Who's John Galt? - AR15.COM

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Posted: 3/5/2010 1:23:59 PM EDT

So this morning I had a flat tire on the way to work. Pulled over and pulled the nail out, plugged it and aired it up. Fortunately I, like most here, keep all that stuff in the car. I figured I'd go ahead and take off early and get new tires on as these were pretty much shot. After being informed of a 1.5-2 hour wait, I told the kid to call either me or a friend of mine, named John Galt, when they were done. I told him one of us would be in lobby. He said ok, no recognition–– I thought it was kind of funny. Anyway, they finished up my car and the kid comes out and says "John Galt? Mr. Galt?". I was standing up and a dude across the room says, in a sarcastic tone, " Who's John galt?" and snickered as I went to get my keys. I smirked and acknowledged him. I'm surprised only one person seemed to get the joke.

Posted: 3/5/2010 1:27:20 PM EDT

[#1]

He will learn who John Galt is.

Posted: 3/5/2010 1:46:05 PM EDT

[#2]

i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

Posted: 3/5/2010 1:57:57 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:

i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

Set aside a week, and get reading!

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:03:58 PM EDT

[#4]

Love it - - just read the book - - except for the trashing of religion, it was wonderful.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:04:57 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

Set aside two weeks, and get reading!

Fixed.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:07:39 PM EDT

[#6]

I read really fast and it still took a week...

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:13:21 PM EDT

[#7]

Hell of a book. I don't buy into all of Ayn Rand's philosophical beliefs, but Atlas Shrugged should be required reading in institutes of learning.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:23:29 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

By chance, and with no disrespect intended, are you a victim of the public school indoctrination system?

Edited to add, if so, you can start the learning process at your local public library.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:38:29 PM EDT

[#9]

I must've read about 1/3 of that book and gave up. It was boring me to death waiting for something to actually happen. I never got to John Galt.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:51:53 PM EDT

[#10]

A week or even 2 weeks to read this book ? MAYBE if you were out of work. More like a month or two if you have life.

Posted: 3/5/2010 2:55:09 PM EDT

[#11]

I gave up reading sometime on the train heading somewhere to meet someone about something relating to the bad work ethic and products available at the time.

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:12:14 PM EDT

[#12]

maybe if they made it into a short movie and it had arnuld or ben affleck in it?

ill admit its long winded but geez!

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:16:28 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
maybe if they made it into a short movie and it had arnuld or ben affleck in it?

ill admit its long winded but geez!

I would riot and beat whoever was responsible...

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:24:07 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
maybe if they made it into a short movie and it had arnuld or ben affleck in it?

ill admit its long winded but geez!

I would riot and beat whoever was responsible...

Ditto. I got enough of it to understand the protagonist would need to be a conservative, whereas those two are conservative girlie-men.

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:31:33 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

Set aside two weeks, and get reading!

Fixed.

for real. to be honest i stalled out at 500 and read crichtons newest book

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:33:28 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Quoted:

i'll confess, i didn't get it. I had to look it up. and still don't really "get it" but at least have a vague idea.

Set aside two weeks months, and get reading!

Fixed.

Fixed again. I can read most books in an afternoon (One Second After was a 1 day read), but this sucker is kicking my ass.

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:38:47 PM EDT

[#17]

Not going to lie guys. I haven't finished it yet... I had stalled out... then broke up with the girl whose book it was.

She took it back.

Posted: 3/5/2010 3:48:44 PM EDT

[#18]

you're doing it wrong. It is "Who is John Galt?" not "who's John Galt?" You have to say it right.

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:07:14 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
you're doing it wrong. It is "Who is John Galt?" not "who's John Galt?" You have to say it right.

Cuz if you say it wrong you may get some sf fan reply "That one is mine!"

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:17:20 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:
you're doing it wrong. It is "Who is John Galt?" not "who's John Galt?" You have to say it right.

Cuz if you say it wrong you may get some sf fan reply "That one is mine!"

<Grammar Nazi>
That would be whose, who's is who is.
</Grammar Nazi>

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:32:32 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:
you're doing it wrong. It is "Who is John Galt?" not "who's John Galt?" You have to say it right.

Cuz if you say it wrong you may get some sf fan reply "That one is mine!"

<Grammar Nazi>
That would be whose, who's is who is.
</Grammar Nazi>

*sigh* that was point, my dear, that was the point.

(who's sounds like "whose" when spoken, don't ask the question at an sf con, you'll get a chorus of replies...)

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:52:41 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
you're doing it wrong. It is "Who is John Galt?" not "who's John Galt?" You have to say it right.

Cuz if you say it wrong you may get some sf fan reply "That one is mine!"

<Grammar Nazi>
That would be whose, who's is who is.
</Grammar Nazi>

*sigh* that was point, my dear, that was the point.

(who's sounds like "whose" when spoken, don't ask the question at an sf con, you'll get a chorus of replies...)

Ah, I was assuming we were talking about "saying" as typing it on SF (or elsewhere). My bad.

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:57:38 PM EDT

[#23]

I own it. I read it. All of it. While it is IMO required reading because of its content, it was also one of the most painfully slow books I have ever read. It was a struggle to get through.

Posted: 3/5/2010 4:58:37 PM EDT

[#24]

I've started that book at least five times. It drags WAY too much for me, and I like to read. I finally gave up on it.

Posted: 3/5/2010 9:02:13 PM EDT

[#25]

I read both Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead.. plus a few others written by Ayn Rand... light weights :P

Posted: 3/5/2010 10:01:05 PM EDT

[#26]

Required reading for any true conservative... Once you get past the atheism. But the meat and potatos is all economics and social dynamics, with a dash of politics thrown in.

