Posted on 12/22/2011 7:10:33 AM PST by Academiadotorg
This past weekend, two stark reminders of the nightmare that communism was, and continues to be, left the world stage. These two people couldn’t be more different in their outlook and actions. One was Václav Havel, the Czech playwright, poet and intellectual, who spent years in prison, but whose willingness to stand up and tell the truth about the lies and brutality that were the essence of the Soviet Union and his own captive nation makes him a significant figure in the pantheon of those instrumental in defeating the Soviet Union. In 1993 he became the president of the Czech Republic. Here is a worthy obituary from The Telegraph.
My former associate Dan Flynn spent time in Havel’s prison cell in Prague in 2006, which was then a hotel room, reading some of his most powerful words, including the essay he was perhaps known best for, “The Power of the Powerless.” In it Havel wrote, “If the main pillar of the system is living a lie, then it is not surprising that the fundamental threat to it is living the truth.” I recommend Flynn’s moving tribute, “Reading Václav Havel from His Jail Cell,” in which he describes Havel’s strength, wisdom and courage.
Regarding Kim Jong-Il, he was the perfect embodiment of the lie that Havel sought successfully to expose. Why stop with the basic lie that described the economic system of the Soviet Union? The people pretend to work and the government pretends to pay them. Besides Kim’s utterly ridiculous fabrications, such as that the first time he went out to play golf, he shot 38 under par with 11 holes in one, the existence under his regime was utter depravity, and millions died because of his man-made famines.
(Excerpt) Read more at aim.org ...
Where’s WHOOPI?
I’ve got the book. It’s based largely on documents decrypted from the Venona archives after the Soviet Union decayed. It contains physical evidence that the communist holocaust was far greater than anything Hitler did, and that the insidious spread of this ideological cancer continues unabated.
Really depressing to read but very educational.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
