Ayn Rand and/or Atlas Shrugged Quotes to ponder

[Lando Lincoln]

"To the glory of mankind, there was, for the first and only time in history, a country of money—and I have no higher, more reverent tribute to pay to America, for this means: a country of reason, justice, freedom, production, achievement. For the first time, man’s mind and money were set free, and there were no fortunes-by-conquest, but only fortunes-by-work, and instead of swordsmen and slaves, there appeared the real maker of wealth, the greatest worker, the highest type of human being—the self-made man—the American industrialist.

If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose—because it contains all the others—the fact that they were the people who created the phrase “to make money.” No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity—to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created."
Atlas Shrugged - Part 2, Chapter2

[Lando Lincoln]

"It is your mind that they want you to surrender—all those who preach the creed of sacrifice, whatever their tags or their motives, whether they demand it for the sake of your soul or of your body, whether they promise you another life in heaven or a full stomach on this earth. Those who start by saying: 'It is selfish to pursue your own wishes, you must sacrifice them to the wishes of others'—end up by saying: 'It is selfish to uphold your convictions, you must sacrifice them to the convictions of others.'"
Atlas Shrugged - Part 3, Chapter 7

[Lando Lincoln]

“The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world.”
Atlas Shrugged - Part 3, Chapter 7

[Lando Lincoln]

“Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice... Man has to be a man–by choice; he has to hold his life as a value–by choice; he has to learn to sustain it–by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues by choice. A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.”
Atlas Shrugged
Part 3, Chapter 7

Our guy in the White House... maybe not so much...

[aligncare]

There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
Atlas Shrugged Part 2, Chapter 3

I cannot even begin to tell you how much truth there is in that statement.

America's been heading down this road too long. Michael Bloomberg, anyone?

[Lando Lincoln]

"...People don't want to think. And the deeper they get into trouble, the less they want to think. But by some sort of instinct, they feel that they ought to and it makes them feel guilty. So they'll bless and follow anyone who gives them a justification for not thinking. Anyone who makes a virtue — a highly intellectual virtue — out of what they know to be their sin, their weakness and their guilt."

Atlas Shrugged - Part 2, Chapter 2

[Rapunzel]

Ayn Rand: Communism proposes to enslave by force, socialism by vote. It is merely the difference between murder & suicide.

[DCPatriot]

Wonderful thread!

[Lando Lincoln]

Wonderful thread!

 

[Lando Lincoln]

"It is your mind that they want you to surrender—all those who preach the creed of sacrifice, whatever their tags or their motives, whether they demand it for the sake of your soul or of your body, whether they promise you another life in heaven or a full stomach on this earth. Those who start by saying: “It is selfish to pursue your own wishes, you must sacrifice them to the wishes of others”—end up by saying: “It is selfish to uphold your convictions, you must sacrifice them to the convictions of others."
Atlas Shrugged - Part 3, Chapter 7

[Lando Lincoln]

"I win by means of nothing but logic and I surrender to nothing but logic."
Atlas Shrugged

[Lando Lincoln]

"If devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality, then there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking." - John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)

[Lando Lincoln]

"America is the land of the uncommon man.  It is the land where man is free to develop his genius - and reap its just rewards.  It is the land where each man tries to develop whatever qualities he may possess and to rise to whatever degree he can, great or modest.  It is not the land where one glories or is taught to glory in one's mediocrity.  No self-respecting man is or thinks of himself as "little", no matter how poor he may be."

- Ayn Rand

Lando: We know the self-loathing of the left vehemently opposes this notion.

[DCPatriot]

Always enjoy your chosen quotes on this thread, Lando!

It's a good one!

[Lando Lincoln]

Always enjoy your chosen quotes on this thread, Lando!

It's a good one!

Thanks DCP.   

[EC]

THREADJACK!!!!!

Don't try to have the last word -- you might get it. - Lazarus Long.

Animals can be driven crazy by putting too many in too small a pen.
Homo sapiens is the only animal that voluntarily does this to himself.
- Lazarus Long

It fits the theme though.

