In Ayn Rand’s classic novel, “Atlas Shrugged,” the “looters” who lived off the government failed to understand how dependent they were on the “producers” (capitalists) until the producers decided to “shrug”. The producers collectively gave up their businesses because the government burdened them with so many taxes and regulations and other barriers to success that they could no longer turn a profit. The producers gave up when there was no longer any reward, and workers had no incentive to work, because they had to give everything they earned to those who made no contributions to society. In the book, the country quickly spiraled into economic and social chaos. Only then did the looters realize that it was actually the “greedy” capitalists, and not the government, who were providing for them. Only when the food ran out, and the rule of law gave way to anarchy, did the looters finally realize how their way of thinking and living was fatally flawed. Ultimately the looters begged the producers for forgiveness and begged them to get back to producing.
I fear that we are quickly seeing that scenario play out in real life today. Too many are riding in the wagon and not enough are left to pull it. Too often we ignore those who violate the law out of fear of offending them. Must we wait until the last of our business are closed to realize we need to reward capitalism rather than criticize it? Must we wait until the last of our law enforcement officers have quit to realize we need everyone to follow the rule of law? Must we wait until all of our statues have been torn down and all of our history re-written, to realize how great our country is, despite the prior indiscretions of those who were great and flawed at the same time? Must we wait until our government officials at all levels give in to all of the “looters’” demands before we realize that all of the rioting and violence and killing is not making things better for anyone?
I pray that regardless of our race, our background, or our political leanings, we all recognize how close we are to spiraling out of control right now. We cannot continue to be taken in by the false economics, false science, false social justice, and false sense of security that has so many in our country blindly and merrily going about their daily lives. We must quickly become educated about what has worked and what has failed in the past. We must stop relying on just our emotions to decide what is best. We must rely on logic and reasoning as well. We must root out evil where ever it exists, even if it’s in our own political party, our own church, our own company, our own neighborhood, or our own family.
Regardless of what the media or the politicians tell us, we are all so much more alike than we are different. We are a great country and we are all so blessed! Our poor are richer than the average citizens of most nations.
Those among us who feel oppressed are more free than the majority of the world. People from around the globe want to become US citizens because they know how good we have it. We cannot let those with evil intentions continue to distract us and divide us. We cannot give in to those who are not educated enough to understand what is happening or how to fix it. We cannot give up! We cannot shrug!
