Making the World Safe for Marxism

American Thinker ^ | 11-28-08 | Randall Hoven

[smoothsailing]

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November 28, 2008

Making the World Safe for Marxism

By Randall Hoven

In the novel Catch-22  there is a character named Howard Snowden who is injured when his aircraft is shot.  The novel's protagonist, Yossarian, treats the wound on Snowden's leg and thinks he's done a satisfactory job of tending to his injured crewmate.  It is a recurring vignette in the novel, but we don't get to its conclusion until near the end of the novel.

After thinking Snowden's wounds adequately treated, Yossarian opens Snowden's jacket.  He finds him basically eviscerated; his intestines are pouring out of a hole in his chest.  His case is hopeless.  Snowden dies muttering "I'm cold" and all Yossarian can do is say, "There, there."

I thought communism was defeated when the Berlin Wall came down.  I'm now thinking the Wall falling was the equivalent of treating Snowden's leg.  We did not defeat communism at all.

It is almost commonplace to accuse someone of being like Hitler or acting Nazi-like.  (Googling "bush hitler" yields 1,300,000 hits, for example.)  Yet you are considered beyond the pale, and possibly insane, to even suggest that someone might harbor Marxist sympathies.  To question someone's dedication to traditional American or merely Western ideals = calling him communist = being Joe McCarthy = we now know you're nuts.

Case number one is Representative Michele Bachman.  She merely suggested that the press should look more intently to see if some Democrats and Barack Obama in particular harbor anti-American attitudes.  The headline at the Huffington Post?  "Michele Bachman Channels McCarthy.  Obama Very Anti-American.  Congressional Witch Hunt Needed."   Contributions to Bachman's political rival poured in.

Of course Rep. Bachman neither called Obama "very anti-American" nor called for a congressional investigation of any kind.  But in a world where facts no longer matter, so what?  (You can read the transcript of her Hardball interview here.)  Even the Republican Party abandoned her, until it found out the controversy was bringing contributions into her campaign like crazy.  Amazingly, she survived her re-election bid.

Case number two is Representative Paul Broun, who had the audacity to say this:

"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force.  I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may -- may not, I hope not -- but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."

We don't have to go all the way to the Huffington Post to find this one denigrated; we need only go so far as James Taranto writing in the online Wall Street Journal.  He puts this one under the headline, "How Not to Revive the GOP":

"Here is a helpful rule of political rhetoric: When you begin a sentence, ‘It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but . . .,' you probably shouldn't finish it."

(I guess what we really need are more Jim Jeffords and Lincoln Chafees.  "Real Republicans vote Democrat" could be our new motto.)

We are now at the point where any utterance at all that merely questions whether a politician leans Marxist is immediate grounds for dismissal, derision and even banishment from the Republican Party and the public conversation.  It is "McCarthyism" in reverse, or more properly, real McCarthyism as it actually happened, meaning the accuser is the one who suffers, not the accused.

But what if they are Marxist?

Excuse me, but isn't the great lesson we were supposed to learn from Nazism to recognize such evil before it reaches critical mass - to quash such movements before things get violent?  As a reminder, the Holocaust count was 11 million; communism killed 100 million.

If we do not allow ourselves to call something "wrong" or "evil", we yield the battle without even a fight.  Yet to refrain from such "invective" is what is now called "civil discourse" and the right "tone." 

Bill Ayers called himself a "small ‘c' communist."  Is it OK to call him a communist?  Barack Obama said this in one of his autobiographies (at least he said it on tape, whether or not he wrote the book himself ):

"To avoid being mistaken for such a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk rock performance poets."

Here's a hint: you have to be pretty steeped in leftist thought to even know that the adjective "structural" goes with the noun "feminist."

Obama was essentially a "red diaper baby" who was raised and educated by Marxists to be Marxist.  Communists really did spy on us.  They had secret meetings.  Communism is no longer "strange"; it is taught in our schools, sometimes by Marxists.  Obama went to such schools, took such classes and personally sought out Marxists.  Bill Ayers calls himself a communist.  Barack Obama's run for elective office was kicked off at a meeting in Bill Ayer's house.  His voting record was the most liberal in the Senate in 2007, or left of self-avowed socialist Bernie Sanders. 

Are we not to infer the obvious?

Some more hints: "a heavy progressive or graduated income tax" is one of the ten planks in the Communist Manifesto.  So is "centralization of credit in the hands of the State."  So is "centralization of the means of communication" and "establishment of industrial armies."

I don't think it's my imagination that (a) we are already far down the road in establishing each of these planks (e.g., Federal Reserve System), and (b) Barack Obama and the Democrats are itching to take us even further down that road: more progressive income taxes; more government control of credit, banking and industry; the "fairness doctrine" and other regulations of speech and communications; a national service plan and mandatory "public service" for students; etc.

