Years ago I started reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It is an extremely long book, a novel with the sole purpose of explaining some of Ayn Rand's ideas about human nature and society.

One of her beefs with people in general is the way quite a few people cannot seem to get by on their own. To them, there is a constant struggle to leech from the abilities and achievements of others. Sounds harsh, but she can be harsh at times. While reading this book (I am in the middle of it - again, and have yet to finish it even once) I finally decided to pay attention to her portrayal of the characters, or rather the attributes and attitudes of the characters that populate this essay that doubles as entertainment. (Perhaps her intent was an attempt to conceal her essays in the story)

I've finished about 25% of the book, and after that it has me brooding over all kinds of stupid shit. It seems to be basic human instinct for people to ride the coattails of others. This would be fine I guess, but for the few that confine their activities to this one endeavor. (I must find another term for this word....) I do it myself. I find catch myself all the time striving to benefit from the efforts of others. Some go to extremes and do it to a fault though. They are easy to spot, they are the people that spend their lives thinking the world owes them something.

As far as I can tell, this is a major part of Any Rand's philosophy. Things go wrong when there are too many that can't control themselves in this respect. Don't get me wrong, nobody can get by in the world without others, but the worth of a person is directly related (or is it indirectly related) to the amount of dependence one allows themselves of others. Not sure if I said that right, I'll have to mull over that statement and revise it, it just doesn't sound right.

I could give examples, as is my usual way of getting my ideas across, but right now I've got other things to do. Going to breakfast with a friend. I always look forward to conversations with him, his intelligence goes way beyond what most possess. It's refreshing......