I read a great article today that took me back……way back to the year 1967. I was well on my way to becoming a raving radical, liberal, hater of big business, cheerleader for the “little-man” and firm believer that only our government could make people behave as they should towards each other in fairness and decency. Welfare was NOT a hand-out but a hand-up. Poor people were honest hard working citizens and if given a chance by the big bad companies who exploited them then they too would stand on their own two feet free and proud.
Then something really weird happened: I was taking a night course in Early Childhood Psychology working towards my Masters degree and the professor handed out a class assignment on a work of Fiction. The work was a book by Ayn Rand a woman born and educated in Russia before coming to the United States. The title of the book, “Atlas Shrugged” had nothing whatsoever to do with early childhood psychology as far as anyone in the class could determine and there was general outrage that not only were we required to read it, but the assignment included a 30 page double spaced (thank God!) summary and analysis of the book applying its “lessons” to our system of government and Johnson’s Great Society.
This assignment was the beginning of my awakening. I began to look beneath the surface of my beliefs, and beyond the present needs to the possible outcomes of government taking actions in social matters. I also became familiar with people I later learned to revere like Senator Danial Patrick Moynihan and Alexander Solzhenitsyn and of course Ayn Rand.
You too may find this article of interest if you are willing to take a look back into the future. BB
The Wall Street Journal/ Opinion Journal Friday, January 9, 2009
Headline: “Atlas Shrugged”: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years by Stephen Moore
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123146363567166677.html?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb
“For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises — that in most cases they themselves created — by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.”
Brenda, I have never read it. But I have been aware that it was a very influential book, that affected the thinking of many people. I find it very interesting that it impacted you.
Brenda: We very much appreciated your visit to our site and we apologize for the delay in visiting yours.
I very much enjoyed your discussion of how your world view was changed through your introduction to Rand’s work. If only we all could keep an open mind throughout the entirety of our lives.
You have a number of well thought out articles here. Very nice. We’ll visit with more frequency.
If you do not mind, we’ll add a link to your site from our blogroll. Let us know.
I believe “Atlas shrugged” was probably the most influential book I ever read. i have often wondered if there was a subliminal message to me because of my Russian background. (My maternal grandparents with whom I had daily contact until leaving home for college). Anyhow, I have always been aware of Mother Russia thru stories my grandparents told. Tho my grandparents were happy to have come to America and were the most American Americans I have ever known. It was however much from my Grandpap who was a budding young Bolshevic (that is why his family sent him off to America to get rid of him LOL) that I got my first lessons in how the rich oppress the poor and the good that unions do for the poor man. In fact he once said, “Jesus was a good union man.” Remember he lived at the time the unions were needed during the 1910 thru 1950 era.
Anyhow I believe his and my father’s union ideas were instrument in developing the budding young radical that I was at 18 when I went off to the Jim Crow South to help Colored people register to vote. And this raging radicalism continued until my introduction to Rand in 1967 (aged 26) when I was seeing the beginning of attitudes that I did not agree with and actions that I felt were more destructive than beneficial to the cause of democratic values. To me William Ayres was a criminal. Anyhow Rand came just in to to help sort out my beliefs and gain a new perspective and new direction. I continued to work all my life for fair and equal treatment for Blacks, women, children. I worked to help those who needed help like abused women and children, homeless, child advocacy. But I tempered my actions so as to stay within the law whenever possible.
It was also due to my introduction to Rand that I watched in dismay as my government moved ever closer to Socialism.The Democrat presidents and Congress took us forward and the Republican presidents took us two steps back. now I afraid we are forward enough that this Democrat president and overwhelming Democrat Congress can actually tip the scales; tip the scales and turn us into a weak socialistic society at the most dangerous time in modern history. The Gauls are crossing the Alps and we seem no to have noticed. BB