A reasonable person could infer that the present aim of the Democratic Party is full implementation of the planks of the Communist Manifesto.  Just look at the ten planks and look at the Democratic Party's platform or its legislation waiting in the wings.  You don't need rose-colored glasses to see the red in either.

In fact, the interesting question is no longer whether our politics in the US and Europe (not to mention Latin America) are leading to Marxism.  The interesting question now is whether voters care.  My guess is that almost half the people in the US, and probably more elsewhere, think Marxism is no worse or even better than "capitalism."  Isms is isms, in our post-rational world.

(Personally, I avoid the use of the word "capitalism."  It is a Marxist term that just means letting people buy and sell what they want at the prices they want -- or what Adam Smith called "the system of perfect liberty.")

Of course, Barack Obama has not even begun his Rule yet.  It's possible, I suppose, that the Obama we'll get in the Oval Office is the Obama we saw in his campaign ads -- good old American nice -- a "mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" as Joe Biden said.

Then again, here are a few parting thoughts from the horses' mouths:

"It was usually an effective tactic, another one of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved -- such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time."  Barack Obama 

"I am not a Marxist."  Karl Marx

"Democracy is the road to socialism."  Karl Marx

"We say that it may be possible in the U.S. to bring socialism through peaceful means. Perhaps through the ballot box. One thing is clear, there won't be socialism in the U.S. until the majority of the American people want it."  The Communist Party USA 

Ready to play Communist Manifesto Bingo?  Just get out your copy of the Manifesto and look at the 10 planks.  Once Obama passes laws that enact or strengthen at least, say, five of them, yell "bingo."  That will be the sum total of your power to do anything about it.

Randall Hoven can be contacted at randall.hoven@gmail.com or  via his web site, kulak.worldbreak.com.

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/11/making_the_world_safe_for_marx.html at November 28, 2008 - 05:11:25 AM EST

[conservative cat]

Self-ping for later re-read.

[XHogPilot]

Sometimes I wonder if the Berlin Wall’s removal simply let the vermin loose upon the West.

[jazzlite]

...”The interesting question now is whether voters care. My guess is that almost half the people in the US, and probably more elsewhere, think Marxism is no worse or even better than “capitalism.” Isms is isms, in our post-rational world”...

I am guessing that the majority of people in the US do not understand what Marxism is or what the ultimate consequences are. The constant drumbeat of class warfare coming from the left (media, academia, politicians) and the welfare, “cradle to grave,” mentality have set up fertile ground for the Marxism we now see emerging. And, oh, yes, our courts have complied, making new law from the bench which strengthen such views. The cycle of capitalism to socialism to Marxism to Communism continues as it has historically. War will be required to turn communism back to freedom and that will happen when the consequences of Marxism roll in. That takes a long time and unbelievable human suffering will occur in the meantime. It would seem that some kind of suicidal impulse occurs when nations achieve prosperity. Sometimes, the unexpected foils the plans of men..We shall see. When the whole world is lurching into oblivion, individuals are caught in the stampede. Education of our population needs to take place but at this late date, how could that happen, especially with “The Fairness Doctrine” waiting in the wings to still opposing voices?

[hershey]

Obama’s color makes his communism and the rest of his wretched past/record unmentionable. No matter what madness he proposes, the sheep will trot right along with him. Almost laughable, however, is the fact that we don’t have the money to implement the insanity of socialist health care, which is why many voted for him. (They’ll get that barn full of manure, but no pony.)

[unspun]

The above article should be placed in everyone’s “Inbox” in the entire United States.

Why don’t we start that by sending it to 90% of those we know... now?
_____________________________________________

Congressional Record—Appendix, pp. A34-A35

January 10, 1963

Current Communist Goals

EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, January 10, 1963

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:

[From “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen]

CURRENT COMMUNIST GOALS

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture—education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use [”]united force[”] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.

http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm

[wgflyer]

It’s not that the people don’t care that we embrace Marxism, I believe. It is that they don’t know what it is. They fear tyranny, but they have been trained to expect it from Bush, et al. Democrats, the prime purveyors of tyranny, are seen as the shining knights of protection from it.

In the end, if we are to regain the consideration and respect of the American electorate they will have to understand the nature of conservatism. This will only partially be aided by Democrat governmental incompetence, and the misery that they will bring to the average household, because Bush has done the same, now, and many Americans think that Bush is a conservative. The GOP has had a myriad of opportunities to reverse this perception, but chose political scheming and appeasement instead.

We will need another great communicator, someone whose conservatism is pure. Someone who doesn’t think that conservatism must change, or be reevaluated, but rather its principles illuminated. The GOP has yet to provide anyone close to this in modern times, having lost its way at so many levels. We need the equivalent of Goldwater and Reagan combined. More than that, we need an army of them.

