Posted on 08/10/2021 4:22:56 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Only those who lived in its shadow seem to be worried about contemporary parallels.
When communism collapsed in Europe 30 years ago, it seemed vanquished. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics turned out to be none of those things and broke into 15 independent countries. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, McDonald’s replaced Marx, and no one argued anymore that real communism still hadn’t been tried.
But old, familiar ideas are making a comeback on both sides of what used to be a great ideological divide. In Russia, Josef Stalin’s approval rating recently reached an all-time high. Meanwhile, American millennials’ stated approval of communism and socialism has been steadily rising in polls. After the fascism panic of Donald Trump’s presidency, driven and capitalized on by the media and publishing industries, it’s not surprising that the American left often sees historical evil even in ordinary populism. That the 20th century’s other murderous totalitarianism is gaining popularity in response, however, is alarming.
Some attribute this trend to the failures of capitalism after the Great Recession, which gave rise to the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders and his own brand of socialism, which he claims to be like Denmark’s (which isn’t actually socialist). Another reason may be that the United States simply hasn’t had a communism panic for more than a generation. And why should it? Who cares about a defeated adversary? After 1991, the Reds weren’t coming for anyone. Then again, Nazis haven’t enjoyed a reputational bounce back since their defeat the way the Soviets have. There is no Godwin’s law for Stalin.
A better explanation is that Americans and others across the West have simply forgotten about it all, or never learned about it in the first place: the Soviet dictators, the purges and terror,
(Excerpt) Read more at tabletmag.com ...
The horrors of Communism sure isn’t taught in public schools anymore.
WTH?
“After the fascism panic of Donald Trump’s presidency,...”
This hellish vacuum we've created is what happens when America shows Christ the door. And it's going to get worse. Much worse.
‘I have abandoned free market principles to save the free market system’, George W. Bush.
It didn’t start here and Bush was on the last days of his Presidency, but it began an era of massive bailout and no accountability. It has been pedal to the metal ever since with more bailouts, no rent, coming monthly payments, and so on.
I went broke slowly then all at once is the old saying. Political arrogance and compromise got us here.
I read this last week...Morality....downstream....culture....downstream....politics.
The media, “science,” “history,” schools have all deliberately and intentionally stop talking about what happened in the Soviet Union.
The brain-dead public doesn’t bother to try to find out.
Communism is an artificial construct. It is socialism where government owns everything. We have forgotten about how corrupt and dangerous big government is. We are seeing that with Barrack O’Biden.
Correct. Lefties LOVE Statism where bureaucrats run the show. Particularly weak Lefties like Biden and Bernie.
Bump
I grew up during the Cold War, but I had to learn EVERYTHING about Communism on my own. Even back then, they purposely kept the horrors of Communism hidden from Americans.
...obviously it’s no better now.
Apparently the author is a lifelong lefty who is only now starting to realize he's not as left as he thought he was.
A lot of the refugees during WWII who ended up in the educational establishment in the US were fleeing not because they were Jews, but because they were Communists. They brought that with them, and furthermore, because of all the Communists that had filled the government bureaucracy of FDR, especially the State Dept., they were well received. Thus their influence on education was enormous, particularly on what was taught about history.
Another reason has to be the rise of a China. Every young American has grown up with almost everything they own being tagged as “Made in China.” When a communist regime provides for all your needs, you may start thinking socialism is a good idea.
Agree - there was something INTENTIONAL about preventing Americans from learning about Communism at our schools...and I have to admit, it worked out great for them!
One reason is the common theme in all politics: forget the past. Today is NEW!
BS. Your crappola still stinks and telling me to ignore that is just childish.
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