Tag: 2:8

November 4, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 2:8

November 4, 2022 /

It’s not a spoiler if I talk about something that has already happened in the book. It is however if you have not read it. So, you have already read the book, you are reading along with me or you just don’t care. Dabny hears about the train crash on the radio and immediately returns back to work.

Immediately before the news was put on the radio, Dabny was having a conversation with Francisco D’anconia. Francisco is this enigma that I can’t tell if he is orchestrating all of this or he just happens to be like Nathanael Green and the right place at the right time (on purpose).

The title of the chapter “By Our Love” is again double entendre. There is the love between Dabny and Francisco. But their conversation is really about the love of the work and how that is being harvested by the Looter’s for profit. Without the industrialist’s passion, the entire economy will disintegrate.

Time for opinion again. Using generalizations here, have you noticed that the left wants more taxes and the right wants less taxes. No one is arguing that we should have no taxes at all. Why is that? Because they are different degrees of the same thing. The premise is that we all have some sort of civic duty to fund schools, roads, parks, libraries, welfare, etc. If you are picking a side, then you are choosing your degree of civic responsibility and not the premise in the first place.

This all dovetails together by the end, so hang in there. What do you suppose is more profitable: healthy, dead or chronic illness? Using our brains, you got it right chronic illness. If you can be kept ‘in the system’ then you have prescriptions, testing and follow-up visits. This is literally a money printing strategy for life.

What if there was a professional duty that said doing harm was immoral? Now, what if there was a pharmaceutical that kind of worked? And what if you scared the crap out of someone to never stopped taking it? What if the food you ate for your entire life caused the condition in the first place? So, now we have food industry, medical and pharmaceutical industry all working hand in hand in profit.

Are you hanging in there? My favorite subject to pick on is Covid vaccines. Did you know the fourth booster is out? Did you know that these vaccines are pursuing approval for ages 5-18? Did you know that once approved for children the vaccine no longer is considered experimental? Did you know that once accepted, liability is suspended. This is in the wake of pharmaceutical executives admitting that vaccines efficacies are dubious at best. And yet, the CDC is now adding the Covid vaccine to the recommended list of routine shots.

When Dabny goes back to work, she demands to talk only to Mr Weatherby not Wesley Mooch. She is not going to be hamstrung by Directive 10-289 to get the railroad back on track after the disastrous crash. She essentially dares him to stop her. His response is that law’s today are not rigid, but elastic. That should be read as ‘rigid for all people’. Because when you have something that they want then they are going to compromise, otherwise get in line.

So, we have the lawmakers writing the rules as they please. Like for instance US congress members are the only people legally allowed to engage in the practice of insider trading. Literally the people making the laws are the only people that can legally profit on the outcome of the law (with intent). How is that for fair?

In case you didn’t follow the lines. There is collusion between government and industry at the whim of those currently in charge. The rules are being written to endorse certain products and practices. Meanwhile, those on the outside will be kept there. Only with a force disruption will change.

End Your Programming Routine: Reading the book on the surface, you get some romantic mumbo jumbo with a barely interesting story. This post came about as I was trying to relate the conversation between Francisco and Dabny to a current situation and it just flowed. I am not saying that the I think the pharmaceutical industry is intentionally doing harm, but this is all a convenient side effect. It’s worked out pretty well for them, don’t you think?

June 25, 2021 – 1984 2:8

June 25, 2021 /

Before we get started, I am writing in anticipation of the hottest day ever recorded coming this weekend. It is supposed to be over 110 degF on Sunday. Current forecasts are between 111 and 113. So, while I am a little cold this morning setting at my computer at 67 degrees with shorts and sandals on, I know that the inferno is coming.

My feelings right now are probably a good metaphor for Winston’s situation in this chapter. This is the calm before the storm. We see Winston meet with Obrien and making his final commitments to his true beliefs. There isn’t a lot of transition between getting the invitation (last chapter) and the meeting where this chapter begins.

I find this chapter interesting but devoid of a lot of the heavy intellectual concepts that much of the book is full of. Part of what makes it interesting is that there are paradoxes that are not really well developed. For instance, Obrien lives and acts as a high party member but is supposedly a high level traitor who will disappear at any moment. I suppose that if you were to pin me down I could go with a couple.

Propaganda makes Enemy’s Friends and Friend’s Enemies- There has been a portrayal of the Eurasion race as sour, nasty and bleak. Now, it appears as Obrien’s servant Martin is an insider and confidant in the movement. Despite his lifelong training, Winston doesn’t react (much) to Martin being involved in the conversation. This is the perfect manifestation of political dichotomy today. Enemies are a far stronger tool to solidify an agenda and unite a faction. Once a faction is united, they are far easier to manipulate in the future.

Some Beliefs are Worth Sacrificing Your Life- As Obrien describes the process, it is portrayed as death is likely. It is also thankless and you will not see the results or know the strategy. This is a hard one to actually swallow as I have not been in this position. But, as I have written previously Winston realizes that there is no hope of the future. I can imagine that it is the final acceptance like the stages of death – acceptance.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the future of the book here but it seems like this could be a setup just as easily as it is Winston joining the rebellion. I am particularly wary of Obrien as it is hard for me to believe that he can be in the inner party and high level resistance at the same time. Corruption and politics are highly integrated, so I guess we will have to stay tuned to find out.

Another thing that I find interesting is that Julia has become a minor character in the book. I think that she was the vehicle to propel Winston into his thought position. It is clear that she has a role in his decisions and desired outcomes but really has had little interaction in the recent past including this chapter.

End Your Programming Routine: Maybe my mind is already baked and I am missing the significance of this chapter. It answers some of the longstanding questions about the existence of Goldstein, the Brotherhood, etc. The next chapter is the longest one in the book so maybe this is a transition primarily.

I guess the advice here is that the decisions have been made there is nothing left to do but accept it. There have been times in my life that I have made a major decision and not completely sure that it was the right thing to do. But without recourse, all you can do is move forward.