My path here started strangely through a video game. The game was Bioshock in late 2007. I enjoyed the game and found out that Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged had played a large roll in the games development. I didn't get around to reading it however until Thanksgiving of 2013. After I started reading I couldn't get my hands on the rest of Ayn Rands work fast enough. I read everything I could get my hands on and through web searches I found out about the Ayn Rand Institute. Learning about the institute lead me to finding Yaron Brook and Don Watkins among others and I started listening to their pod casts, speeches, debates, and their own writings. Somewhere along the way I found out about the Atlas Shrugged movies and through a search for the Blu-ray release date of part 3 I found the gulch. All it took was reading a few threads and comments and I knew I wanted to be at least a small part of this site. That's the short version.

I read Atlas Shrugged the first time about 1962, around the time of my first marriage. I was a know it all 20 year old then, tied down to my new home that I had just bought with the savings from pulling weeds, mowing lawn, and my old paper route. I just started my latest job at Rocketdyne as a rocket scientist (actually I was just an Instrumentation Technician), looking forward to our shot at going to the moon. This was to be my lifelong a career, I loved it, and my boss, who was typically mean, loved my work. He always told me he would like to find at least a few more good workers like me and he’d have it made. I was going to stay forever.

Four Score later, in the fall of 1966, I got an invitation in the mail from Uncle Sam to join the Army. It wasn’t exactly written like that. Rocketdyne told me not to worry, they would get me a deferment, but I’d have to transfer to their new facility near Jackson, Mississippi. I had a fear of hot and humid weather and didn’t particularly like bugs so I decided to take my chances with the Army. Dahh, I guess I still had a few things to learn in my 20’s. I guess I wasn’t aware that Vietnam was so hot, humid, and buggy, with so many snakes, tigers, bees, bugs, but mostly the scorpions. I still shake my underwear out today before putting it on. Sorry, back to the Gulch.

As I was preparing to start a new temporary career starting off in boot camp, my parents were working on some movie star’s bid for Governor of California. Some of you might remember him, his name was Ronald Reagan. Sometime just before I went to The Nam he actually got elected. My parents were ecstatic. I was happy for them but I was now in Lawton Oklahoma training as an artillery officer to serve my country in some far and distant land. They were so proud of me, especially my dad. He could not serve, Briggs and Stratton wouldn’t let him go to the Big One as he was one of their best machinists. He designed and prototyped new designs for bomb triggers and other things.

Some years after the service I stumbled on my AS copy and reread it, around the time George H. W. Bush was Vice President and my parent’s friend Ronny was President. My God, remember when Jerry Brown succeeded Ronald Reagan as Governor of California (sorry, that’s another story). I was living in California then and I think that Jerry Brown might have been what prompted me to reread AS again.

And finally, a few years ago, my third wife bought me a new copy of AS. Reading it again in this century was like reading it for the first time. It was so hard to put down, except for the weight and bulkiness I might have read it without putting it down. Every few chapters I’d put in a marker and go running around the house to find my wife to tell her how parallel something I had just read in the book was to what was going on today in our government. It was like I just heard the same thing on the news yesterday. It shed a new light on Ayn Rand for me. How had she known? How could anyone back in the mid 50’s possibly predict so accurately what kind of a government we would have today? Was it a prediction or just a warning? Will her book make as strong a statement 50 years from now as it does today? Oh, God, thank you for death, it makes us all able to cope.

I stumbled into the Gulch after making a small contribution to the production of AS movie, and buying some of the paraphernalia. And my wife just loves Dagny’ s bracelet (if you get one, a suggestion is to exchange the latch for a magnetic one). I’m not a social media person at all, but the Gulch has been a Godsend for me. I’m getting old(er), and some of the Agent Orange predictions are starting to take effect on my body. The Gulch makes me forget, the people are wonderful, even those that disagree with me do so in such a civil manner. Sometimes the disagreement even goes way over my head, I love it. Where else might I wish to spend a little of my precious time reminiscing about the past and future of our country? Blogging is something I’d never ever do, I swore to it, and to prove it, OMG I’m over 1500 already. How did that happen?

Understand your post..............would like to add that producing a motion picture (not to mention the incredible scope of the book), much less three motion pictures is a huge endeavor. First, a motion picture requires the skills of almost (if not all) human talents (which is why they fascinate me). Second, acquiring the funds for production and the contracts for actors and all the other skills requires enormous effort, patience, and commitment (so one is not worn down by the irrationality one will encounter). Third, the motion picture industry's hostility toward AR/AS is mountainous!

I am grateful to John A for making the film, regardless of the "less than what I would have preferred" but I do understand what a huge task he undertook (and it being his first entry into that field); considering those factors, the three films were important, giving the book more exposure.

While the best format for AS is a mini-series, I have seen on this site where that is a work in progress. I believe John A and his team have learned volumes from their movie experience (one doesn't reach his level of business success without such learning) and a mini-series allows much more time for production development, not to mention a consistency of casting.

I will only say, "Go, John, go!!!" I will give any support I can (as I believe many in The Gulch will) and I look forward to the product and positive effects of your endeavors.

