Collectivism

Once, Kira and Leo attempted to spend the night in the country.

"Certainly," said the landlady. "Certainly, citizens, I can let you have a room for the night. But first you must get a certificate from your Upravdom as to where you live in the city, and a permit from your militia department, and then you must bring me your labor books, and I must register them with out Soviet here, and our militia department, and get a permit for you as transient guests, and there's a tax to pay, and then you can have the room."

They stayed in the city.

--Ayn Rand, We the Living

Some Democrats in Congress have recently expressed the desire to nationalize the oil industry. If you think that traveling within the U.S. is difficult now, due to "Homeland Security," just wait for all the red tape you'll have to cut to get an extra tank of gas for your vacation.

So, after years of having a few of her books on my shelves and never reading them--except for Anthem, which I read once long ago--I have begun reading Rand. I recently purchased several of her books at once which I didn't already have (all used via an eBay auction). I decided to read her works as closely as possible to the order in which she wrote them, thus have begun with the book excerpted above. Technically a work of fiction, but realistic fiction based on her personal experiences in the U.S.S.R. If I weren't personally opposed to coercive education, I would say this book should be required reading for everyone, especially with socialism looming on our metaphorical horizon the way it is now.