No. Dad was a communist and mom was whatever she heard on tv. But dad and i had great discussions. My brother was on my side sorta. He read Rands works and became an anarchist. At least that wasn't liberal. He's a liberal now. You can't win them all.

Thank you, OA. That means a lot coming from you!

Thank you OA. Wish I had been part of the early days. I'm amazed at how much the Gulch has grown just since I have been here.

Hello richrobinson,
I have been a part of each Gulch since the first one and naturally moved along with each new version. Having read the book over three decades ago I was hooked, continued reading other Rand material, watching and waiting for an AS movie. I heard about some plans and did a search. That is how I found the first Gulch and immediately started to battle the collectivist trolls!
You have been a most joyous addition to our band of individualists.
Regards,
O.A.

I am always jealous when I find someone who found Rand at a young age. I was in my mid 40s but remind myself it's never too late. Were you able to "convert" any of your family to Rands ideas?

Hello Mamaemma,
I'm so glad you found your way here. One can never have too many friends. Especially rational ones!
Regards,
O.A.

Hello NealS,
A great story.
Thank's for sharing and for your service.
Regards,
O.A.

I read Atlas Shrugged in high school for a book report. My family were all democrats and my dad asked me why would I want to read this nonsense. That made me determined to finish the book and get an A. Ayn Rand ' s philosophy fascinated by Dagne ' s independence was a role model for me. In short, Atlas Shrugged became a sort of bible for me. Rand was still alive at the time and I started receiving her newsletters and I read all her books.

Over the years, after I met my husband he read AS and the others and recently the movies and then videos came out many of our friends and family have seen the light. Rand ' s philosophy is alive and well in this country. Galt Gulch will grow and thrive.

Link?

This is one of the only forums on the internet for intelligent conversation. Also, it's the only place where there is the possiblility in creating a real Gulch.

told ya that we love ya, Doc! -- j

Thank you for your story, and thank you for your service.

Neal, Love your post. It made me think about my path to here and where I am today.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's, I didn't care much about politics. I did however wonder why my dad and many others were losing their jobs and the factories around me (northeast Ohio) were closing. I thought it may have been mismanagement of the leaders of the companies. How wrong I was!!!

I joined the Navy in '77 and didn't give politics much thought until after I retired in '97. I moved to Texas and went to college. I felt so out of place there(in college) because it seemed that no one thought as I did. I joined the college Republicans because they had more in common with me. The straw that broke the camels back was my Texas Politics teacher; the first day all he did was talk about reparations and how bad Bush was. There was about 250 students in that class. I was the only one that stood up and challenged him on anything he said. Well, except one other. A young black girl raised her hand as he was talking about reparations and said "My parents told me that if I wanted anything in my life I had to work for it." His response made me furious!!! He said "you listen to too much Bill O'Reilly!!!" I stood up and said some choice words at him and explained that Bill Cosby has those same beliefs and his response was "Well, it was Bill somebody." I then realized that the left were really LOONS. Luckily, the next class they asked for volunteers to go to a different class as the other teachers class was cancelled. She was an outstanding teacher that did not put her own politics into the class at all. In fact, I found out after the class was over that she was a Democrat but voted for GW Bush.

About that time AS came out. Didn't even know who AR was. Saw the trailer and thought the movie looked interesting. I went and saw it along with the other 10 or 12 people in the theater and I was hooked... Fairness sounds good but is impossible to implement without devastating results. Kinda like what happened in Ohio while I was growing up. I then started putting it all together and realized just what governing with your heart instead of your brain was a bad thing.

I went to the first Tea Party rally at the Alamo with Glenn Beck and the Motor City Madman and found many people of all races that thought like me. After the first AS movie I started searching and learning more about AR and found she was very forward thinking. I also ran across The Gulch and joined immediately. I love the discussions with people much smarter than me and thinking like me.

One last thing Neal, Thank You for your service!!!!

I haven't thought about it for sometime but I first read Atlas Shrugged in 1959 or 1960. I was just out of high school and loved the book. I wasn't going to go to college but for some reason the book inspired me to attend a two year technical college. After I graduated I was hired by RCA to work in their computer division as a programmer/support personnel. Wow! computers in 1960 and i was part of it. Years later I was hired by a company as VP of their IT group. The CEO required each staff member to read Atlas Shrugged and would have regular sessions to discuss the book. For me, it was an amazing departure from normal corporate policy and I loved it. As I think back, Ayn's book and her philosophy have been part of my life as far back as those days in 1960. Having recently discovered the Gulch, I'm happy to read many of the discussions on topics that are vital for our world today. I think Ayn's book should be required reading for all high school students and extended analysis at the college level.

Rich, I was just doing a routine Rand search -- one
of my passions since I was 15 and ran into her by
way of my "what to say" friend -- and found the site.
I signed on quick, finding that the intelligent and
seasoned comments were a fresh breeze in my
stale cubicle assigned by Big Brother. . yes, LetsShrug
and Kaila and Scott welcomed me -- and then there were
many fine others ... it has been fun, for almost 2 years now.
Thank You for your reasoned participation here!!! -- j

Teri, Thank you, maybe I'll get started on that book soon. The more I write here and realize I'm leaving out so much in an effort to try to keep it short, the more I realize I've got a lot of stories and a lot to say. The hard part is coming to realization that someone might actually be interested in reading my story.

Thanks for you information on the Ayn Rand Institute. I've now got more information to retrieve

Read Scott's post.

Saw AS1.
Then I discovered the Gulch and people who pretty much think like I do.
I like it here where I can both learn and express my dino self.

Been busy. Came in late.
I like you.
May I ask why?

Thank you. You made me laugh out loud and cry all in one post.
Isn't personal growth WONDERFUL?

It all started for me when I was watching Stossel on Fox. They talking about this Ayn Rand person and Atlas Shrugged. It sounded like it was something I would like so I checked it out at the library. The librarian said it was awful but I got it anyway. I've now read it 6 times plus I have the audio book of it. I wish I had been exposed to it years ago but I wasn't. I don't agree with Ayn on everything but consider this to be a must read for every student.