Fear and Loathing

[wlotus]

I am reading Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, and the book is stirring anger and fear in me. I am about 1/4 through the book, and there is an overwhelming theme of mediocrity being rewarded, while those who do not walk in lockstep are pushed down until they surrender. When the person who is shining brighter than the rest does not quietly accept pleas from friends to step back, people in authority step in to create rules to force them to submit. The rules are created in back rooms and under tables, and the jealousy and hatred that fueled their creation are whitewashed...in this case with empty words about social responsibility and the need to even the playing field so everyone can achieve. Furthermore, those who do not fall in line are told they are selfish and wrong to fight the power.

Not only does this remind me of current political events in this country, it reminds me of some of my experiences in corporate America. I know it is just a book, but it is pushing all sorts of buttons.

Comments

[ex-redrain.livejournal.com]

Just a book? It is more than just a book if it's pushing that many buttons for you.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

It is just a book. My reactions are my own, and I need to remember that to avoid making the same mistake I once made with religions: thinking it has The Answer^TM to all of my questions.

That said, that "just a book" is expressing the same disillusionment with people of authority I have felt in the past couple of years. Rand just put it in words far more eloquent than mine.

[ex-redrain.livejournal.com]

Ah. There is the book, but then there are the ideas contained therein.