[Lando Lincoln]

THREADJACK!!!!!

It fits the theme though.

 

[Lando Lincoln]

"It is in this context — from the perspective of the bloody millennia of mankind’s history — that I want you to look at the birth of a miracle: the United States of America. If it is ever proper for men to kneel, we should kneel when we read the Declaration of Independence."

- Ayn Rand

[Lando Lincoln]

"In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit."
- John Galt in Atlas Shrugged

[Lando Lincoln]

""There are no absolutes," they chatter, blanking out the fact that they are uttering an absolute."
- John Galt
Atlas Shrugged

[Lando Lincoln]

The Smallest Minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.
- Ayn Rand

[Lando Lincoln]

“Mediocrity” does not mean an average intelligence; it means an average intelligence that resents and envies its betters.
- Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution

We are mired in "mediocrity", aren't we?

[Bigun]

"In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit."
- John Galt in Atlas Shrugged

   and 

[Lando Lincoln]

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion:
the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases,
while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage
of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."
- Ayn Rand

[Lando Lincoln]

Men have a weapon against you. Reason. So you must be very sure to take it away from them. Cut the props from under it. But be careful. Don’t deny outright. Never deny anything outright, you give your hand away. Don’t say reason is evil — though some have gone that far and with astonishing success. Just say that reason is limited. That there’s something above it. What? You don’t have to be too clear about it either. The field’s inexhaustible. `Instinct’ — `Feeling’ — `Revelation’ — `Divine Intuition’ — `Dialectic Materialism.’ If you get caught at some crucial point and somebody tells you your doctrine doesn’t make sense — you’re ready for him. You tell him there’s something above sense. That here he must not try to think, he must feel. He must believe. Suspend reason and you play it deuces wild. Anything goes in any manner you wish whenever you need it. You’ve got him. Can you rule a thinking man? We don’t want any thinking men.

Fountainhead - 1943
(courtesy of aligncare)

[Lando Lincoln]

[Bigun]

I would put discrimination very high on the list of mankind's survival tools as well!

[Lando Lincoln]

I would put discrimination very high on the list of mankind's survival tools as well!

Discrimination - that word has been stigmatized in today's world, almost always meaning "bad".  It is indeed a valuable and necessary tool in order to survive.  Thank you for that thought Bigun.  Got me thinking.

[Bigun]

Discrimination - that word has been stigmatized in today's world, almost always meaning "bad".  It is indeed a valuable and necessary tool in order to survive.  Thank you for that thought Bigun.  Got me thinking.

It is beyond that! It is ESSENTIAL to one's survival!

[Lando Lincoln]

[Lando Lincoln]

[Lando Lincoln]

[flowers]

fl

[Lando Lincoln]

[Sanguine]

Some great thoughts expressed there.

[Lando Lincoln]

[Hank Rearden]

Discrimination...is indeed a valuable and necessary tool in order to survive.

I would add stereotyping to that list of survival tools as well. We use it daily in our interactions with strangers and acquaintances.

Example: You walk to your car in a parking garage at night. You see three people hanging out near your vehicle with no one else in sight. Without speaking to any of them, a stereotype will be automatically applied based on their apparent gender, race/ethnicity, age, clothing, and behavior. That stereotype will determine your actions.

[Bigun]

I would add stereotyping to that list of survival tools as well. We use it daily in our interactions with strangers and acquaintances.

Example: You walk to your car in a parking garage at night. You see three people hanging out near your vehicle with no one else in sight. Without speaking to any of them, a stereotype will be automatically applied based on their apparent gender, race/ethnicity, age, clothing, and behavior. That stereotype will determine your actions.

VERY true! Well said!

[rangerrebew]

I need to re-state that quote with more of the complete thought.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men. Blood, whips and guns – or dollars. Take your choice – there is no other – and your time is running out."

My father used to say "what the slave master did with the whip, the government does with the dollar."

