My boat.... not "My Boat"

I had a sailboat named the “Anthem”. It got its name from the first novel that Ayn Rand published. An anthem for capitalism.

I like capitalism. I think it can work. I think that there are basic freedoms that are required to make capitalism work, and freedom is good. In modern times, capitalistic societies have progressed much faster than controlled economies. In ancient times, it was greed that caused societies to fail. I suppose greed, which is not somehow modified by freedom, respect for the individual, respect for the society as a whole, and of course laws that govern the above might have the same impact on us today.

In fact; greed as it drives people to accumulate materialistic “things” at the expense of others is a bad thing. Somewhere, between greed and materialism, capitalism could fall apart.

This war in Iraq is being fought to protect our oil supply. Is that greed or materialism? The oil is not ours. Why do we think we have a right to it? Perhaps the war is being fought to overthrow a despot… Sadaam. Perhaps we thought that Iraq posed the threat to the United States. Perhaps the threat was to the oil supply and our precious material wants.

I sold my boat the “Anthem”. It was in sorry shape. The sails did not fit well. The rigging was sagging, and it leaked. My new boat is called “Rednewt”.