I used to be surprised at how many didn't get the "Who is John Galt?" reference, and then I understood that most people didn't need to - they already intuitively "got it" without reading the book. Most people do when you draw it out of them. Just have to sift through the top few layers of socialist bullshit they've been fed (it's pretty thin, really), and there it is. A full understanding of who John Galt is, even if they haven't read the book.

It's what drives the Tea Parties and makes Democrats cower in private corners.

Posted: 3/5/2010 11:08:25 PM EDT

[#27]

My 'Who is John Galt?' sticker on the laptop gets lots of looks and questions. Good icebreaker to spread the word.

Posted: 3/6/2010 12:03:35 AM EDT

[#28]

Everyone really should read "Atlas Shrugged". But if you just won't, I consider "Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich von Hayek to be the "Cliff Notes" version of "Atlas Shrugged".

Brazos Jack

Posted: 3/6/2010 3:14:38 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
I read both Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead.. plus a few others written by Ayn Rand... light weights :P

I really liked Atlas Shrugged, but I loved The Fountainhead.

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Posted: 3/6/2010 5:11:16 AM EDT

[#30]

I've (I have) read Atlas Shrugged 3 times. Its (it is) tough to get through the first 3rd (third) of it. Once you get through that, it starts moving a little more quickly.
I have to agree, I did like The Fountainhead a little better. It shows more of a personal view of a man struggling against a socialist machine, compared with a society, rather a group of people struggling. Anthem was a very quick read, a little difficult to read because of the way Ayn wrote it, but it conveys the message pretty well also. I found that I did have to overlook the atheism in all of her works and just take it at face value.
That said, I have 3 copies of Atlas Shrugged that i loan out to whoever I am trying to convert at the time. You can download it at Itunes as well, but IIRC (if I remember correctly), its (it is) pretty expensive.

ETA (edited to add) DAMMIT, I used post 223 on this. I was saving that for an ammo discussion! Ya'll (you all) baited me into this

Posted: 3/6/2010 5:29:42 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
I must've read about 1/3 of that book and gave up. It was boring me to death waiting for something to actually happen. I never got to John Galt.

I tried also. I need to finish it, but damn, it's a hard read.

Posted: 3/6/2010 6:03:22 AM EDT

[#32]

"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be
much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged' 1957)

Don't Obama and Rahm come to mind?

Posted: 3/6/2010 6:50:03 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:

Everyone really should read "Atlas Shrugged". But if you just won't, I consider "Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich von Hayek to be the "Cliff Notes" version of "Atlas Shrugged".

Brazos Jack

I think you have that backwards. "Atlas Shrugged" is a elongated, prose version of "The Road to Serfdom". Showing the perverse consequences of collectivism.

I think I will pick up "Fountainhead" today.

Posted: 3/7/2010 7:20:18 PM EDT

[#34]

I agree with the above poster. If you can't make your way through the long ones, try Anthem. It's a much shorter book but gives you a little taste of her philosophy.

Posted: 3/7/2010 7:44:15 PM EDT

[#35]

I am holding "The Fountainhead" in my hands as we speak. Time to get started.

Posted: 3/7/2010 7:44:16 PM EDT

[#36]

I am holding "The Fountainhead" in my hands as we speak. Time to get started.

Posted: 3/7/2010 11:20:29 PM EDT

[#37]

I wasn't crazy about Fountainhead..maybe because I'd read Atlas Shrugged first and it seemed like AS-lite. But be honest..did anyone read Galt's whole speech??

My favorite Ayn Rand book is We the Living.

Posted: 3/8/2010 5:30:53 AM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

I wasn't crazy about Fountainhead..maybe because I'd read Atlas Shrugged first and it seemed like AS-lite. But be honest..did anyone read Galt's whole speech??

My favorite Ayn Rand book is We the Living.

I have read the speech twice. I read really, really fast though.

Posted: 3/8/2010 7:53:57 AM EDT

[#39]

Anthem was required reading for my 9th grade English class.

I believe it, plus The Count of Monte Cristo were the only two books from the required reading list that just sucked me in. If I remember correctly we had scheduled readings for certain nights ("Day 1: Chapters 1-5" kinda stuff) so we could all stay at the same pace for discussions in class, but I went ahead and finished Anthem in one night.

I haven't read it again since; perhaps I should –– I'm sure it would be more interesting now that I've matured a bit since then. I should probably read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead too...my reading list is getting quite long.

Posted: 3/8/2010 8:21:35 AM EDT

[#40]

Who is John Galt?

I'll take "Fictional character in a Unabomberesque political manifesto marketed as a shitty, nearly unreadable novel" for $300 Alex....

Posted: 3/8/2010 8:28:02 AM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:

But be honest..did anyone read Galt's whole speech??

damn right, i did. in one sitting. took me just a little over a week to read the whole book.

now Fountainhead, on the other hand, is being painfully slow.

Posted: 3/8/2010 9:11:07 AM EDT

[#42]

Except for the anti-God part around pg 957 IIRC, I liked it.

Posted: 3/8/2010 9:25:51 PM EDT

[#43]

Just started The Fountainhead today.

Posted: 3/8/2010 9:37:11 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:
"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be
much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged' 1957)

Atlas is full of great quotes. I seriously have about fifty pages folded over to keep track of the best ones. Ironically, I have the same quote you just posted bookmarked too.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Who's John Galt?

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