Road trip

Atlas Shrugged – Day 028 – pp. 274-283

“Owen Kellogg.”

It’s the kid with all the promise Dagny wanted to make manager of the midwest region. The one who quit and dropped off the face of the earth so mysteriously. Doing transient labor now?

“Listen Kellogg, what do you think is going to happen to the world?”

“You wouldn’t care to know.”

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Absolution

Atlas Shrugged – Day 027 – pp. 264-273

AbsolvingĀ himself. For his inabilities. . . For falling back on the excuse of doing things for the heart — the right reasons. The other reasons.

I wonder if Rand doesn’t think “other reasons” are valid motivations for anything. There are those who beg charity to help the less fortunate. And they are virtuous. Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve never been a zillionaire industrialist. I wonder if its expectation (of shared wealth) that she rails against.

One thing is for certain. The willingness to accept “it’s not your/my/their fault — you can’t be blamed” as an excuse is a major character flaw.

Anyway, Jim’s in the “confessional” with Cherryl — a new character – poor, awestruck shop-girl from Buffalo — talking, essentially about how everyone who’s great today, ain’t so great. . .

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