Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is my favorite book

Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand is my favorite book.

I have read it a few times now at various stages of my life and each time I am struck by how close society is coming to the conditions outlined in the book.  We have so many people who do not take pride in their work, who feel that the government and society and the world in general owe them a living and a high standard of living, if you please, simply because they live and breath. Government workers make you wait for long hours and seem to not do anything to help you, businesses don't care how you are treated or how awful the service as long as you pay up and shut up.  I wonder how much longer we can go on this way without an uprising of smart, articulate business people.

While I do not feel that the world revolves around profit and the almighty dollar, I do feel that the lessons that this country learned and passed on when we were at the height of our industrial empire are ones that have been forgotten.  We need to make sure that everyone is able to earn a great living and we need to take pride in each and every job - whether it be large or small, because each is important to keep the economy and the world going.

I love the strong characters in the book and the struggle they have to accept the principle of being able to walk away from a bad situation that they cannot possibly make better.  It often takes more courage to walk away and start anew and I find this struggle throughout the book.

When I first read this book, it was when I was a young and naive adult, it truly opened my eyes. Now that I have to put on my ladies reading glasses to even see the print, it is heart fully frightening that the story can actually come true. So much is based on "facts" that may become true.