After the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama, there was a reawakening of sorts; a rediscovery, if you will; of the novel published in 1956 by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. What was the genesis of this rediscovery, which continues even today? The unmitigated and fanatical attack by the federal government upon individual liberty & freedom! The movement to rip the beating heart out of the Body of American Idealism by Obama and his unabashedly Marxist cohort is an anathema to freedom loving peoples everywhere. Professor Ralph R. Reiland of Robert Morris University wrote in a piece in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“In Atlas Shrugged, a novel by Ayn Rand, the most productive and creative citizens in the United States -- the innovators, risk-takers, artists, entrepreneurs, capitalists, intellectuals, industrialists -- overturn the conventional concept of victimhood and go on strike, refusing any longer to be exploited by society, refusing to be demonized as too successful, too rich, too individualistic, too free.
Led by John Galt, the novel’s hero, the industrious organize a strike against the ever-expanding yoke of government coercion. They strike to halt the murder of man’s spirit, to halt the confiscation of man’s work, to defend individualism, reason, liberty, human achievement and the market economy.
They strike by mysteriously disappearing, by withdrawing their productivity from society, by withdrawing their minds and ingenuity, in a walkout that Galt describes as “stopping the motor of the world.”
Near the climax of the novel, Galt takes over a radio broadcast to reveal the strike and its rationale, explain why society has collapsed into an ever-growing crisis of scarcity and misery, and deliver a manifesto for liberty to a corrupt society:
“I am the man who has deprived you of victims and thus has destroyed your world...
All the men who have vanished, the men you hated, yet dreaded to lose, it is I who have taken them away from you. We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma that the pursuit of one’s happiness is evil. We are on strike against the doctrine that life is guilt …
You have sacrificed justice to mercy. You have sacrificed independence to unity. You have sacrificed reason to faith. You have sacrificed wealth to need. You have sacrificed self-esteem to self-denial. You have sacrificed happiness to duty ...
Your ideal had an implacable enemy, which your code of morality was designed to destroy. I have withdrawn that enemy. I have taken it out of your way and out of your reach. I have removed the source of all those evils you were sacrificing one by one. I have ended your battle. I have stopped your motor. I have deprived your world of man’s mind ...
While you were dragging to your sacrificial altars the men of justice, of independence, of reason, of wealth, of self-esteem, I beat you to it -- I reached them first. I told them the nature of the game you were playing and the nature of that moral code of yours, which they had been too innocently generous to grasp ...
There is a difference between our strike and all those you’ve practiced for centuries: our strike consists, not of making demands, but of granting them. We are evil, according to your morality. We have chosen not to harm you any longer. We are useless, according to your economics. We have chosen not to exploit you any longer. We are dangerous and to be shackled, according to your politics. We have chosen not to endanger you, nor to wear the shackles any longer.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the pivotal event in the novel when the world finally takes notice of the folly and resultant destruction of statism upon people, both individually and collectively; the economy; morality & good social order, across all aspects and constructs of society. John Galt, the protagonist of Atlas Shrugged, is finally fed-up with the enslavement of the individual by the central government & the lazy, parasitic vermin which suck the life out of society by relying on the government to provide all of their needs & wants through the confiscation of private property.
It is for these very reasons that thousands of Americans either have, or are researching & seriously considering emigrating from the United States; some of whom are very prominent in American society have taken to dropping not so subtle hints. Scores of small businesses & manufacturers have already folded their tents and fled the scene. They just don’t see the sense in being raped by the state & federal governments. These “producers” of our society have taken their cue from Howard Beale… “I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it anymore”! There have even been rumors of late that if they can get out from under the oppressive thumb of the federal government, that General Motors may nail the shutters closed on their Detroit world headquarters and moving to Ireland… Home to the lowest corporate tax rates in the world. One thing to keep in mind, is this… It’s not just a matter of moving you or your business off-shore… You still have US tax obligations & foreign governments have cooperative agreements with the United States to assist in collecting tax obligations. The only way to sever oneself from the long arm of the Internal Revenue Service is to renounce US citizenship and become a legal resident or citizen of your new home. This process can take some time… So, you might want to start your research today! There is a very quick escape route available to a chosen few… If you are Jewish, you can apply for Aliyah; emigrate to Israel in a state sponsored program and immediately assume Israeli citizenship… Sweet!
One of the advantages of being an “Air Force Brat” is that I lived all over the United States while growing up… Moving every 12 - 18 months, on average, until I left home to attend college. Therefore, I contend that as such, I have earned the right to choose anywhere I have lived as my “true” hometown. I also contend that analogous to this, is this… If you have had all you can stand of the political and social developments… If you take the time & make the effort to research which nation-state most closely aligns itself to your political, social and existential philosophy… Then you are making a well-reasoned, logical and rational decision.
Some will ridicule and heap scorn upon people considering such drastic actions… These are the people with the warped mindset which helps contribute to, and accelerates this kind of exodus. When faced with such animosity, contempt and scorn; who can blame the “producers” in America for looking to options which will restore their freedom, and their ability to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor?
Think about it...
The most popular potential landing spots? Right now the top two countries are Australia and New Zealand… Business friendly & in the process of dismantling their national healthcare organizations… G’day, Mate!
Think about it… Maybe it is time for… “Going Galt”
