Empty Shelves and Atlas Shrugged

For the past two years, the American government has spent most of its energy (and a lot of your money) convincing us that leaving our homes is a heinous act of selfishness.

And between the press conference fear-mongering, each new iteration of “fifteen days to slow the spread,” extended school shutdowns, and threats to take away Christmas dinner… they’ve successfully conned a lot of people into believing their lie.

For many, the consequences of this lie were felt rapidly.

Small businesses were devastated by initial lockdowns, with an estimated one-third closing permanently after shuttering in in the spring of 2020. Test scores in schools dropped off at an alarming rate. Youth literacy declined. Suicide rates and depression diagnoses climbed at a heartbreaking rate.

And yet, the world ticked on in its best attempt at a “new normal” in spite of these ill-fated controls.

Those with the privilege of a remote-capable job joked about living in sweatpants and ordering too much wine online. “Zoom fatigue” became a part of our vocabulary. It wasn’t business as usual, but business was doable.

Until today.

Between barren shelves at the local Target and Wal-Mart, hundreds of cargo ships stuck in harbors due to lack of workers, and skyrocketing prices on groceries, it would appear that the proverbial chickens have come home to roost.

If you’ve ever read Atlas Shrugged, our current situation might be ringing a bell—Government interventionism in the market with disastrous ends, a complete collapse of infrastructure, mass strikes by producers, and the like.

And while I wouldn’t fault you for starting a government-free haven in the mountains where you can live undisturbed by the world’s many problems, a la John Galt… There are some other steps I’d take first.

For starters, you can explain to your kids why we’re in our current situation: starting with the fact that government is really horrible at manipulating how we should use our talents and spend our money.

If you need a good starting place, I recommend The Tuttle Twins and the Search for Atlas, our kid-friendly adaptation of Ayn Rand’s most famous work. This book will teach your kids about the danger of punishing producers, and what we must do to turn this crazy train around.

We have a long road to walk, and our government isn’t making it any easier, but a freer future is one worth working for. So let’s get to fighting for truth, starting with our own families.

Until next time…

—Connor