I too watched Atlas Shrugged saw that Ayn Rand wrote the book. I'm a big Rush fan (Canadian rock band) the album 2112 was inspired by Rand so that really pushed me into reading Rand ' s work. I was beginning to read Greek philosophy ie Plato which had trouble with it and how I believe life should be. But then after reading Rand the light bulb blew up. Now I'm trying to get my hands everything written on objectivism. I'm here because of the like minded weird people such as myself an outcast in the view of today's society.

When I discovered Ayn Rand many years ago via a philosophy class in college, it was like coming home.I bought and read everything I could find by her. I had found so few people in the local society who thought the way she did about responsibility, except my dad. I loved hearing Neal Boortz tell radio listeners to read "Atlas Shrugged", but had only found random websites posting articles on objectivism. When I went in search of the DVD of "Atlas Shrugged" pt.1, I found the Gulch. I had to keep returning, one place where the ideas of Rand were ever present. Where promoting personal responsibility did not get you called "cold hearted" as it did in our super altruistic society. Who would not want to be in the Gulch, where reason reigns.

+10

I was searching for something related to Objectivism on Google when the Gulch popped up. I went there. Been there ever since. Interacting with Gulchers has been one of the joys of my old age.

RMP: Do I understand that you are leaving?
I hope that is not what you meant. Please advise.

I have to agree that this is a great forum. I read it every day and its very uplifting to be able to interact with intelligent people who have thought about things. There is also a refreshing lack of hidden agendas. I am so tired of having to translate what I hear on the news so as to uncover the hidden agendas. THEN there's the expert on hidden agendas- Obama, and lately Hillary. I pretty much ignore anything those two say

I read the book back in the 70's and really did not think about it much at the time. I spent the 80's and 90's in the Navy and spent a lot of it on independent duty overseas. I retired in 2001 (Space Odyssey year) and wondered why everything was going the way it was, which is not how I thought it should. When Atlas Shrugged I came out, I thought, wow, I read that book back when. I went to see the movie and was hooked. I searched online and saw a link for the site and checked it out. BAM, I joined and haven't looked back since. I became a producer as soon as I heard about it. I enjoy the outlook of many co-conspirators here. I have bantered with many and corresponded with more. I appreciate the camaraderie with all here and look forward to continuing in the future.

Starting tomorrow.

You wrote the reason I am here as well.

Pirate, when will you miss those minds? Don't go anywhere!

I came to know Atlas Shrugged very late in life, probably 7 or 8 years ago. Like you, one exposure to Atlas Shrugged was all it took for me to become hooked.

The more I listen to this book on CD (or read it), the more I think that today's progressive movement is based on this book.

So many of the things I see happening today could almost be pulled directly out of Atlas Shrugged.

I think progressives are using Atlas Shrugged as their playbook, but in their arrogance, they think they can change the ending.

The entire dystopia* that Ayn Rand protrays must look like heaven on earth to progressives. Since proggies think they know what's best for all of us, and since Rand pretty much laid it out for them, I think they grabbed it and ran with it, honestly believing they could alter the outcome.

Of course, I am a cynic through and through, so this could all be in my head. But is sure looks and feels right.


* At least to me, it's a Dystopia.

I am in the Gulch for pretty much 2 words.
Personal Responsibility.

Objectivism for all the talk and philosophy surrounding the various subtleties to me all boils down to that.

When were are ALL personally responsible, we only act with reason, we only do things in our best self-interest. To me it is all summed up that way, and those were things my Grandfather taught me 45 years ago when I was 6.

I've long been sick of the two parties, each simply vying for control of other peoples freedoms that make them comfortable. This has bothered me since high school, when I first payed any attention to politics.

First Libertarianism appealed to me, than after more seeking more information, I found Ayn Rand. Honestly, I came across this site after watching the first Atlas Shrugged, giggling through the whole thing from kindred joy.

I dug up this site looking for movie information and just love it. I've been educated by the high concentration of brilliant people here, and engaged in many excellent, thought-provoking debates.

I sought out a couple of people in the Midwest for beers. Now I need to look up some locals.

Great site.

I came to exchange ideas on the nature of government and the economy. You might say I wondered whether this community would become an extension of the Ayn Rand Center, or Institute, or whatever they call it.

The cast for the first movie was nearly perfect. Especially Hank. By the 3rd installment, the cash was really sub-par and unacceptable. I admire the effort it took to make all 3 parts, but the quality got progressively worse.

We're glad you found us. I too find it harder to deal with looters in my personal life.

"In a country of the blind the one-eyed man is in for a hell of a rough ride." That's how I've felt most of my life. Then I found the Gulch recently, and I found a country of two-eyed men who are more aware and know more than I do, and I'm in heaven!
The biggest thing I have missed in my life is friends. Try as I might, I just can't be friends with people who are second-handers. I am very happy to have found friends in the Gulch.
So that's 2 good reasons to be here!

Khalling:
Ahhh the old shirt topic...
That's before I learned just how smart and prepared you are!!
You are a pillar to the Gulch.

and that's why we love you , jc. my heart soars every time you comment-including when you disagree with me

I came in through the Atlas Society.
I had already read everything available by and on Ayn Rand more than 30+ years before.
Once here there was no turning back.

+1 for the home comment. That was exactly right.

After reading AS about two years ago I got the first DVD. It had a little add in it with the Gulch online address. I figured it might be interesting so joined up. It is interesting, and I have always enjoyed hearing the opinions of others.