I am Hank Rearden

Hank Rearden is the penultimate capitalist in Ayn Rand's masterwork Atlas Shrugged...

I see a political rally in my mind that does a mash up of Atlas Shrugged and Sparticus....you know that final scene where the Romans look out over the field of conquered slaves and ask. Which one of you is Sparticus? At which point, thousands of men stand up and state... "I Am Sparticus"... at which point they are all crucified and line the Appian Way leading to Rome.

"I Am Hank Rearden"...I am the optimistic capitalist who believes that I can overcome all that the looters throw at me. I am the man who "sees" that the greatest gift a man can give his neighbor is not the money from his wallet, but the effort of his own brow as an example of the capabilities of a man driven by his own engine...his own dream. Saying with each passing day..."I can do it...you can too. "

I am now blessed to share work space with just such another Hank Rearden...He is in the technology sector, and he too is the center of a self made company...It helps me to have a partner on my own journey. It reminds me that we...the self made...the struggling masses of small business people are not alone. Our struggles are common, and each day when another one falls, we mourn. Each day when another one picks up the standard...we join together en-masse to cheer them on.

Today we march...Tomorrow we vote...

Yes, we too will redefine the new rules for radicals...but that is for another day.