Liberty Shrugged - A Dual Meaning

In Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged" Francisco D'Anconia, in an effort to convince Hank Rearden that his success through capitalism and entrepreneurship was unappreciated and in danger of being stolen, tells of the ancient god Atlas who literally carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Francisco stated that if he could recommend anything to Atlas, it would be to shrug.

For me, 'Liberty Shrugged' has a dual meaning.

First, in keeping with the spirit of Rand's novel, I would recommend that we shrug off the scourge of what is perpetuated in our current society. That is, the idea that platform and political party mean everything and principles can be adjusted to fit our needs; that the individual is too small to make a difference, and should give way to the collective good; that capitalism has failed and socialism must take its place to "save us"; that our representatives can explain away any bad, immoral, or illegal behavior without consequences just so long as we agree with their policies; that we should look to government to solve our problems and not look within ourselves and our communities.

Second, we should be cautious in "shrugging" off our liberties because of fear, uncertainty, or even in the supposed name of fairness. We live today where fear, hysteria, political correctness and guilt are used as tools to drive public sentiment toward allowing powerful legislation to be passed, orders to be executed, and laws to be re-defined only to find out in the end that we are neither secure nor free; and another limb has been cut from the tree of liberty. Our God-given rights are stolen from us in plain view, and we are consistently told to trust and rely on the very people who have, purposefully or unwittingly, taken them from us.

Let us have honest and open debate about the future of America, for it is "We The People" who will shape that future. Will we engage in the cause of liberty, or will we just "shrug" and look the other way?

Scott Aaron