Atlas Shrugged

(Atlas Shrugged)

Who is John Galt ? At this point who cares. Atlas Shrugged is a 1,100+ page novel by Ayn Rand that was basically her social commentary. One poses the question, what happens if Atlas, who carries the world on his shoulders, "shrugs ?" The world would invariably fall off.

Of course, the modern "atlas" is a map. Each year, millions if not billions of maps and graphs are published. What happens however if there are sudden changes introduced. Like what if the Gulf of Mexico gets re-named the Gulf of America ? Or when Greenland becomes an American protectorate. That says nothing of what happens to the Panama Canal.

The English Channel has always been the English Channel though France is the other coast. The Persian Gulf has generally been the Persian Gulf even though the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the other shore. The Gulf of Mexico was so named because of early exploration of Mexico made its adjoining "gulf" Gulf of Mexico. If it gets re-named, all future atlas, maps of the area, referring to the Gulf of America.

In short, virtually every map or "atlas" will have to be re-adjusted to reflect new geographic realities. Cartographers will have a field day. The broader point, however, is that only a President Trump would even consider. Will Trump use force ? Will economically pressure against Denmark be applied ?

That being said, everything Trump might do should be taken with a grain of salt. One can be confident, however, that when things are all said and done, there could be a Gulf of America, certain Canadian provinces could petition to join the Union, in one form or another Greenland could be an American protectorate and the Panama Canal will be free of foreign, especially Chinese, influence.

It will be interesting to see in twenty years what geography textbooks might look like. And how Rand McNally will draw a new Gulf of America. What happens, when Atlas shrugs.