Truths about Communism

"LIES"

To be blunt, today's generation just doesn't have a clue. Not only are they clueless, but worse, they are ignorant. They are ignorant on many fronts but their most ignorant stand is their infatuation with socialism - also known as communism. What is the truth about communism? The truth is "Communist regimes have historically been authoritarian, repressive, and coercive governments concerned primarily with preserving their own power." The truth is that people who want a socialist/communist society in America do not want one for the 'good of the whole' but to garner power for themselves; to mold society into one that thinks and acts the same, a society with unswerving loyalty to the state and one that questions nothing.

Back in the day, when the "Cold War" between the capitalist West and the communist East raged, one would never talk favorably about communism. Yet, today, you'll find it spoken favorably of, and openly, in the lyrics of music (Offspring, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine et al), from actors and producers in the film industry (Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore to name but a few) and even from our leaders on Capitol Hill (Maxine Waters, Charles Rangel and, most horrifyingly, from our Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi).

Having been alive during the "Cold War", I remember the ills of communism very well. Yet, despite what history teaches us, today's youths have embraced communism as the world's savior. Kids are wearing Che Guevarra and Soviet-style, hammer and sickles on t-shirts and red stars on their caps. College aged students speak proudly of Karl Marx and Mao Tse Tsung even though they've never really read them. Despite the fact that communism dominated Eastern Europe with an iron fist for over 50 years and Russia (aka the Soviet Union) for 83yrs, today's youths believe that communism can right all the wrongs in the world - that if we take from the rich and give it all to the poor everything will be just fine. Unfortunately, while communism may look good on paper; it failed miserably in practice. The communist years were not 'golden years' whatsoever for the communist bloc was ruled by political repression and fear and it's people, unless they were Inner Party members, lived in abject poverty often standing in long lines for the most basic of necessities. Having grown up in America, though, today's kids look at my warnings of the dangers associated with communism as being 'biased'.

"Checkpoint Charlie, West Berlin, East Germany"

Well, here are some reminders:

• From an article in Time Magazine dated October 8, 1956 we read of "police brutality, enforced hunger, and of officially induced lying".
• An essay appearing on the Constitutional Rights Foundation website states that under communism, "shortages of goods constantly occurred. Even in stock, there was little variety of goods. Often, there was only one type of laundry soap, one flavor of ice cream, and one kind of coffee. But most families owned a television set and a washing machine. Many owned cars, but cars and appliances required long waits."
• A telling testimony was told in an interview of Dr. Mircea Veleanu, an obstetrician living in the United States, who was a 12 year old boy when the communists took over in Romania.

The country's borders were sealed, ensuring citizens would remain within the "iron curtain." No one could travel other than to other communist-bloc countries (Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany)."

There were now only government stores with prices set by the state, eliminating competition. Food soon became scarce and meat rarely available. People lined up early morning before work to buy limited food rations. It was first come, first served and foodstuffs sold out quickly. Some returned home empty handed. Luxury items like chocolate were almost impossible to procure. Rarely, when Veleanu's mother was able to purchase candy, he would divide it to make it last a month or two. "Any small piece I would suck slowly for a long time," he says. "Eating a piece of chocolate was like the biggest thing you could have in life."

Conditions got worse from one year to the next. "The government's grip of power became stronger and stronger, and people were afraid of everything," he says. "Life was miserable." In order to impose allegiance to the government, a policy of terror was instituted, with security police arresting people in the middle of the night. Those arrested were often accused of publically criticizing the government or its leaders. Children were encouraged, as their patriotic duty, to report to teachers what parents discussed at home. All publications from Western countries were banned, isolating the populace from outside influences.

"Soviet Gulag"

Life, however, socialism's defenders claim, could only get better for Americans under communism. Really?

•  A newspaper in the Czech Republic writes in regards to commmunism:

"After the communist takeover of February 1948, it was necessary to silence all enemies of the "working class". And if it was the youths who protested against the new order, they ended up in prison too. For instance for printing anti-state leaflets." Those who protested the government  faced "social discrimination - young people were not allowed to study," and were kept from school. During their prison time, young people, "Before being sentenced, the youths were subject to investigation methods very similar to what adult political prisoners underwent. During interrogation, the investigators often beat them and threatened to also punish their family members, for instance" Afterwards, these children faced, "2.5 or three years in prison. Imprisonment longer than ten years was rare. They were re-educated in correctional facilities for the youths by working in agriculture, at construction sites, in coal mines and factories. And by means of mandatory political training,"

Imprisonment is just one form of punishment under the communist system. A more prevalent form is execution. Let us take a look, for example, of the legacy of Cambodian communist ruler, Pol Pot, who orchestrated the genocide of "an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 million people, approximately 21% of the Cambodian population". Or, the Great Purge of Josef Stalin in the 1930s resulting in the arrest and subsequent execution of "hundreds of thousands" of dissenters.

After the fall of South Vietnam to the communist north, "private enterprises were seized by the government and their owners were often sent to the New Economic Zone to clear land. The farmers were coerced into state-controlled cooperatives. Transportation of food and goods between provinces was deemed illegal except by the government. Within a short period of time, Vietnam was hit with severe shortage of food and basic necessities. The Mekong Delta, once a world-class rice-producing area, was threatened with famine"

Under communism, society is supposed to be 'free and equal' but that is not the case. In China, for example, the Chinese government routinely oppresses Mongols, Turkestanis, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians. So much for a free and equal society under communist rule.

And, as for Che Guevarra, he "was an extremely harsh disciplinarian who unhesitatingly shot defectors. Deserters were punished as traitors, and Guevara was known to send execution squads to hunt down those seeking to go AWOL. As a result, Guevara became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness". At the end of his life, according to historian Hugh Thomas, "he seems to have become convinced of the virtues of violence for its own sake".

So, here you have it, the ugly truths about communism and these aren't even all of them. Communism isn't 'freedom'; it's a dictatorship. If, after reading this, you still think that communism is such a great way of life then you really need to have your head examined.