C. Bradley Thompson echos the sentiments of myself and countless others about the mental revolution initiated by reading Rand’s epic novel. I’ve mentioned this book and its impact to many people who’s existence I value. But, I don’t recall ever documenting its impact for my own record.

I first read Atlas in 2003 after being introduced almost simultaneously to Rand by an Objectivist co-worker, and radio host Neal Boortz. At age 26, finally absorbing what seemed like the elusive articulation of my gut feelings about life left me in a low priority trance. Whether I chose to acknowledge it or not, the entire foundation of my intellect had been utterly dismembered. The gray areas - road signs highlighting the lack of explicit philosophical principals - slowly started vanishing. I was slowly recompiling my kernel with an entirely new set of configuration options. I was raised with what I still consider to be virtuous ideals - work hard, play hard, respect the property of others, help out those you love and “don’t expect something for nothing”. Most of these were justified simply by their loosely coupled allegiance with ‘doing the right thing’. My parents are humble, honest and hard-working individuals, and the older I get the more I appreciate my upbringing. There was, for better or worse, very little discourse pertaining to explicit philosophies. There were brief Church stints, which were painfully awkward for all parties. As a teenager I got involved with a few religious groups mostly for the social benefits, although I did have an intuitive fondness for what struck me then as principled guidelines. When you have no explicit premises, seemingly benevolent tenets make the brain feel good. Throughout high school and college, I remained a lukewarm Christian who was comfortable with the morals I’d obtained, but I began to honestly question, and even disagree with some of the more ambiguous doctrine. I remained in this idle state for several years while my brain was obsessed with musical endeavors.

At age 20 I’d been fairly insulated from politics. Like religion, this was a subject that wasn’t pervasive to my upbringing. My only vague memories of anything political were names of either local or presidential candidates during election years. I remember being scared of Russia during the cold war, and thought it was odd that Government could tell my employer how much they had to pay me. I also remember feeling an unidentifiable disdain for a few ‘political people’, Bill Clinton for one. Even thought MTV implied he was cool, I didn’t understand anything he talked about, nor did I care. Underlying the indifference, I maintained consistent awareness that I did not like his aura. Even as a youngin, I felt confident in my ability to read people, and he seemed to ooze insincerity.

I’d often struggled with opinions and insinuations presented by teachers in school - but never maintained the intellectual drive or clarity to sort out the implicit contradictions. In college, I expected to find answers and a sea of intellect, but found nothing but more advanced versions of the same distorted viewpoints. With the exception of a few classes, I was utterly frustrated with the pursuit of knowledge.

I also started to question ‘blue laws’, and their semblance to Government imposition of religious doctrine. “I can’t buy beer until after noon on Sunday???” Why? I thought opposition to theocracy was the motivity of our nation’s founding, yet conservatives seemed to unanimously support laws that pointed us exactly in that direction. I started to wonder if any politicians really had this country’s best interest in mind.

Rand’s work granted me the intellectual clarity to see that the answer is ‘no’.

Reading AS again in 2005 solidified its significance and instigated me to read most of her other works. Especially noteworthy, due to its succinct coverage of many topics, is The Virtue Of Selfishness – which I refer to as an Objectivism Pocket Reference. I’m currently reading OPAR and the wonderfully insightful Objectivist Newsletters.

Finally, again in 2007 I enjoyed this life-changing adventure in the form of an audiobook during my daily commute. It took ~ 50 discs and about 3 weeks to finish. Although I felt I adequately knew the story, I picked up more details this time around than the others. Note, I’m not contending that reading AS x number of times qualifies me any more or less as an Objectivist, but with each iteration, I develop a new appreciation of Rand’s genius. Every person you encounter in life will likely correspond accurately to a character in this book.

Galt’s speech, a condensed summary of her entire message, is profound. I’ve listened to it in whole many, many times, and like the story as a whole, I pick up new corollaries and integrations every time I hear it.

There aren’t many days that go by where I don’t encounter a thought, comment or situation where my re-analysis with new standards doesn’t grab my attention. It’s as if I now see the world through a new lens, one that eliminates any element of a gray, subjective orientation. I now have ideals of the purpose of man, love, freedom and government – all of which differ vastly from the consensus. The most important life change is the introduction of a rational morality - one based on reason, and not ambiguous, unquestionable commandments riddled with loopholes, and open to interpretation.

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