for Ayn

[Kailashana]

Atlas shrugged and we fell into each other's worlds
sublime with argument and sitting in the ways of Zen,
there is no party when the tea is poisoned with betrayal
there is no money to be thrown away,
collecting art in Washington, Philadelphia or Cleveland;

the day is dreary, the night is somber, the Philistines are storming
the gate,
the barbarian takes the geisha
and both must save face

there is no free will on the free way, the map is wrong,
the individual is more than what can be collected
the collective mind is but a witness to the soul.


~A


The above poem was birthed from an on-going argument my partner and I have about Ayn Rand, (The Teaparty has made her their official Goddess.) our differences and our similarities. Recently we watched a Netflix documentary on her life (I read her when I was quite young) and "The Art of the Steal"..."A gripping tale of intrigue and mystery in the art world, this film traces the history of the Barnes collection of Post-Impressionist paintings."

Deep pockets, once again steal but the question really is to whom does art belong? And what do we really leave behind to family, the world?

[Doreen Peri]

I liked your poem, Anna.

Although I like Ayn Rand's writing, I'm not a fan of her dangerous capitalistic philosophies.

But I liked your poem

(Once, Lrod told me that my writing reminded him of Ayn Rand's writing. I thought it was a compliment until he revealed that the reason was because I go on and on and on and everything I write is TOO LONG. hahah)

[dadio]

Fine poem & theme.

[Kailashana]

Ayn, I think was a sign of the times. The checks and balances, we as a nation once had, have been eroding steadily since the time of Reaganomics. The billionaires club is killing Democracy. I truly do not think she had this vision for capitalism, having escaped Russian communism. She loved America and its potential to be a hero.

Even if only a portion of the accumulated trillions were to be put into compassionate good use to solve the world's problems....would not this be an attainable goal? It's sad and detrimental to human existence itself when the only creative act is in making & accumulating money and more money.

Thanks for reading, Doreen.

~A

[saw]

to whom does art belong is a good question anna, certainly worth debate.....

perhaps you are right that Ayn Rand loved America, but her assertions were dangerous to all of those without privilege....it's absurd to assert that anyone that is poor deserves it....that if they weren't so lazy they too could be rich

I've read Ayn Rand, in her book, The Virtue of Selfishness ( the title alone says a lot) she maintained that accepting any government assistance is "delivering oneself into gradual enslavement" and such folks and such practices amounted to looting....referring to those that are down and out as "parasites"...then hypocritically drawing Social Security and Medicare under the name Ann O'Connor.
Her husband was Frank O'Connor

As you mention one of the GOP's rock stars, Paul Ryan is constantly quoting her as he defends the morality of capitalism.

an interesting footnote to this discussion is, there are 3 women the Cato Institute gives credit to as the founders of American Libertarianism , Ayn Rand, Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel "Pat" Paterson. The latter two women rejected Social Security on principle. Lane referred to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, which is why we keep hearing that from the Tea Party these days...

Ayn Rand also railed against the "hoax" that cigarette smoking is dangerous.
She had lung surgery at 69 paid for by Medicare.

there you have it......but she sure is the darling of the right.......god help us...

[Kailashana]

Yes. I know her history. And God help us is right. All the bullshit is beyond anything that can be measured. Both left and right. It's a sad time in American history when we can say that the left is *better* than the right. And neither party really represents the Democratic process.

Returning to Ms. Rand.... like every human being that has ever lived, she was flawed, perhaps deeply flawed. The danger is that folks will always take certain things in order to perpetuate their own agendas. (The Bible, Koran, Talmud, etc. is also subject to such interpretation, selective reading, as it were.) In my opinion, she first and foremost espoused out-of-the-box rational thought processing that is the model for individualism (rather than herd mentality). That, of course, can be and often is misused.

I, as the daughter of immigrants who came into this country to provide a better life for themselves and their children have lived long enough to see how it can be done and undone.

Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes, if my parents weren't offered one by coming to America, who knows I might be living in Germany (am not German or Jewish). And if my mom wasn't too ill to make the long trip from Germany to Australia, I just might be speaking English with an Aussie accent.

Too many of us are willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Perhaps the next evolution of government will be nothing we have ever seen before....but it depends on the evolution of each and every member of every segment of society. We've got to stop demonizing one another and we've got to stop thinking that one or the other person or party, government or system has the only answer. We've got to start talking with one another and start creating a world in which we all can live in peace with liberty and justice, in our individual pursuit of happiness, as long as mine is not usurping or hijacking yours.

If I remember correctly the designers of the American ideal immortalized in the Constitution were the thinkers, movers, shakers and shapers, of their time; nor were they not wealthy by today's standards. They most certainly were not without personal flaws. After all, many *owned* slaves.

I return you to your regularly scheduled programming...


~A

p.s. My dad died of emphysema. American soldiers gave him cigarettes.
He quit when he started wearing oxygen. A friend of mine didn't quit even then. What do you think about the *scientists* who lied and gave false reports? Do you think they had a bigger obligation? Do you think they quit smoking and told their loved ones not to smoke and why?