[Lando Lincoln]

Looks like this nook needs to be cleaned up a bit.  A few image sources are no longer connecting,

[LMAO]

While not direct Ayn Rand quotes, the band Rush had some "Ayn Rand-ian" type lyrics and messages in their songs

"The Trees" has lyrics that could apply:

"So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw"

The song "Anthem" from the 1970's is closer . Read these lyrics and it's clear there's a message especially the parts I bolded:

Know your place in life is where you want to be
Don't let them tell you that you owe it all to me
Keep on looking forward, no use in looking 'round
Hold your head above the ground and they won't bring you down

Anthem of the heart and anthem of the mind
A funeral dirge for eyes gone blind
We marvel after those who sought
New wonders in the world, wonders in the world,
Wonders in the world they wrought

Live for yourself, there's no one else
More worth living for
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will
Only cry out for more

Well, I know they've always told you
Selfishness was wrong
Yet it was for me, not you, I
Came to write this song


"Temples of Syrinx is another:

And the meek shall inherit the earth...

We've taken care of everything
The words you read, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It's one for all, all for one
We work together, common sons
Never need to wonder how or why

We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls

Look around this world we made
Equality of stock in trade
Come and join the brotherhood of man
Oh what a nice contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the red star proudly high in hand

We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls


   

[Lando Lincoln]

Thanks for visiting the page and the contribution!

[LMAO]

I started reading Atlas Shrugged while on a plane a few years back and found it long and boring in parts but very applicable to events happening today

[Lando Lincoln]

I read Atlas Shrugged while on a plane a few years back and found it long and boring in parts but very applicable to events happening today

Wow, that was long plane ride!

I flew PanAm Flt #005 from San Francisco to Hong Kong several times.  Not enough time.

[LMAO]

Wow, that was long plane ride!

See edit...

[Lando Lincoln]

See edit...

LOL!!  Whew... I felt so... unworthy!

[LMAO]

Ayn Rand not only had experience with the abuses of collectivism but also had a keen understanding of human nature.

Which is why collectivism eventually fails. Human nature doesn't live by theories that come from highly educated people in IVY League schools. It's a deeply ingrained drive to seek and protect self interest. Ayn Rand understood this and so did the Framers, BTW. Which is why we are a Representitive Republic and not a pure democracy

A few of my In laws are all Bernie backers and rail against the rich and that they need to pay more taxes to fund health care, college for all, ect ect.

Recently, my brother and sister in law(Bernie Backers) bragged about the refund they got from the IRS. I asked how they got that and they talked about the deductions they qualified for. I pointed out if they don't want to pay more than they have to in taxes, why would they think anyone else would?

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Interesting development, although it appears from the story the legislator at issue isn't quite serious about this but has another agenda entirely. Too bad.

Reading Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" may become a requirement for high school graduation in Idaho if Coeur d'Alene Senator John Goedde, chairman of the Idaho Senate's Education Committee, decides to pursue the matter.
 
Goedde introduced a bill with the requirement but doesn't appear serious about pushing it:...

Goedde said he doesn't plan to press forward with the bill, but it was formally introduced in his committee Tuesday on a voice vote. He said he was sending a message to the State Board of Education, because he's unhappy with its recent move to repeal a rule requiring two online courses to graduate from high school, and with its decision to back off on another planned rule regarding principal evaluations.
 
"It was a shot over their bow just to let them know that there's another way to adopt high school graduation requirements," Goedde said after the meeting. "I don't intend to schedule a hearing on it."
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/02/bill_introduced_in_idaho_that_makes_reading_atlas_shrugged_a_requirement_for_graduation.html

Just a side note, apropos of nothing. I have always loved the name of that city, Coeur d'Alene. Just so pretty.

Ok, carry on.

Interesting. I'm not happy with the State Board of Education, but that's an interesting response.

Couer d'Alene: French fur traders allegedly named the local Indian tribe the Coeur d'Alene out of respect for their tough trading practices. Translated from French Cœur d'Alène or Alêne literally means "heart of the awl" which might mean "sharp-hearted" or "shrewd".

The country up there is almost as pretty as the name, regardless of the meaning.

[Lando Lincoln]

The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles. - Ayn Rand

[Sanguine]

The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles. - Ayn Rand

That's a great quote!