Atlas Shrugged is Anti Human

    I can't decide if the movie producers of Atlas Shrugged are making the films because they subscribe to Ayn Rand's pure hatred of  humanity and God. I suppose it could be the venture capitalists making the series hope that visually showing that truth might help some part of society see how hateful and evil her philosophy is.

  Lead producer John Aglialoro graduated from Temple University which was founded by a Philadelphia (my birth place) Minister Russel Conwell, a servant and mentor to many. The Hank Reardon trial lays out the new philosophy clearly.

     "There was a time when men believed that ‘the good’ was 

       a concept to be defined by a code of moral values and 

       that no man had the right to seek his good through the 

       violation of the rights of another."

   The dialogue is of course much longer, but one can not deny the implication of that single sentence.  Where once humanity was responsible for community, society and the greater good, that is no longer the truth by which we live today.  At least according to the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Washington politicians, the Koch brothers, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, or Citigroup's plutonomists among others who believe that profit is all that matters. Forgive me for citing organizations, when most humans employed there most certainly do not believe or live their lives according to such an empty and false ideology.  

    Whichever philosophy or spiritual belief (all religions are a philosophy) one adheres to the admonitions are quite clear.

"Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your 

       heart be also." Luke 12:33-34

"Spend in charity out of the substance whereof He has made you heirs.  For, those of you who believe and spend in charity, for them is great reward."  Koran 57:7

"To attain the Brahman reality we need to perform sacrifices . . . digging ponds for the public, involving ourselves in social work . . ." Vedah Pracetasadasitssaksadramayanatmana.

"One may amass wealth with hundreds of hands but one should also distribute it with  thousands of hands. If someone keeps all that he accumulates for himself and does not give it to others the hoarded wealth will eventually prove to be the cause of ruin. Hindu Artha Veda 3:24-25.

    "In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of.  In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."  Confucius.

      Don't believe in any religion or higher power?  Try science and neurology which teaches us that greed makes us behave even more unethicaly and is as addictive to our brains and personalities as cocaine (because both impact the same neurons and release more dopamine).  Understanding what little we know of the DNA of humanity it's not hard to understand why those who profess to follow one religion or another would ignore the core values of what they profess on holy days in the name of lower taxes on the wealthy while taking millions of dollars from corporations and intentionally harming millions of their neighbors/citizens.  For whom they are responsible by all spiritual cultures.

They are as addicted to their false gods and ideology as the alcoholic, methamphetamine, heroine or cocaine addict they abhor and ignore like so many along the pilgrim road to Damascus.

And don't blame the Tea Party for this addiction to the proven failure of austerity and perversion of holy texts (pending one's paradigm). That Tea Party "label" has been twisted like many others far beyond its original good intentions of responsible government, self control, personal privacy and the opportunity to become more than one is today without harming others along the path.

Rather, consider the Dali Lama's words:  "If you want to change the world, first try to improve and bring about change within yourself. That will help change your family. From there it just gets bigger and bigger. Everything we do has some effect, some impact."

What positive, self-sacrificing difference can you make today?

One moment of giving grace, peace, generosity may be all it takes to start a movement that gives hope to humanity.  Is there treatment or a cure for the disease of human greed corrupting who we were created to be?  I can only think of three things: Faith, hope and love, with these additional words of eternal wisdom.

"Whatever you do for the least of these you have done for me," 

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's."