A voice from the past.

I greatly respect Ayn Rand, because she is her own person. She understands reason and she understands that her thoughts are her own. She believes in her self very much. This I respect and admire.

I think her theories are excellent and can make great change, but I also think that she misses a few things. I do not think the problem with the world today is that man is looking out for one another. In fact, I think it's quite the contrary. I think the reality is, that man poses the illusion that they work for one another, when in fact, selfishness is what is the problem in the world today.

It is not a problem of a lack of self love and importance to oneself, I think it is more a problem of less love for one another. I believe that if you cannot love yourself fully and entirely, you will not understand what love is(no, I'm not talking about romantic love) or how to love. But, I think that we should live for one another, within reason(Maybe that's what Ayn left out).

I have taken a very good look at society and the world we live in, and I have realized that everything and everyone is connected. The goldren rule of; treating others as you would like to be treated is key to understanding this. She says that no one has given a reason to be their brothers' keeper...but she should pose that question to me. I have a reason, and a very good one, if not, the best reason there is as to why we should live for each other, and not solely for ourselves(as most of the world does presently).

I will use a simple example, I have a female friend whose father used to neglect her and abuse her. Her last bf used to physically abuse her as well. Now, these men think that what they do to this girl is only affecting this girl, but they are very wrong. What they do to her is affecting everything(whether living or dead) around her. What they have done to her affects everything around her presently, and in the future. Now, she treats men with a certain disrespect and disregard and has broken the hearts of good men, because of what a few bad men have done to her. In return, the men who she has hurted are not the only ones being affected by that hurt. When you rob someone, you rob their family as well. You rob their mood, and their character. Someone who is angry at what is done to them at work, may come home and direct that anger to their family...their kids. These kids may go to school and express their frustration at what is happening home. This kid may bully another, or may simply not be very well behaved, or may be too stressed to perform academically. The kid who gets bullied is not the only one affected by this. The kid who does not pay attention, is not the only one being affected by this, for lack of knowledge affects all that is around you. Do you see where I am going with this?

The statement "forgive and forget" holds a lot of depth. Yes, we should not forget really...but, in order to move forward, we must forgive. But, that does not mean we should live in a society where no one is punished. Punishment and forgiveness are not the same. But venegeance and anger are too closely related. Ponder on this carefully; How much better do you think this world would be if we all treated each other the way we, ourselves, would like to be treated?

But, in order for this simple principle and theory to be most effective...everyone(and I do mean everyone) has to practice it. If even one person does not practice it...it can cause our descent into our old/current ways. The problem is, I'd say, about 95% of the population do not practice this, not nearly as often as we should(myself included sometimes, but I do try). The bigger problem, is just how do we get everyone to understand the greatness of this simple teaching?

[edit on 11-2-2009 by sdrawkcabII]

reply to post by loam


I will be honest, this sickens me. yes, there is an economic issue today, but we still are having this issue not because of regulations, but deregulations. We let the banks do what they like, and they beat us selfshly. I am also confused how such an unpopular and well forgotten philosophy such as objectivism has influenced people's minds and thoughts for half a century and has taken place as the base of everything traditional.

reply to post by Lovely Rose

Originally posted by Lovely Rose
I will be honest, this sickens me. yes, there is an economic issue today, but we still are having this issue not because of regulations, but deregulations. We let the banks do what they like, and they beat us selfshly.

Actually, I think if you looked closely to the government's role in residential realty financing you'd understand where the real culprit lay.

Deregulation wasn't the problem. It was the creation of unfettered quasi government lending institutions and programs that hosed us all.

I think when Ayn said, "Capitalists with government help are the worst of all economic phenomena," she was dead on!

It precisely explains how we arrived at the mess we are in.



[edit on 12-2-2009 by loam]

Self-proclaimed ex-Illuminati "witch", John Todd, claimed that Atlas Shrugged was an Illuminati handbook

Dunno if it's been mentioned, make of it what you will

reply to post by loam

Loam much appreciation for your posting of these videos but I am shocked you are a closet Rand supporter! Although I should have guessed by your signature

Government prodded by corporations removed laws that were put in place after the last republican great depression! Then the privatization of Fannie and Freddie led to this disaster. The SEC was stripped of any meaningful power to investigate and stop these new financial derivitive products being sold. There was too much capital available so the tech, housing and stock bubbles were forced to be created if you wanted thoee 40% returns. Can't just have that pile of money sitting there! They even wanted to privatize Social Security!! This along with the destruction of pensions and the creation of the 401K (more Wall St play money)!

You mean to tell me you actually believe there should be NO oversight over the Wall St and the banking industries. The free market would have stopped these criminals???? Loam Loam...are you a billionaire perchance?

great youtubes!

Fascinating woman and she's a great debater. She comes across as cold but really she's the ultimate romantic if you listen closely. She's saying nothing more than "before you can find someone else to love, you have to love yourself."

It is extremely idealistic. I think she's totally right, it's just that the world is so far away from this reality now that the growing pains would be enormous. But then I don't suppose it could be worse than war (to liberate Iraq) or biotech trials in Africa in the name of medical advancement, or a depression.

The most philanthropic people I know are pretty solid, confident and love themselves, I'd say. I know charitable people who are selfless or uncomfortable in their own skin and the success of their philanthropy is hindered by this not helped.

I think she's right, it's just that her delivery is cold and defensive and she comes off as elitist and a cultural snob, when she's actually wanting to life everyone up and saying that we are all powerful enough to do this and not to listen to any powers that be who say otherwise. Of course, by not thinking this way, we've made it harder to ignore the powers that be and society's restrictions, so this seems amazing to hear. But she's right, theoretically. It's just so idealistic, I don't think we're there yet.

Look at prosac sales - hard to say that the US is full of happy people loving themselves.

Obama and the like may be trying to bridge the gap. Saying both, we'll help you, but help yourselves. And yes the gap is going to be rough.

So, some of you talking about Greenspan, are you thinking that he let all this happen in the hopes that the falsehoods and structures around us would come crashing down and thus it would be easier to embrace objectivism? Wow, I don't know about that. It's an interesting thought. Give everyone a house and a ton of credit - a taste. Then crash the system and make everyone work to get back to that place but the right way.

wow - I wonder if that was the plan. hmmm

'Atlas Shrugged' a Bestseller Again

BOOKS do not sell themselves: that is what films are for. “The Reader”, the book that inspired the Oscar-winning film, has shot up the bestseller lists. Another recent publishing success, however, has had more help from Washington, DC, than Hollywood. That book is Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.

Reviled in some circles and mocked in others, Rand’s 1957 novel of embattled capitalism is a favourite of libertarians and college students. Lately, though, its appeal has been growing. According to data from TitleZ, a firm that tracks bestseller rankings on Amazon, an online retailer, the book’s 30-day average Amazon rank was 127 on February 21st, well above its average over the past two years of 542. On January 13th the book’s ranking was 33, briefly besting President Barack Obama’s popular tome, “The Audacity of Hope”.

Interesting.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
Ayn Rand was a political GENIUS and all of her writings should be studied. "Atlas Shrugged" was, is, and will be a classic for all time. Her depiction of Soviet Russia in "We the Living" was downright chilling.

My daughter (age 13) just read 'We the Living'. I have also read it. I thought it was excellent reading for my daughter. She had no idea how difficult life in Russia really was under the 'red boot'. Anyone who thinks that communism is a good idea needs to read that book first. It's an eye opener.