today's John Galt are hiding in plain sight

me, for example
i do my job
i do NOT notice or report things i used to in the past
things that are broken or could cause problems

i do not have the resources to go full John Galt, so i do the best i can
preparing for the disaster to come, it will be worse than the one we have now

Decades ago an American/European could have done sound analysis and chosen to go to Australia or New Zealand. But things have changed.

On a different planet, The Netherlands, year about 1930, a Dutchman was looking for a new place to live. Somewhere quiet. Good climate, no invasive government, where his savings would go far. Understanding Dutch/German would help. After exhaustive study he made a decision and moved. The new place was a small set of islands in the Pacific Ocean, he chose one, Guadalcanal. This is a true story.

While still laughing, consider this very sound choice 30 to 40 years ago. Sheltered by a mountain, excellent climate, swim or laze on good beaches then snow ski same day. The people not lazy but a delightful blend of charm and cunning who engage in every known vice with elegance, some locally invented, a major banking center, your money is good, change anything into anything else, no government regulation. Tax? Set your own rates. Buy sell anything- any gun, dope or people by the dozen (ok I've done my share of preaching and protest, now to relax). The local wines are very good. The Lebanon.


Old Chinese proverb: When we talk of the future, the gods laugh.
Praise the Lord and keep your powder dry.
Portable property and an air ticket were once the priority. Now, diamonds, guns and a boat.

Info on The Lebanon from my regular reading destination, the article on Drink, wine, booze etc in The Spectator UK, 25September2021. The Spectator and such, once a week for a few hours, a private Gulch of the imagination.

Nearly forgot, there is a new movement in China called- Lie Flat. Sounds like a form of Gulch based on keeping a low profile, work only enough to avoid attention.

To answer the question I will invoke a sort of collectivism (gasp) but it’s OK because this is the ONE TIME it’s a good thing....WE ARE JOHN GALT! We are the lifeblood of a system that seeks to enslave us. WE are the motor that makes the gears of society spin. WE enable the looters to take from us. Get that REALITY into your collective noodles.
John Galt was Rand’s “IDEAL”. None of us possess the plans to the motor that runs on static electricity. A force field that can shield an entire valley from the prying eyes of the security state. None of us are Francisco d'Anconia or Midas Mulligan and have immense wealth with which to fund a Gulch. (If any of you are ...... let’s talk...XD). But, WE together have the power to at least slow “the motor of the world”.

I am unable as of yet to do a full on Dan Conway and retire to my library and a trout stream. But, I will soon. Earlier then the government statisticians expect. In the meantime I am SHRUGGING at work. I do NOT pass on my knowledge gained in a technical environment. Most of these youngsters “know it all” anyway. They can make the same mistakes that I made 20 years ago. Instead of the new ones they would have made and solved. We can just kick the can of tribal knowledge down the road some more. Just like the national debt. Leave it to the “next generation” to figure out.

Currently we have a problem with some machinery. I may or may not know how to fix it. But, I’m feeling, not myself lately.
Two other “experts” have been called into to “fix” the problem. They have failed. Ironically it has to do with motors. My reason for feeling “off” is the company mask mandate. As long as it stays in place the lack of oxygen and anxiety it causes ”stops the motor of” production. I didn’t cause the problem. The machine manufacturer did. But, I find it difficult to enrich a company that does NOT respect my right to choose.
Is it sabotage? Not really. Fix what I did not break? Galt and the Gulchers didn’t sabotage anything. Sabotage implies effort. They simply withdrew their talents.

Expand that thought process out. Is it MY responsibility to PAY for those whom I did not impoverish? Is it MY responsibility to shed my blood for a nation that labels me a “terrorist”? I have done NOTHING against a fellow man.
I expect the truth. So that I may make an informed choice. And for that I am labeled a spreader of misinformation. Are WE our brothers keepers?

The motor debacle is an extreme situation. Before that I did NOT contribute to meetings. I sat in silence. I have ideas sure. And my years of experience are literally priceless. You cannot BUY the things I’ve seen and the events I have participated in. However, the more economic activity I generate the more the beast that seeks to devour me is fed. I make enough money. I do not want nor expect a raise. In my personal life I live minimally. The powers that SHOULD’NT be seek to deprive me of Liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness and maybe even Life, if you believe some of the Machiavellian claims flying around.

A good chunk of society seems to believe THEY are entitled to have an opinion on MY life. And how I live it. I say they are not. And in return I deprive them of my efforts to advance my little piece of society. Make no mistake. I am under no narcissistic illusion that I ALONE can bring society to its knees. I am nothing to society. A tiny speck. A single raindrop passing through a space until I splatter on the firmament beneath. But enough raindrops cause a flood. So YOU be your own Galt. Make your own Gulch. Do your own Shrug. Deprive a society that seeks to enrich itself off your collective efforts of the economic energy you generate. Don’t buy that NEW CAR. Don’t work extra hours. Don’t EAT OUT 3 nights a week. Society has made it clear what it wants. Less of us. Let’s give them exactly what THEY want. Good and HARD!

It sucks to be sure. To think of what could have been. But, sadly the looters have taken the best meals off the menu. You may want a beautifully marbled Wagyu. But, the waiter says, “I’m sorry sir. But, we’re all out of that. May I suggest a nice thick Porterhouse instead?” We can get mad...pound our fists and have a mental meltdown. Or, we can accept reality as it is. That propping up this corrupt system, with our time and talents, only serves to prolong our enslavement. And that of our children. Let us instead embrace the alternatives presented to us. I choose to SHRUG. And take the Porterhouse. Maybe even Tri-Tips or (gasp) Steak-Ums. It doesn’t matter if I make an impact. It’s the right choice for me. Because, none of us are John. But together we are Atlas. If enough of us shrug. Maybe the Eddie Willers of the world will feel the change, as “things just don’t seem to work right anymore”. And maybe they will begin to ask,“Who is John Galt?”

I am John Galt and you are John Galt.

More people are taking the Dan Conway approach. You're welcome to join me in Brenner's Gulch in Melbourne, FL, where I have a pretty nice long term shrug job and am developing inventions just for producers.

It occurs to me, I am ambivalent about what is going on in our country right now. I seem to have resigned myself that there is nothing I can do. Who is going to listen to an 84 year old lady? My closest friends listen and then say 'uh huh'. The ones who could do something about it, do nothing They listen, but they don't hear. When I was the age of some of my grand children, I was an activist! That just occurred to me. These people expect someone else to act for them. Who do they think is going to do it? We paved the way, they are just content to tear up the road! Too bad we didn't instill in them the idea that this is their world and they have a responsibility to try to protect it. I think we were complacent with the idea that our teachings were taking hold when in fact the ideas went right over their little heads. I even became a federal lobbyist! I influenced a lot of Representatives and pounded on the desks of a few Senators. I was successful in getting what I lobbied for. I even got an $8 million dollar grant from EPA for my city. Fell on my beautiful in DC in a blizzard, but I got the grant. I secured more Foundation grants than a lot of people ever do in a lifetime for a charitable cause and even got a three year federal grant for same. But my young friends just look at me and smile. It never occurs to them they could participate in life!! They just take and exist. They think someone else is going to act for them! It doesn't work that way! Those of us who could...will not any more.

Sadly, John Galt is fictional. It is up to each of us to be our own version of John Galt,

Similarly, your version of Atlantis is wherever you decide to put it, and whatever you decide it to be.

In my case I left a big company, which did not value my ability, to consult from home. For clients who did value my ability. But that path doesn't work for everyone.

You are John Galt in your own mind. Withdraw your intellect and abilities the best you can, leaving only what you need to survive.