[IbJensen]

If the Marxists, many of whom you'll find in our corrupt Congress, aren't insane then they must have signed their souls over to the devil.

They have been killing this nation by degrees since Woodrow Wilson, and now with Obomba and his minions advancing to full control, the final steps will be a mad dash.

America did last longer than the 1,000 year Reich.

[patj]

The other night I watched a movie on EWTN about the life of Pope John Paul II. I was struck by his close friendship with Mother Theresa. Then I thought of the combination of Mother Theresa, Pope JP II, President Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and how they combined to free Eastern Europe from Communism and wondered how we let it all slip away so soon after holding freedom in our hands. When Kruschev banged his shoe on the podium and shouted, “We will bury you.” I thought he was nuts. Who knew we would gladly hand him the shovel.

[wgflyer]

“Sometimes I wonder if the Berlin Wall’s removal simply let the vermin loose upon the West.”

They were already well situated among us long before then, and what wonderful lives they were having. Paid by communists, enthusiastically spreading the tyranny of collectivism, yet living in freedom. One wonders where they will go to have such a deal once the last bastions of free world are conquered. They will once again be living in their own filth and may not actually like it, in the end.

[Nateman]

(Googling "bush hitler" yields 1,300,000 hits, for example.)

I tried "Obama Stalin "in google and got 2,470,000 hits. The good news is that even with a RINO choice 48% of voting America knew better than picking Obama.

Since over 50% have gone over to the dark side the people who actually make this country work should go on strike.It's going to be hard for the collectivists to steal anything from us if we simply stop working to make it for them.

[Vet_6780]

.com stands for communist. freerepublic needs to go to .net or .org.

[unspun]

WADR, “.com” stands for “commercial.”

[unspun]

BUZZ:
http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:9b94de25cdebeb77fe13e9c1bd4b9fb5:1668963e22f3892587389b22235972b5;_ylt=AgQq17xdC4k2YxKEmjMgAlk7vJZ4

DIGG:
http://digg.com/political_opinion/Making_the_World_Safe_for_Marxism

Investigating Obama:
http://investigatingobama.blogspot.com/2008/11/randall-hoven-making-world-safe-for.html

[SumProVita]

You’ve noticed something that is at the root of all of our problems and political machinations: It is a spiritual battle.

When American culture began to encourage a turning away from God, or rather began to emphasize other things over God, we began to drift toward those political philosophies that are the most anti-God....that is toward Marxism and communism. We need to be vigilant and active in the coming days, but if our activism is not rooted in our relationship to God, it won’t be very effective.

[SumProVita]

“...the people who actually make this country work should go on strike.It’s going to be hard for the collectivists to steal anything from us if we simply stop working to make it for them..”

I have thought about this too and it may be that we WILL have to take measures like this. To be effective, that 50% of the population will HAVE to do this in a strong, united manner. However, I think Obama will slowly and incrementally make his changes and thus the majority of the public will be falsely lulled into a state of inaction. I expect him to try to take actions that will emphasize the economic, while he begins his program of social change...most likely starting with FOCA.

[P.O.E.]

Since over 50% have gone over to the dark side the people who actually make this country work should go on strike.It's going to be hard for the collectivists to steal anything from us if we simply stop working to make it for them.

The stock market has already done so to a large extent.

[gunnyg]

related....

http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/will-america-survive-soon-we-shall-know-by-alan-stang/

[MarkL]

Unfortunately, the phrase "liberalism is a mental disease" is sort of apropos when it comes to socialism and marxism. The problem is one of the belief in "fairness." People who want things like the idea of getting something they didn't earn. Because of someone has something, everyone should be able to have it. It doesn't matter if they worked harder than you did, or were smarter, or made sacrifices for it. It's just not fair that someone else has more stuff. However, they rarely, if ever, think of the consequences. "Just how much does that free stuff REALLY cost?"

As a completely anecdotal example, I've got a friend in Des Moines, IA, who's a self professed socialist. But at the same time, she was outraged in school when she found that she received the same grade as others in the class who put in the bare minimum of work to pass, while she put in all sorts of extra work and effort. I tried to explain to her that it didn't matter if she excelled, only that she did the bare minimum, and she would get the same reward as the loafers, so why bother trying harder? She didn't like that at all, but at the same time she didn't see the disconnect between her political views, and what she deemed the insult to her.

I've repeatedly tried to explain to her that socialism and its ilk only work really well in a hive mentality situation. As long as you only think of the common good - and are willing to sacrifice others, and be sacrificed yourself for the common good - does it REALLY work.

Mark

[LegendHasIt]

YEP, Khrushchev told us plainly and precisely what they were going to do, how they were going to do it..... and we just LET them.

Americans weren’t as stupid back then as they are now, I don’t believe. Dumbing us down was a key part of their plan, but it is beyond me how they got it started, since they warned us before we started down this path to idiocy.