Huffington Post Review of Atlas Shrugged misses the point
Who uses a movie to bash people's opinions? This guy! Here are some of the quotes from his article and my opinion.
Atlas Shrugged is the founding text that brings us the revolutionary, inspiring ideas that helping people is dumb
She never said helping people is dumb in the book just that stealing from the productive to give to the non-productive for the collective good is wrong. Here is a quote from John Galt's speech
"Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it's your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts"
Pretty damn straightforward to me.
But the evil government in Washington has a freakishly misguided view of equality and serving the masses, so they pass weird, onerous legislation to keep Reardon metal off the market so obsolete steelmills can stay open and workers aren't laid off (the benefit to the politicians is unclear).
Benefits unclear! Has this guy ever heard of corn subsidies? Yeah ethanol is just killing it as the number one provider of energy today! Give me a break. Here if you need a summary "In 1977 the Carter administration created the Department of Energy with the purpose of making America energy independent. Now 34 years later we are more dependent than ever on foreign oil. The DOE has spent hundreds of billions of dollars since its inception, currently spending $25 billion dollars a year, and we have nothing to show for it. Eliminate this agency"
But what makes those films work is that the people doing the talking have distinct personalities you might be able to relate to or sympathize with.
Ask the person who has to close their business to the you pick your choice cartel? Maybe you can't relate because it hasn't happened to you but I bet any one of the clients for the Institute for Justice could relate.
(you almost never see any of the employees who work for them or contribute their ideas/effort/expertise).
To this i say read the book you only can fit so much in a movie!
Even amongst the most ardent Teabagger, this is a hard sell in the wake of the financial meltdown, Bernie Madoff and the Gulf oil spill, especially since the film's benevolent ultra-capitalists are not likable characters.
Madoff happened under the government regulation landscape of today, so doesn't that equal failure? The Gulf oil spill is an example of facism and collusion. Their should be no cap in damages if a business harms innocents. Is their a cap if I crash into your car and total it?
The only thing I can agree with that this guy has said is that the movie was rushed into production.
