I didn't get turned on to AS until about 2 1/2 years ago. I wished I'd heard about it during HS because my life would definitely been different. I grew up in the South in the '60s and '70s and was taught self-reliance, but never about the virtues of selfishness. I used to define selfishness as the person who is drowning and almost drowns the person trying to save them. I've come to define it in the "affix your oxygen mask before attending someone else" attitude. How can we be of any benefit for anyone if we don't have control of our own destiny?
I'm sure that had I learned about things like this, I would have demanded a better wage for myself and my talents and probably would have started my own business when I was at my most productive instead of keeping a job for the benefits.

The Gulch is one of the few place I see that word. I live closer to the land of the Pitt Panthers. I am sure they have their share of libtards as well.

Absolutely. I always wish I had found Rands works earlier in life but I doubt I would have fully understood it. It's funny how much I knew at 21 and how much I don't know at 51.

I thoroughly enjoy re-reading books that predict a dystopian future - especially when the future arrives. Atlas Shrugged and 1984 are two of my favs for re-reading. Been re-reading 1984 since 1964 when I was 10 and AS since I was 16. Oh and a number of Heinlein books also. Actually, this thread has made me think (as most Gulch threads do) about what I do and how I think - I actually re-read a lot of non-fictions: Potok, Dostoevsky, Piers Anthony, Kosinski, Koontz (One Door Away from Heaven especially, its an interesting statement on bio(non)ethics) to name a few.

I also realize I re-read books that were contemporary to the author's day...and then I compare the situations to the modern day. This can be rather eye-opening

Never realized how much of my thinking and behavior is on autopilot. The Gulch, oddly enough, has served to impart to me what the New Age drivel couldn't: living in the present moment, being aware of actions and intent :)

But I can say I rarely watch a movie or a TV series more than once. The exceptions are the AS movies and the Firefly TV series and movie, Serenity.

The thing about Atlas is that if it inspires you, you must read it again. It is so crammed with ways of expressing the ways of putting things that you constantly say, "I wish I had thought of that" regarding the expression of ideas. Then there is the subtlety of the way action is portrayed, or not portrayed. Why did he/she do this or that. You give it some thought and after a while a flashbulb goes off and you have the satisfaction of discovery.

_ *For you younger Gulchers, that was the way film for photographs were illuminated in darker situations before strobe light circuitry was invented.

Bravo from another expatriate Nittany Lion who's doing his best to make "libtard" part of the official lexicon.

Same with me. I read Fountainhead and AS when I was about 19 or 20, thought it was interesting philosophically, but without having any experience in the real world the impact was no greater than any other great work, say War and Peace. This time the impact was Orwellian, which made me wonder what it would be like to re-read 1984 and Animal Farm. It is eerie how prescient both authors were.

I was thinking of the political definition. What is UU by the way.

My thought is they don't mean collectivsm or classical liberalism, but rather a vague sense of good, responsible, honest people.

yes! 15 times at least!

I don't think you can be a liberal and be an Ayn Rand fan. Today's liberalism is the definition of collectivism. That would explain why they were uncomfortable. They knew they were straying away from what the collective thought.

Two years ago someone at a UU event said, "I agreed with a lot of what you said in your talk, but X sounded almost Ayn Rand-like." He said he would consider that a compliment but went on to address the question.

A while later I mentioned Ayn Rand to someone else from that congregation. She said she remembered reading it long ago and really liked it. It's almost like she was cautious about admitting it becuase people would wrongly think you can't be liberal and be an Ayn Rand fan.

I know it inspires me every time I read it or listen to it.

I remember reading in the Gulch that some people had read AS multiple times. I wondered why. Now I get it. There is a lot to absorb and I find my mind wandering as I equate things to modern day.

The complete unabridged audio book is excellent, rich. Its my first choice for coast to coast driving.

ok, then mum sporran

I'm at work and my kilt is at home.

hurry up

I'll see what I can do.

I just talked to another customer and told her this story. She said she read it in college and enjoyed it but didn't get it. She wants to read it again also. I am listening to it on CD now and I'm realizing how much I missed on my first reading. Quite an amazing woman.

ok. I'll have another pic of you. reading the speech. in a kilt

They loaded up their stuff this morning and headed to the next job. Or did you just want a picture of me?

This is my first comment here so I'll try to make it brief. I too read AS when I was in college and found your story interesting. In fact, now that I'm in my 60's and have a lot of time on my hands I'm going to read it again. This has also a lot to do with what's going on in India at the moment - the right to free speech and other liberties that go with it are seriously endangered. Thank you for post, Rich Robinson.