer months for the purpose of making enough money to pay my college tuition.  I happened on to a copy of  “The Fountainhead” at yard sale.  Mesmerize by Rand’s strong characters, and her philosophy, I search for other works.

Even though the sixties, a time of political turmoil, I  had not developed a political stand.  However, after reading Ayn Rand…  and being influence by her ideas…I began to formulated a political point of view… which stands for me today.

Rand’s political philosophy lies with its emphasis on individualism, limited government, and the constitutional protection of the right to life, liberty, and property.

Rand was born in St. Petersburg Russia and witnessed the Russian Revolution and its upheaval.  Her first book, “We The Living,” is one of my favorites.   It’s the story of a woman who eventually leaves the suppression of Russia.

I resisted reading Atlas Shrugged, which she published in 1957, because it had so many pages.  But, once I picked it up… I couldn’t put it down.  In the story, the US government becomes increasingly socialist and violates individual rights and human reason in protecting the public good.

I haven’t thought about Atlas Shrugged in years, until a few days ago, when I was directed to a article written for the Wall Street Journal.  It jogged so many memories for me.  You really must take a look! After 57 years… we are living “Atlas Shrugged” here in the US.  As citizens, we need to take a serious look at the direction our federal government plans to take… and decide if that’s the direction we really want to go.  If not… we need to take a stand and let our representatives know.

I will leave you with this quote from her small book called “Anthem.

“The greatest guilt today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who see protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empty assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one’s eyes shut.  They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: “But I didn’t mean this!!”

Lot’s to think about.

Kathy Griffiths

Insightful Nana

P.S.  I’m going to dig out my old copy of Atlas Shrugged.  If your interested, I made it easy for you to read Ayn Rand.  For your convenience, click on any of these icons and it will take you to Amazon.